Eric Henderson

Point of No Return. the Inevitability of the American War in Vietnam Eric Henderson

Scholarly Research paper from the year 2014 in the subject History - America, grade: A-, University at Albany, State University of New York, language: English, abstract: Just as it is pointless to call heads or tails after the outcome of the toss is viewed, it is equally pointless to ask whether or not the United States' War with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was inevitable from a post war perspective. A more pragmatic use of analysis would be to identify key moments when actions and decisions increased the odds that the U. S. would go to war in Vietnam. Arguably, the potential outcomes were more identifiable as November of 1955 approached (the official starting date of the conflict according to the U. S. DoD). Michael Lind, author of "Vietnam: The Necessary War" wrote, "The emerging scholarly synthesis interprets the war in the global context of the Cold War... In this view, Vietnam was neither a crime, a forfeit, nor a tragic mistake. It was a proxy conflict in the Cold War." This makes the beginning of the Long War a proper place to begin. The American War in Vietnam was not inevitable, however, the odds of armed conflict increased as specific events and decisions took place.