Diplomatic Negotiations
From the Vietnamese war there are numerous lessons that the US learnt. The nation realized that in international matters, similar to all other aspects of life, there exist many problems that don’t have any immediate answers. This meant that the US had to live with such problems and this was the begging of diplomatic negotiations. In 1969, President Nixon began negotiating peace with North Vietnam. Representatives from North Vietnam and the US had earlier met in Paris in 1968, in an attempt to initiate peace talks. President Johnson had asked the army to reduce the bombings so as to give negotiations a chance. His decision no to stand for re-election was seen as a way of admitting that the war in Vietnam could not be won, diplomatic negotiations was seen as an escape route.
Another lesson from the war is that pressure does not bring positive results in diplomatic negotiation, for peace to prevail there must be mutual understanding between the fighting nations. In 1970, Henry Kissinger who was the representative of the president initiated meetings with the Vietnamese negotiator, Le Duc Tho. President Nixon proposed that the two countries engage in mutual withdrawals and cease fire; however this did not bring any positive results. President Nixon ordered the bombing of Haiphong and Hanoi in an attempt to bring pressure on Hanoi, but this only worsened the situation. The drafting of an agreement on various issues through the mutual understanding of the two nations is what led to the stop of the war in 1972. (Henry, 2005)
Leadership.
The United States military and civilian leadership underestimated the nature and the enemy of the war. The collective leadership of the US did not consider the Vietnam War’s historical context. The leadership did not take into account the previous conflicts that had occurred in Vietnam. In the past centuries, the French, the Japanese and the Chinese had attempted to conquer the Vietnamese region unsuccessfully. From this experience, the Vietnamese had established a collective identity. The Vietnamese leadership had portrayed a firm national resistance and resolve against any kind of foreign domination. The American underrated the power of Vietnamese leaders to inspire their people to die and fight for their values and beliefs. The northern Vietnamese were ready for limitless casualties in the war with the Americans. The United States military leaders did not fully comprehend the nature of war in devising a strategy to overpower the Vietnamese. On the other hand, the civilian leadership was unsuccessful in appealing for the will of the nation by declaring a war. These failures in leadership led to the strategic vulnerability and the Vietnamese capitalized on this weakness.
The other lesson on leadership is that, the leaders of the United States viewed the leaders of Vietnam from their own experience. The goals of the Vietnamese leaders were both political and military. The United States ignored the political forces in Vietnam, through nationalism the Vietnamese leaders were able o motivate their people to fight for what they believed in. (Edwards, 2002)
Cultural/social
At the time of the Vietnamese war, the life of the people of Vietnam was mainly concentrated on the village and the family. According to the Vietnamese culture life was viewed as a rhythm that follows seasons from planting to harvesting. The ancestors were viewed as the source of an individual’s life and they were responsible for the planting and reaping of life. They believed that the ancestors watched over them and their fields. Top the death of a person was not the end, rather it was the beginning. They also believed that the ancestors and the people exist in natural accord. They coordinated a lot in all their daily activities and the communal life was very different from the United States’ individualism. This fact led to the unity evident in the war, it also promoted nationalism and this helped them a lot in the war.
During the war the houses were made from bamboo grooves which encircle the village and provided shade during the hot seasons. Palm and thatch leaves for the walls and roofs were made from marsh. Their food was mainly grown around the village in the fields, for the Vietnamese they needed few necessities like cloth and salt. This simplistic way of life gave them an edge American soldiers and being hardened they were able to persevere harsh weather conditions. (Moss, 2006)
In religious matters, the majority of Vietnamese were Buddhist. During the Vietnamese war, religion was an important issue as the minority Catholics totally controlled the Saigon government. Vietnamese also worshipped their ancestors and stressed on the importance of obeying parents. They believed in Confucianism which meant that one was supposed to be loyal to ancestors, parents, leaders and spouse. No one in the community attempted to offend leaders, elders or community. This form of religion led to the great respect given to leaders and they were able to instill nationalistic ideas and to encourage them to fight.
Conclusion
From the Vietnam War, America learnt very important issues. The war was more complicated than they had expected and it was not a simple matter of communism versus democracy. It is evident that in the war the leaders were ignorant of the politics, culture and history of the people of Vietnam, they also misjudged the habits and personalities of the Vietnamese leaders and this led to the failure in the war.
Reference:
Edwards, T. (2002): The Vietnam War; history, learning and leadership. Organization of American historians. Retrieved on April 9, 2010 from http://www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/publichistory/edwards.html
Moss, G. D. (2006): Vietnam; an American ordeal, 5th Ed., Pearson Prentice Hall.
Henry, J. (2005): Vietnam War negotiations; Kissinger and Le Duc Tho. Retrieved on April 9, 2010, from
http://www.sagehistory.net/vietnam/negotiations.html
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