Vietnam-KA

The 1960's decade began, and so did the Vietnam War. Debate between politicians began as well, almost as bad as the war itself. White House records and transcripts show that the U.S. military leaders usually voted for the use of nuclear bombs, while Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy wanted to not get into those weapons. The Vietnam War did start in the 60's, but there had been trouble in Vietnam before that.

The trouble started when the people of North Vietnam wanted to take over South Vietnam. The South Vietnamese people didn't want that, so they tried to fight back. Soon, the Americans pushed their way in the war. They thought that if South Vietnam didn't want to be part of North Vietnam, they shouldn't be bossed around. America began to fight for South Vietnam.

In 1961, President Kennedy sent a group of people to Vietnam to report the conditions. A reporter known as the "December 1961 White Paper" argued for more in military and economic aid. It also had an introduction of a large scale American "advisers" to help stabilize the Diem regime and pound the National Liberation Front.

Things had gotten worse in 1968 for the Johnson administration. In late January, North Vietnam and the NFL began to attack some major cities in South Vietnam. The attacks were known as the Tet Offensive, which was a way to force the Johnson administration to the bargaining table. The Americans were getting war weary, as The Communists Party correctly decided, and that they were not likely to succeed much longer in war. Many people thought that the Tet offensive was a military defeat, it had produced the desired results. Lyndon Johnson was disgraced, and announced he would not seek the Democratic Party's re-nomination for president, then hinted he was going to the bargaining table to end the war.