The above question is arguably essential to understanding the Vietnam War, as well as its secondary effects in neighboring Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, and Indonesia. These cases can help one become familiar with the broader theme of the Cold War and its impact on the world. Furthermore, this investigation should help examine a key question regarding these events, with the Vietnam War as the central point: how successful was the United States in containing communism in Southeast Asia? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay Body/Investigation Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev's (1958-1964) goals of expanding the USSR's sphere of influence were reflected in the use of such terminology. He claimed that the world was moving towards socialism and that this could be achieved through "wars of liberation". In addition to this, his remarks highlighted the Soviets' imminent support for groups attempting to overthrow the capitalist governments under which they lived. This confirmed the suspicions of the West as well as President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who saw it as a simple attempt by the USSR to expand its interests. In fact, this was interpreted as a declaration of war on capitalist nations. In short, attempts were made by President John F. Kennedy (1961–1963) and the White House to convince the general American public of the threat posed by communist forces in the country. Southeast Asia. JFK's attempts were intended to balance idealistic principles with long-term practical considerations when it came to the Vietnam War. In other words, the ideological fight against communism is what helped JFK push for American involvement in Vietnam, and where that was not enough, the potential military and strategic gains were emphasized. But ultimately, President JFK failed in his attempt to convince the Vietnamese people. long-term support of the American people. Moreover, the president and the White House were unable to lay a solid, pragmatic foundation for achieving American objectives in Vietnam. Even after America devoted so many resources to fighting the Vietnamese communists, the former ultimately achieved nothing. The above point is vitally important in bridging the gap between the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower and that of Lyndon B. Johnson. This helps to understand the overall escalation of the war under Kennedy. Much of the American defeat in Vietnam was due to two things. On the one hand, secrecy within the White House and Pentagon has led to errors of indecision. But on the other hand, the setbacks caused by the corruption and simple incompetence of the Diem regime. An example of the first point would be that while the U.S. Army recommended rapid and precise aerial bombardment, McGeorge Bundy and John McNaughton argued for aerial bombardment. raids which gradually multiplied. The absence of such an agreement inevitably led to American failures. The second point, the incompetence/corruption of the Ngo Dinh Diem regime in South Vietnam (1955-1963), can be considered as an accelerating factor of the first point. While the United States focused on helping South Vietnam eliminate the communists, the former failed to take into account the latter's political instability. To quote: “Behind the apparent success of the Diem regime, however, lie deadly problems…many local officials and police engaged in extortion, corruption, and theft of government assets…many of these officials were, like Diem himself, inhabitants ofNorth and Roman Catholics. This further alienated them from the local population. would be from the Kennedy assassination in 1963. While the Vietnam War prompted containment policies from the United States, the next step is to analyze how it affected neighboring countries. Southeast Asia. The aftermath of the Vietnam War allowed the Cambodian communist group, the Khmer Rouge, to take power in Cambodia: this was made possible by the destruction caused along the shared border with Vietnam. In addition, Cambodia also experienced problems such as war refugees and the problem of military bases built by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) inside Cambodia itself. Thus, the Khmer Rouge were able to overthrow a weakened government and take control of the country. In order to stop the flow of communist resurgences between Vietnam and the neighboring nation of Laos, the U.S. military was prepared to bomb those nations' territory. large-scale borders. Some have actually claimed that the efforts of the US military and the CIA in Laos exceeded those in Vietnam: "For the Laotians who holed up in caves to escape what is considered the most violent bombing in the history, the campaign was certainly no secret… Hitting Pathet Lao in the north and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in the south, the US Air Force launched an average of one attack every eight minutes for nearly ten years. » In an almost identical manner, American military actions in Vietnam (as well as along the Cambodian border) weakened the government of neighboring Laos, thus facilitating the Pathet Lao's access to power there. domino effect that the first feared. In trying to end the communist takeover in Vietnam, they caused the rise to power of communist governments in Cambodia and Laos. Although America's failures at containment during the 1960s are evident in this survey so far, it is ideal to mention questionable successes: starting with Indonesia. American commitment (perhaps paranoia) to countering the threat of communism reflects the CIA's desire to turn a blind eye to crimes committed against humanity by non-communist governments in Southeast Asia. In Indonesia, the 1965-66 massacres of suspected communists at the hands of the Indonesian army and Muslim militias are a brutal and effective example. “A December 1965 cable from the U.S. consulate in Medan, Indonesia, reported that preachers in Muhammadiyah mosques were telling congregations that anyone who joined the Communist Party should be killed, saying they were "the highest order." lower down of the infidels, whose shedding of blood is comparable to the killing of a chicken.” In neighboring Philippines, the rise of the Hukbalahap (HUK) Rebellion of 1967 heavily attracted the attention of the CIA. Soon, harsh measures were taken to crush the communist HUK, both by the American and Philippine governments. The United States' tenacious commitment to preventing the formation of a communist government in the Philippines has become increasingly evident through declassified CIA documents. The United States might have succeeded in containing communism in Indonesia and the Philippines, but the atrocities committed to do so bring America's fight against communism into question. Having studied the chaos caused by containment policies in Southeast Asia between 1960 and 1970, the emergence of left-wing and communist groups outside of Southeast Asia can be seen as a backdrop created by the ripple effect of the crisis. ancient. Groups opposed to Western imperialism and..