In 1963, President John F. Kennedy said: "...we want to see a stable government there, carrying on a struggle to maintain its national independence. We believe strongly in that. We are not going to withdraw from that effort. In my opinion, for us to withdraw from that effort would mean a collapse not only of South Vietnam, but Southeast Asia. So we are going to stay there" ("Richard Nixon").
Despite this comment showing loyalty and faithfulness towards the South Vietnamese, President Nixon still pulled out all of the American troops because of Vietnamization. All just to save ourselves, America withdrew from the war to leave South Vietnam all by itself even though the United States said they would not do such a thing. I find it very interesting how a nation's opinion on something as big as the Vietnam War can change so drastically in a mere six years.
"Richard Nixon: Vietnam War speech (1969)" American History. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.
"...a stable government there" lol Diem's government was nowhere near stable. The nation may have been independent, but the people were not under that rule, democracy or not.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I can't comment on your summary so here it is: What other countries were helping America and South Vietnam during the war?
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