Eisenhower Vietnam War Analysis

Following the end of World War II, the United States became involved in a battle of ideologies against the communist Soviet Union in what became known as the Cold War. During this time American leaders believed in the “Domino Effect” where nations would fall under communist rule one by one, leading to the implementation of containment policy. This led to several ‘proxy wars’ between the United States and Soviet Union, with the best known conflict being the Vietnam War in 1955-1973, which resulted in the deaths of over 58,000 Americans and upwards of one million Vietnamese. Many question why U.S. officials continued to escalate and prolong the war despite the lack of a foreseeable victory and low public opinion. Historian Robert Schulzinger
Although Schulzinger is correct in asserting that the U.S. entered the Vietnam War due to implementation of containment policy or Truman Doctrine under Eisenhower, this theory does not explain later U.S. policy that took shape under Presidents, Kennedy, Johnson, or Nixon as each prolonged and changed U.S. Vietnam policy in different ways.
President Eisenhower maintained American dedication to the principal of containment with regards to his policies in Vietnam. Following Truman’s actions in providing aid to Vietnam after a recommendations from a 1950 National Security Council calling for, “a decision to contain communist expansion at the border of Indochina must be considered as a part of a wider study to prevent communist aggression into other parts of Southeast Asia… and it is important to United States security interests that all practicable measures be taken … as the balance of Southeast Asia would then be in grave hazard”, Eisenhower increased aid rapidly to both the
Unlike his predecessors, Johnson didn’t believe in “Domino Theory”, but rather believed that U.S. credibility and his own personal credibility were indistinguishable. According to Fredrik Logevall, “the core component of the credibility imperative was an assumption that a failure to stand firm in the war would cause allies around the world to question, and perhaps lose faith in, America’s commitment to their defense.” Thus, if America failed to come to Vietnam’s defense how could other nations continue to rely on U.S. support which Johnson took personally as his perception was the same as America’s perception. Furthermore, when George Ball proposed that the best option for America would be to withdraw from Vietnam, Johnson responded saying, “wouldn’t we lose credibility breaking the word of three presidents.” Johnson was an ambitious man who wanted to implement his idea of a utopian Great Society and be viewed as the greatest American president ever. Thus when, Johnson jumped at the opportunity to ‘Americanize’ the Vietnam War through the use of bombing campaigns, such as Operations Rolling Thunder and Arc Light, and deployment over 180,000 American troops following congressional approval of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution in August of 1964, as he would not become, ‘the first American