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For over forty-three years, even though no war between the superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States was never formally confirmed, the leaders of the Communist East and the democratic west challenged each other in with what is currently referred to as the cold war. Majority of scholars on the cold war had developed two conflicting presumptions that help in explaining what motivated the United States to avert the spread of Communism in South-East Asia throughout the Cold War. One such school of thought has alleged that the United States was essentially interested in advancing as well as protecting its democratic system of politics. In other words, these scholars suggest that the Cold War was only a battlefield over different ideologies. A different camp of scholars argued that the united states was only acting with the sole interest of defending her oversees interests as well as protecting the homeland from invasion.

On August 9, 1945, Korea was divided into north and south. It is still on the same day that the United States dropped nuclear bombs in Nagasaki. Six days later Japan announced that it was surrendering thereby relinquishing Korea, which was to be partitioned at the 38th parallel. The Soviet Union took the North while the United States remained with the south. The division was initially meant to be provisional, and was proposed to give a United Korea to its people. Later, the presence of the cold war between the two superpowers altered those plans.

 

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In early 1947, the U.N. General Assembly confirmed that election were underway a process that could have enabled the Koreans to choose one government for their country. On the contrary, the Soviet Union opposed this idea and would not consent to elections in North Korea. This officially led to the establishment of two separate Koreas. Each of the administrations from both north and south maintained to be the only rightful government on the peninsula. Although several leaders from both the north and south were aimed for reunification, the head of government in North Korea, Kim II Sung stood firm that nothing apart from military action would reunite the country.

The real attack of the South by the North Korea happened in June 1950. Although the Security Council of the United Nations convened on the same day, the Soviet Union delegation to the Security Council failed to attend the meeting since the Soviet Union was boycotting the United Nations action of recognizing Chiang’s government in Taiwan as the certified government for China and at the same time paying no attention to Mao’s communist administration in Beijing. For that reason, the apparent use of the veto – this would have been used by the USSR-, did not occur. In addition, in 1950, the United States requested the United Nations to use power to get the North Koreans out as they had disregarded the Security Council’s ruling. This request was voted for and once more as the Soviet Union could use its veto.

In 1950, the Korean War became apparent after the invasion of the south by the communist north. Appointed as the command of United Nations forces, MacArthur carried out a brilliant plan by attacking the port of Inchon behind North Korean enemy lines, as well as driving the communists back north. Shortly after this victory, there appeared to be some differences between President Truman and MacArthur over how the war was to be fought. In his opinion, MacArthur believed it was worth engaging China, but Truman dictated that the war would be limited and China out of it. The center of attention shifted from military procedures after President Truman unexpectedly relieved General MacArthur of all his command in the military. Truman arrived at this decision after much consultation with his chief military and civilian advisers. Later charges of foreign pressure and inconsiderate treatment as well as broad hints of political setup followed MacArthur’s dismissal.

Even though the United States had witnessed the French defeat and withdrawal, it became involved in South-East Asia. These may be attributed to the fact that most western powers, including the United States, were afraid of communism. Furthermore, United States believed that non-Western people not ready to govern themselves and undoubtedly not to be trusted with geographic regions and important resources. The US felt that it was important to maintain militarily and economically strategic locations under Western influence.

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The league for the Independence of Vietnam also referred to as Viet Minh was a national independence coalition formed in 1941.The initial purpose of Viet Minh was to seek and claim Vietnam’s independence from the French realm. During the Japanese invasion, the Viet Minh with support from both the Republic of China and United States opposed the attack. Later, following the World War II, the Viet Minh prevented France from re-occupying Vietnam as well as opposing the United States during the war in Vietnam.

The 1954 Geneva Accords was a result of a conference in Geneva. The primary focus of the conference was based on trying to resolve the war between Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) forces led by the nationalist-communist Ho Chi Minh and French forces. According to the Geneva Accords, there were to be different cease-fire arrangements for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia as well as a secret final declaration. The most noteworthy provisions temporarily separated Vietnam at the seventeenth parallel, forming a southern region subject to the French Union and a northern zone under the authority of the DRV. The accords requested all military forces to pull out to their individual zones in three hundred days. Furthermore, neither side was to enter into military agreements, institute overseas military bases, or increase its army and artillery.

