Preview

Is War Ever Justified?

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
465 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Is War Ever Justified?
Le 1
Calvin Le
Mr. Brazee
World History Honors
23 October 2011
Is war ever justified? "Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime." - Ernest Hemingway. Is war ever justified? Well that depends on how much you value your freedom. When the United States entered the war in Afghanistan, many people criticized President Bush as if he was the responsible for the war itself. What those people don 't see is that if we hadn 't entered the war, we 'd be ducking under bullets or watching for IED 's on highways. Years after the 9/11 attacks, people still don 't realize that there is a terrorist organization trying to kill Americans, and Bush has done a good job protecting us. I do agree that some of his methods weren 't necessary, but he has done his best defending the millions that hate him. That 's a reason why war would be considered justified. The unjustified side of war would be the Civil War. Slavery is a big topic, which is why the war began. If the Confederacy won the war, the world would be much different than how it is today. But no matter how one looks at it, we fought among ourselves. Was killing other Americans a good way to show the justified side of war? "Hammer the battlecry into braille-studded armor." - Jamie Laurie (Flobots - Fight with Tools - 2008) What that quote means is that
Le 2 war is a blind cause. Was it all worth it back then? A controversial war was the Vietnam War. The North Vietnamese tried to get South Vietnam to turn communist, and the US wanted to prevent this. So many people were against this, and they weren 't wrong to. "The capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese army in April 1975 marked the end of the Vietnam War. North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year." (Wikipedia) What I think happened to the US was they entered over confident. The fact that they beat the Japanese and Koreans in the previous wars was stuck in their mind, leading to their withdrawal from Vietnam.



Bibliography: - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War - http://history1900s.about.com/od/vietnamwar/a/vietnamwar.htm - http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war - http://www.historyguy.com/war_in_afghanistan.html

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    The Vietnam War lasted about two decades. The United States was engulfed in a civil war between North and South Vietnam and wanted to assist the south with preventing a hostile takeover by North Vietnam under the Communism banner. The Vietnam War was not only America’s longest War, but also costliest and deadliest. We spent over $150 billion and suffered close to $58 thousand American deaths and nearly 300 thousand wounded. By the time we decided to withdraw from the war, North Vietnam easily swept through the south and unified Vietnam under Communism. Still to this day, one of the most debated topics regarding the Vietnam War is why the United States got involved and why, when and how we should wage future wars. (Dunn, 2001)…

    • 1462 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Michael Lind takes the approach that this war was something America could not have avoided if we had any hope to eventually win the Cold War over the Soviet Union and emerge as the world’s number one super power. He acknowledges that the administrations involved with the conflict did little to clearly explain our involvement to the public, and would often change their reasoning over time. But he goes on to explain that we had a very real reason to get involved in a conflict that many believed did not involve us. To easily explain why, is to simply bring up credibility. “Credibility, in power politics, is a country’s reputation for military capability combined with the political resolve to use it in order to promote its goals.” (Lind, 1999) In a sense credibility, or perceived power, was one of the most important tools in the Cold War. Allies and small dependent countries had to believe that America would be able to support them in a crisis, and enemies had to be under the impression that we would be able to back up any threats. To back out of Vietnam would have only prepared America to enter another battlefield later. A main reason of entering Vietnam was to avoid a humiliating defeat to our own reputation as a powerful country. Keeping South Vietnam out of Chinese control and permitting the South Vietnamese to enjoy a freer lifestyle were lower down on the…

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    People were afraid of going to war and the effects it could have on our country. In Alan Rohan’s How Much Did The Vietnam War Cost? he states “Among all the wars the United States had fought, Vietnam War is ranked 4th in casualties just below the Civil War and the two World Wars. Out of 2,594,000 personnel who served in Vietnam, there were 58,220 Americans dead, 153,303 wounded and 1,643 missing. More than 23,214 soldiers suffered one hundred percent disabled. Even when it already ended, the war continued to cost many American lives. It’s estimated that 70,000 to 300,000 Vietnam Veterans committed suicide and around 700,000 veterans suffered psychological trauma,” and continues with the cost of the war “The Department of Defense (DOD) reports that the United States spent about $168 billion (worth around $950 billion in 2011 dollars) in the entire war including $111 billion on military operations (1965 – 1972) and $28.5 billion on economic and military aid to Saigon regime (1953 – 1975).” (Rohn). The United States lost thousands of young adults and had to pay a high political cost for the Vietnam War. Parents were afraid of losing their children. There were thousands of American casualties from age 17 to…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Abc Clio

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Marking one of the most traumatic periods of U.S. history, the Vietnam War spanned more than a decade and caused massive disruption both in Southeast Asia and on the American home front. Although U.S. leaders were often ambiguous about American involvement in Vietnam, they nevertheless pursued a fairly unbroken policy of interference in the country in an effort to halt the spread of communism during the cold war. In the end, the U.S. defeat in Vietnam proved costly, both financially and in terms of the number of lives lost, and diminished America's reputation as the defender of democracy and freedom throughout the world.…

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Past War In Vietnam War

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Vietnam War was a bad decision made by the United States government. There was no reason for the United States to start a war with this foreign country. The Defense Department released a film in 1965 addressing why the United States had to go to war with Vietnam. They said it was to defend freedom and aggression, and to stop the spreading of communism. In reality, this war was made by choice, it was not a “do or die” situation for America, but the United States saw Vietnam as a major threat and decided to declare war on them, only to lose a lot of soldier, time, and money.…

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The intervention of America overseas, was it justified? Its all at how you look at it. Some people say it was, because Germany had to much power others say it wasnt. The argument is one big chess game. Despite what others say I say it was justified.…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    During World War II and the War on Terror, there are many moral issues. One of the questions that people ask regarding the wars is: is reasoning for going to war justified? On December…

