Vietnam's 'forgive and forget policy': root causes

摘要

Few conflicts in history bear resemblance to the United States' prolonged war with Vietnam, spanning over 15 years and resulting in billions of dollars and millions of lives lost on both sides. From the very beginnings of the United States' involvement in the South Vietnamese struggle to fight off the influence of North Vietnam, it proved to be a unique situation in America's history. Never militarily threatened by North Vietnam, the United States was drawn into an expensive and elongated war with a nation thousands of miles away due to an extreme fear of Communism and its potential to spread to countries around the world.