military aid
Military Aid
military aid
President Dwight D. Eisenhower continued Harry Truman's support for the French in Vietnam because he believed in the domino theory. The domino theory suggested that if one country fell to communism, neighboring countries would also follow. To prevent the spread of communism in Southeast Asia, Eisenhower believed it was necessary to support the French in their fight against the communist-led Viet Minh.
World War Two
"You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is a certainty that it will go over very quickly." This would lead to disintegration in Southeast Asia, with the "loss of Indochina, of Burma, of Thailand, of the Peninsula, and Indonesia following." - Eisenhower speech April 7, 1954 . US President Dwight Eisenhower referred to the "Domino Theory" meaning if the US did not stop the spread of communism then , by inference , the US would eventually be fighting the communists on US soil . He made the analogy as a way of garnering support for the fight against communist expansionism . He felt that if South Vietnam fell to the communists then the next nation would be Cambodia , then Laos , then Thailand , etc...
It was an attempt to assist the French in their recovery from WWII. In retrospect, it probably wasn't a good idea. The French were never grateful and are still as arogant and obnoxious as ever... probably worse.
Eisenhower sent troops to South Vietnam so they can fight North Vietnam because North Vietnam wanted to take over South Vietnam and they did.
If someone were to class "communism" as a form of "imperialism" then yes that was one of the causes of the Vietnam War. The French Indochina War (1st Indochina War) was "basically" a war of imperialism; and had NOT the Viet Minh been backed by the communists, the US would have probably stayed clear of that conflict. But since the now (then) North Vietnamese were COMMUNISTS, and clearly supported by the Communist Superpowers, and we, the US, were a "pledged enemy" of communism; WE had to stop the attempted conquest of SOUTH Vietnam. It was only the geography of the land, and the fear of starting World War III (the involvement of the Communist Superpowers-as had happened in the Korean War when Red China entered into it) that prevented us from saving the South.
Eisenhower laid the groundwork for U.S. involvement in Vietnam with the Eisenhower Doctrine, which proclaimed that, when it came to the Middle East, the U.S. would be "prepared to use armed force...[to counter] aggression from any country controlled by international communism." Eisenhower was also the first president to send economic and military aid to South Vietnam. Kennedy followed in Eisenhower's footsteps by gradually increasing the amount of enonomic and military aid sent to South Vietnam. And it was Johnson who first sent large numbers of American ground troops to fight in Vietnam.
Due to the cold war, the Eisenhower administration became involved during the 1st Indochina War (French Indochina War) 1946-1954; being busy at the time with the Korean War 1950-1953, the US supplied only material aid to the French, with their fight against the communist backed Viet Minh Forces.
they wented to fight about a toliet row
To fight communism.
"Fight Communism"