What Are Some Pros and Cons of the Vietnam War?
According to History Learning Site, some cons of the Vietnam War included its bloody guerrilla warfare, the loss of innocent lives, the draft– which removed men’s choice to serve– and the belief that it was not the United States’ war to fight. In contrast, there was a compelling argument that the war took a stand against communism when so many countries were falling prey to communist governments.
History.com chronicles the many protests that broke out against the Vietnam War. With the country spending billions of dollars a year on war and the death toll rising, more and more young people resisted not only the war draft, but they also cried out against the atrocities of the war itself. One of the most horrific aspects of guerrilla warfare the the Vietnam conflict was that the enemy and innocent villagers looked exactly alike. Soldiers could not trust anyone they met in villages, leading to the deaths of many innocent Vietnamese as well as soldiers.
While the positive side to the war was that the United States was taking a military stand against communist aggression, it would not go down in history as a success. Vietnam eventually fell completely to communism. In 1971, the Pentagon Papers were leaked, revealing confidential information about the war. The American people did not feel like their government was being held accountable. As a result, President Nixon ended all U.S. interventions in Vietnam and the rest of Southeast Asia in 1973.
