Extension of the Cold War

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Extension of the Cold War

• Cuban Missile Crisis the Vietnam War

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JFK the Cold Warrior

• 1960 Election--Defeated Nixon, closest election.
• Both Kennedy Nixon had been active in foreign
  policy in Senate
• Kennedy emphasized Missile Gap that had developed
  during Eisenhower administration.
• New Frontier Flexible Response
• Accepted Domino Theory wars of liberation
• Believed modern, conventional forces would prove
  more effective than nuclear weapons.
• Bay of Pigs--Legacy of Ike, JFKs first test
• Failure due to lack of air support JFK took
  responsibility.

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Cuban Missile Crisis

• Cuban Revolution 1959--Alliance w/USSR
• 1962--Krushchev sends nuclear weapons to Cuba
• Intended to force US to back down in Berlin,
  Cuba, etc.
• Only Pacific Northwest out of range, warning of
  launch falls from 30 minutes to 2 minutes
• October 14, 1962, aerial photos reveal missile
  sites.
• American Response--Quarantine
• Demanded removal of missiles, not invasion or
  surgical strike
• Crisis worsened as Soviet ships w/more missiles
  headed for Cuba, but Krushchev relented agreed
  to removal.
• Represented closest world came to nuclear war.

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The Wars of Vietnam

• Frances Vietnam War
• Though Vietnam sought independence in 1945, US
  supported returning Indochina to France
• Nationalists Communists united as Vietminh
  under Ho Chi Minh to fight French, end of war
  1954 at Dien Bien Phu
• By 1954, US paying 80 of French costs.
• Vietnamese Civil War
• Geneva Conference divided along 17th parallel
  until 1956
• Land reform in North massive migration of
  wealthy Catholic Vietnamese to South
• 1956 nationwide elections cancelled by Ngo Dinh
  Diem, repressive leader of South Vietnam.

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Americas Vietnam War

• US Support of Diem Regime
• Economic support began during Eisenhower
  administration, military advisers sent by
  Kennedy
• Diems regime challenged by National Liberation
  Front, renamed Viet Cong by Americans
• Most visible opposition to Catholic Diem came
  from Buddhist monks
• US saw Diem as liability, gave tacit support to
  his overthrow assassination.
• Tonkin Gulf Resolution--LBJs Blank Check
• Based on questionable reports of attack on US
  ships
• Congress overwhelmingly approved, only 2 Senators
  opposed.

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Escalation

• Initial escalation following attack on Pleiku
• Operation Rolling Thunder began March 1965,
  continued non-stop for 3 years
• Increased deployment from 16,000 advisers to
  184,000 combat troops in 1965 doubled in 1966.
• Nature of combat
• Early use of pacification programs, including
  Strategic Hamlet Program
• Reliance on carpet bombing, napalm Agent
  Orange
• Winning of hearts minds replaced by Search
  Destroy missions Zippo raids (We had to
  destroy the village to save it.) reliance on
  Body Counts.

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End of Americas Vietnam War

• Westmoreland claimed Light at End of Tunnel
• Tet Offensive (1968)--Simultaneous Vietnamese
  attacks in 100 cities, bases embassies military
  failure but demoralized American troops turned
  public against war
• LBJ chose not to run in 1968 Nixon won,
  promising public he had Secret Plan to win war.
• Nixons Vietnam War--Vietnamization
• Bombings Vietnamese troops gradually replaced
  US ground forces
• Expanded war--Invasion of Laos bombing of
  Cambodia
• Paris Peace Accords (1973)--Peace with Honor
• Concerned return of US POWs removal of US
  troops.

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Legacies of Vietnam War

• 58,000 US dead, 300,000 wounded, 2,500 MIA
• At least 2 million Vietnamese dead
• Cost of war over 150 billion
• Both LBJ Nixon chose not to sacrifice domestic
  programs
• Led to high inflation that plagued nation through
  1970s.
• The Credibility Gap
• Trust in government all-time high after
  Depression, WWII
• Cold War McCarthyism soured some Americans
• Escalation of war, promises of quick resolution
  ultimate quagmire disillusioned many Americans
• Watergate Scandal solidified distrust.