Was the Domino Theory Wrong. Communist Internationalism and the Vietnam War

摘要

In the spring of 1995, former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara said he nowbelieves that the domino theory was wrong. The domino theory was the basis for the United States' national strategy of containment and the reason for entering the Vietnam War. This study will examine issues that support the concern for the domino theory and the need for the containment strategy. Topics that are developed include the situation of Southeast Asia, communist ideology, capability and investment, and the views of the leadership of North Vietnam. This analysis of the domino theory and the containment strategy includes an explanation on why the domino theory, although initially true, lost credibility in the 1970s.