    • 1727 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Wars have been fought since the beginnings of humanity to settle disputes, and the core concepts of warfare has not changed for thousands of years. Unfortunately, all wars come with a devastating cost the world must pay - the loss of many lives, the destruction of environment, and a deep wound in society which would take years to stitch back to unity. Between 1955 and 1975, the United States participated in the Vietnam War in order to prevent the spreading of Communism by the Vietcong from North Vietnam. The Vietnam War ultimately impacted both the soldiers overseas and the families back home. Soldiers overseas were both physically and psychologically wounded from the injuries they sustain and the traumatic experiences they witness.…

    • 1709 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although very popular the Vietnam war was huge conflict during the years of 1964 through 1975, this single incident changed many Americans opinions about the nation's role both in foreign affairs and domestic ones. The Vietnam war failed in its primary purpose which was to assists in the defense against north Vietnamese communism, just like the cold war previously this proved to be another example of escalation. The US involvement in Vietnam damaged the us reputation due to very misguided and complex intentions on the part of political leaders like those in the Johnson and Nixon administration which brought upon unhappiness and social unrest among the public. This political corruption along with mismanagement on the economic system and the…

    • 948 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Vietnam, although not technically considered a war was an extended conflict that still had to be justified to an American people. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was the identification of this extended conflict and was declared by Congress in 1964 making this conflict official. This resolution was justified because it was declared by a competent authority and was seen as being the best thing for the American people at the time, even though today it receives a lot of pessimism from those same Americans. Many would say that we should not have been in Vietnam in the first place and that we were yet again pretending to play the role of global peacekeeper, others would say that we were just promoting our own interests. The U.S role in Vietnam first started in the late 50’s as a mission to help the French with their territory in Indochina. As U.S allies, the U.S was obligated to help France in its territory and try to end any aggression towards them and if helping an ally, conflict is justified. The true extent of the United States involvement did not really start until the communist division of North Vietnam and South Vietnam after France lost control over its original territory. When asking whether the beginning of a conflict, if not war, is justified the party that is taking the action chiefly has to question whether the human rights of the citizens are put in question or not. As with any Capitalist nation, it is a goal to fight communism when possible on a global scale because it threatens the people of that country as a whole. This threat comes not only from the likelihood of the country to oppress its populace, but also because by fundamental nature, communistic countries do not trade with Capitalist ones. This conflict was also justified when examining Just War Theory because a country is allowed to protect itself from possible future aggression. One of the chief concerns held by…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The definition of “justified” is having, done for, or marked by a good or legitimate reason. The second definition is declared or made righteous in the sight of God. The war with Mexico was both of these definitions. It was justified. In 1836, Texas had won it’s independence and had become apart of America. Mexico had attacked U.S. soldiers on Texas territory. Polk became president. He believed in Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was the belief that God wanted America to spread across the continent. Polk wanted to fulfill that destiny and get Texas and California. The United States was justified in going to war with Mexico because they believed in Manifest Destiny, Texas was already apart of America, and Americans were killed on their own soil by Mexicans.…

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Vietnam War Legacy

    • 1854 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The Vietnam War is one of the most shocking eras in American history. Not only did the utmost world power in the world get bested by an almost third-world country, but we lost badly. This war could have been won, or even prohibited in the first place. The United States should have won this war, with a blend of better weapons usage, better maneuvers, and better support from their home country. Many people do not know the reason for the U.S involvement in getting into a war with Vietnam. Vietnam used to be controlled by the French and gained its independence after the battle of Dien Bien Phu. Communism at the time was a popular thing back then and was growing although the Asia region. The U.S opposed communism…

    • 1854 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Vietnamwar

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Vietnam War was the longest ,and most unpopular war in history and is also called the cold war. Vietnam War was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The war began in after the rise to power of Ho Chi Minh and his communist Viet Minh party in North Vietnam, and continued against the backdrop of an intense Cold War between two global superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. More than 3 million people including 58,000 Americans were killed in the Vietnam War; more than half were Vietnamese civilians. By 1969, at the peak of U.S. involvement in the war, more than 500,000 U.S. military personnel were involved in the Vietnam conflict. Growing opposition to the war in the United States led to bitter divisions among Americans, both before and after President Richard Nixon ordered the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973. In 1975, communist forces seized control of Saigon, ending the Vietnam War, and the country was unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam the following year. America wanted to get involved in the Vietnam situation as early as the 1940s, under the cover of stopping the spread of communism. The US, an Imperialist country was actually trying to protect the interests of another Imperialist country, France, after a pro-communist government led by Ho Chi Minn jeopardized French control.President Eisenhower had been sending aid to South Vietnam and helped them to create the Army Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). This would hopefully help stop the communist North Vietnamese from taking over. Despite American financial aid, South Vietnam was still being defeated and needed serious intervention from the U.S. With the Cold War, the United States had vowed to keep communism from spreading. President Truman stated that any nation challenged by Communism would receive aid from the United States. The…

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In today's society, the possession and effective use of force is necessary. We have to recognize that we live in an imperfect world where evil seems to be an inevitablity. Our constant need for power makes the idea of a violent free world unimaginable. As long as we continue on this power hungry path the political issues will continue on this same path. Force is necessary with our current societal conditions and can be looked at as irresponsible when a nation does not prepare for the necessity of force. Any political conversation that entails the words, truth, liberty or peace run hand in hand with the use of force to create them. The perspective of some people are…

    • 1929 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    is killing ever justified

    • 386 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There are lots of arguments to say when killing is justified as in the case of a war. In World War II the Nazi’s attempting to kill all the Jews in the world was definitely not justified, but on the other hand the Allies killing was justified because they were trying to keep the Germans from taking over the world and because of this we live in the world we live today.…

    • 386 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays