Friday, June 25, 2010

Vietnam War (contd-1)

History of Vietnam War: Vietnam was ruled by China during 207 BC until 938 when Vietnam regained its Independence Emperor Tran Nhan Tong later  diplomatically submitted Vietnam to a tributary of the Yuan to avoid further conflicts.The independent period temporarily was in the middle to late 19th century, when the country was colonized by France. During  WW II, Imperial Japan expelled the French  to occupy Vietnem though they retained French administrators during their occupation. After the war when the allied forces came as a victorious ally, it was agreed that Indochina was a part of France but after the First Indochina War, Geneva accords partitioned the country in two with a promise of democratic election to reunite the country. But the United States did not want the expansion of communism in this region of Indochina and stood in the way of reunification of Vietnam. This was the cause of Vietnam War.    
Exit of the French, 1950-54;
In Jan 1950, the Communist nations , led by the People's Republic of China (PRC), recognized the Viet Minh's Democratic Republic of Vietnamas and the Govt of Vietnam. Whereas the Non-communist nations recognized the French-Backed State of Vietnam in Saigon led by former Emperor Bao Dai in the following months.The outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 convinced many Washington policy makers that the war in Indochina was an example of communist expansionism directed by the Kremlin.
PRC military advisors began assisting the Viet Minh in July 1950. PRC weapons, expertise  and laborers transformed the Viet Minh from a guerrilla force into a regular army.   In Sept 1950, the US created a military Assistance and Advisory Advisory Group (MAAG) to screen French request for aid, advise on strategy , and train Vietnamese soldiers. By 1954, the US had supplied 300,000 small arms and spent US $ 1 bilion in supprot of the French military effort and was shouldering 80 p.c. of the cost of the war.
There were also talks between the French and Americans in which the possible use of three tactical nuclear weapons was considered , though how seriously this was considered  were even now vague and contradictory. One version of the plan for the proposed OperationVulture envisioneed sending 60B-29s from US bases in the region , supported by as many as 150 fighters launched from US Seventh Fleet carriers, to bomb Viet Minh commander Vo Nguyen Giap's positions. Admiral Arthur W. Radford, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave this nuclear strike, as could carrier aircraft from the Seventh Fleet.