The United States and the Diem led government decided that elections authorized by the Geneva Conference (1954) should not take place, arguing that the communists from the north were not in a position to carry out a fair election. Besides, several present-day observers, including U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, projected that if an election were carried out as planned, over 80% of the Vietnamese people would elect Ho Chi Minh. The governing political basis for supporting the South Vietnamese government was America's repression policy, which was intended to hold back the increase of communism all through the Cold War.

According to the Domino theory, when one country gives in to a foreign influence, consecutively one by one, the countries next to the one that have fallen gives in to foreign policy until all the countries in the region have fallen. The illustration above provides a classic example of Domino theory. The technique was extensively used by used Soviet Union to get all the countries in Europe to be communist. During President Diem’s reign, Buddhists were banned from showing Buddhist flags in Vesak celebrations honoring the birth of Gautama Buddha. Such an action stirred up public protest and several people of South Vietnam turned against President Diem, who was a converted Roman catholic.

The National Liberation Front also known as Vietcong was a political group and army in Cambodia and South Vietnam that opposed the joint South Vietnamese United States governments during the Vietnam War. The organization had both regular army guerrilla units as well as a system of cadres who ordered peasants in the territory it controlled. President Johnson was a man did not become presidential but became president. He preserved a manner that was abrasive and vulgar. In a television broadcast, Johnson declared a bombing pause in Vietnam and then stated that he would not ask for, or agree to, his party's appointment that year. Even though his unexpected announcement caught many unaware, Johnson instead chose to foist the selection of his then Vice-President.

According to political analysts, an election promise is a pledge made to the public by a politician in a bid to win an election. Election promises have long been a fundamental element of elections in the past as well as today. The most notable aspect about election promises they hardly fulfilled once a politician assumes office. During the 1968 presidential campaigns, Richard Nixon promised to end the war in Vietnam, a promised that fulfilled several years later during his second term as president. In early 1967, President Johnson was coming under increased criticism for deploying American men to fight and die in Vietnam. To his defense, Johnson pointed out that the U.S. had repeatedly offered to negotiate with the North Vietnamese, but all efforts had backfired. So in anticipation of peace talks, Johnson alleged that the U.S. had no option but to prolong a military presence in South Vietnam to avoid a communist invasion of the whole nation. Throughout President Johnson’s term more and more troops were sent to Vietnam in a more controversial and costly war, until 1968 when he declared that he would not vie for a subsequent term.

In his memoirs, General Giap established what a good number of Americans knew that the Vietnam War was not lost in Vietnam but rather the war was lost at home. Certainly, the United States lost the war. They were not able to oust communism, which was their plan as offered to the public. Withdrawal is a slack term for acknowledging defeat. The Viet congs were immeasurably better in their tactics as well numbers. There is no refuting it, that the Americans lost war in Vietnam. After Richard Nixon became United States president, he established his policy known as Vietnamization. The plan was to persuade the South Vietnamese to take more liability for fighting the war. The principle behind the policy was to enable a smooth and gradual withdrawal of U S solders from Vietnam.

Rather than taking other measures, President Kennedy ordered a quarantine/blockade of Cuba. The blockade (quarantine) all through the missile crisis was because Cuba was viewed as a pawn of the USSR, and they positioned rocket-powered nuclear warheads on Cuban soil intended for the USA. The quarantine was a conciliation measure by the Kennedy administration between attacking Cuba thereby offsetting a possible nuclear exchange with the USSR owing to treaties and doing nothing thus appeasing the USSR. The Blockade prohibited additional buildup of offensive arms meant for the USA in the western hemisphere. This provided time for both the USSR and the USA to settle down the difference and to provide the USSR time to dismantle the prepared missiles.

The Chinese Civil War which happened between 1927 and 1950 is a civil war fought involving the governing Communist Party of China and the Chinese Nationalist Party for the control of China. The war finally led to the division of China into two, Taiwan also known as the Republic of China and People's Republic of China. The war started in April 1927, amidst the Northern Expedition, and basically ended when the key lively battles ceased in 1949-1950. Nevertheless, there is the question on whether the war has legitimately ended. The disagreement goes on in the form of military intimidation as well as economic and political pressure, mainly over the political position of Taiwan.