President Johnson and escalation of the conflict
In November 1963, President John F Kennedy was assassinated. Shortly afterwards, his vice president, Lyndon B Johnson, was sworn in as president. Johnson continued Kennedy鈥檚 policies towards Vietnam because:
- He wanted to show respect to the memory of President Kennedy.
- He was advised by the same people as Kennedy.
- Like Kennedy, he believed that it was right to fight the communistA supporter of a classless society where all property is publicly owned. and was concerned about domino theoryAn American idea that if one country fell to communism, others would follow - like a row of dominoes.
- There was a presidential election due in 1964 and Johnson knew that taking a tough stance against communism would make him popular in the USA.
Increased US involvement in Vietnam
Johnson sent the Secretary of Defense to South Vietnam to assess the situation. He reported on the main problems:
- The Viet Cong was doing well and the communists controlled around 30-40 per cent of South Vietnam.
- The Strategic Hamlet Program was highly unpopular and was failing.
- South Vietnam鈥檚 forces were weak and the government was inefficient. It would not be able to defeat the Viet Cong.
President Johnson wanted to increase the USA鈥檚 commitment in Vietnam, but he needed a reason to do so and he needed to win the support of the American CongressThe legislative body of the US government, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives.. In August 1964 it was alleged that North Vietnamese patrol boats had fired on two US warships in the Gulf of Tonkin (located off the coast of northern Vietnam and southern China). Congress granted Johnson the support he needed to 鈥榯ake all necessary measures鈥 to prevent further aggression against the USA.
After the Gulf of Tonkin incident, Johnson committed more troops to South Vietnam. By June 1965, there were 184,000 US troops in the country. But, at the same time as the US was increasing its involvement in South Vietnam, the North Vietnamese stepped up their efforts. They sent more North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops into South Vietnam to strengthen the efforts of the Viet Cong.
As a result, a stalemateA situation where neither side can win. situation started to emerge. The US and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) were able to take territory. However, when they left, the Viet Cong took it back.