Political Interference, Strategic Incoherence, and Johnson’s Escalation in Vietnam
Joseph Stabile
July 19, 2019
The American experience in Vietnam defined a generation, spurring civil unrest and the degradation of trust in important political and military institutions. Spanning the course of two decades, the United States’ engagement in the conflict reflected the heightened global tension of the Cold War. American involvement in Vietnam began as early as 1950, initially in the form of assistance to the French during the First Indochina War. By the end of the Kennedy administration, the United States had begun to send American advisers and military forces to Vietnam, aiming to prevent the spread of communism to Southeast Asia.[1]
The assassination of John F. Kennedy, however, ushered in the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson, who possessed little experience in the realm of foreign policy. Facing a crisis of legitimacy before cementing his position in the Oval Office through the election of 1964, Johnson was hamstrung as commander-in-chief. Internal discord among civilian and military advisers added to the difficulty in establishing a sound strategy to achieve a desirable political outcome in Vietnam. Amidst mounting international pressure brought on by the Cold War, Johnson decided to escalate the war in Vietnam in 1965. The war continued on for another decade after escalation, ultimately concluding in an American strategic loss. This essay assesses the choice of Johnson’s Vietnam escalation, considers the origins of this decision, and discusses ways in which America’s Vietnam strategy could have been improved. This escalation, taking the form of increased airpower and expanded ground force presence, revealed a complete misinterpretation of the operating environment and inability to stop a war that should not have been started. Ultimately, Johnson’s decision to escalate the war reflected a broader failure of the American foreign policy establishment in which internal divisions prevented a comprehensive understanding of the enemy, leading to years of commitment to a fruitless and destructive war.
https://thestrategybridge.org/the-bridge/2019/7/19/political-interference-strategic-incoherence-and-johnsons-escalation-in-vietnam
