I Need A History Lesson On Viet Nam....

[global1]

what did happen in VN after the U.S. pulled out? How long did it go on? When did it stop? Why did it stop? How long after it stopped did VN become a vacation destination?

[Botany]

1. Short Lesson

we pulled out in 1973 but kept up not so secret air support in S.E. Asia for
awhile

in 1975 the Communists took over S. Vietnam .... the troops of ARVN
(South Vietnam) on the most part ran from the communists .... some did
fight bravely .... thousand of Vietnamese fled the country ..... Former
Vice President Nguyen Cao Ky opened a liquor store in L.A. California

From 1975 - 1983 many former members of the anti communist forces
that stayed in S. Vietnam were killed and or sent to re-education camps.

in 1978 Vietnam invaded to Cambodia (Kampuchea) to oust Pol Pot and
the Khmer Rouge

In winter 1979 China who was friend of the Khmer Rouge invaded Northern
Vietnam and got bogged down into a bloody struggle

Vietnam began reaching out to the western world in the 1980s

When asked about the fact the Dominos were fighting each other and not
joining up as one big red force Henery Kissinger would often piss his pants
and foam @ the mouth. (my fun fact see "Domino Theory")

[JHB]

2. Off the top of my head: I know in the 70's...

..."Vietnamization" worked about as well as Iraqi "standing up", so in '75 the NVA took Saigon (and the Great Helicopter Escape from the US Embassy). Obviously they consolidated their rule over the rest of the South.

Two other important events in the 70's: Attacking Cambodia to overthrow the Khemer Rouge and their killing fields, and finally holding off an invasion by P. R. China, which lasted into the early 80s.

Not really up to speed beyond that, but those may give you a jumping off point.

[frogcycle]

3. one other point often misstated

the pullout covered a couple of years, with the last troops withdrawn in 1973, but, as stated above, air support (bombing) continued. When Congress voted to de-fund the war, the troops had already all been withdrawn. It was just the bombing that they stopped.

That is the huge difference w/respect to the question of de-funding now, with 160,000 troops plus thousands more civilians in theatre.

[Bitwit1234]

4. One thing for sure

After we pulled out of Viet Nam our military was no longer slaughtered there.

[txaslftist]

5. Vietnam is a myth.

It never actually happened.

I know this, because if it had happened, no nation on Earth would have had the stupidity to repeat it, step by step, in another country. Especially within the life of the same generation.

So it must not have happened, or we'd have learned from it.

[David__77]

6. Well... (kind of long)

...after US troops were removed, the NLF ("Viet Cong") made rapid advances militarily in taking over large areas in the south. (The NLF was a guerrilla organization based in South Vietnam dedicated to the reunification of the south and north into one country under the leadership of a unified communist party.) The NLF had more support then the pro-US South Vietnam government, particularly in the countryside, and this facilitated their victories. The US continued its massive air bombardment of the country.

Three years after the US troops were largely withdrawn, the South Vietnam government totally collapsed, and the country was reunified. Many higher level officials and officers of the old South Vietnam government were imprisoned for several years in "reeducation camps," while others fled the country. Vietnam invaded and occupied Kampuchea in 1979, itself becoming an aggressor nation after suffering so much from aggression in the past. It continued to occupy the country until the end of the 1980's, destroying Vietnam's relations with China and other neighboring countries not in the Soviet orbit.

In the late 80's, Vietnam's communist leaders implemented "doi moi," a "socialist reform" program partially inspired by Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika plan. This involved loosening state controls on the economy, first and foremost. At the same time, the withdrawal from Kampuchea (by this time called Cambodia again) helped to ease Vietnam's relations with China and also Western countries like the US. "Doi moi" and the withdrawal laid the basis for the restoration of diplomatic relations with the US under Clinton.

It can be said that Vietnam was "normalized" during the mid-90s. Since that time, the economy has been growing rapidly, and the country is largely politically stable. Tourism has increased under these conditions.

[global1]

7. So Essentially It Took About 20 Years For Things To Normalize And.....

settle down. Looks like the country went through some rough times in the process but basically worked it out on their own.

When you think about * bringing this up today in his speech - one wonders what he was trying to get across. Sounds to me that if he wanted to avoid recreating the errors made in Viet Nam - he would have never even thought of invading Iraq. If he would have looked back at what happened in Viet Nam before he had us invade Iraq - he wouldn't have had to make the speech he made today.

[David__77]

8. The US set back Vietnam by 20 years or more.

It only delayed the inevitable, and destroyed a country in the process. Today, some of the same type of events are unfolding.