There is no way of proving a might-have-been. Independence for Vietnam in 1945 might still have led to local conflict within Southeast Asia, but it would have prevented the wounds that the United States inflicted on itself by going to war in Vietnam. And 1945 was indeed the moment. After that it was too late.
What would have happened if the United States didn't fight in the Vietnam War? If the U.S. had stayed out of the war in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh and the North Vietnamese Army would have marched through Saigon some time between 1965 and 1968. Their southern opposition, the Diems, would have long since fled to Europe.
The US army had superior conventional weapons but they were ineffective against a country that was not industrialized and an army which employed guerrilla tactics and used the dense jungle as cover.
Not only had the USA failed to stop Vietnam falling to communism, but their actions in the neighbouring countries of Laos and Cambodia had helped to bring communist governments to power there too. Many US politicians were mounting pressure to commit to peace. The policy of containment had failed in the propaganda war.
In Eisenhower's view, the loss of Vietnam to communist control would lead to similar communist victories in neighboring countries in Southeast Asia (including Laos, Cambodia and Thailand) and elsewhere (India, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and even Australia and New Zealand).
During the Cold War, the U.S. Government feared that communism would spread and threaten democracy around the world. In Vietnam, the United States committed to battling communism financially at first, by supporting South Vietnam – who fought for Vietnam to be aligned with western allies like the United States.
The Selective Service System during the Vietnam war was highly controversial, especially because early in the war draftees came disproportionately from poor, working-class, rural, and minority populations.
Those men were offered amnesty by President Gerald Ford in 1974 and pardoned by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Failing to register for the draft or join the military as directed is a felony punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 or a prison term of up to five years, or a combination of both.
Several modern armies operate nuclear weapons with ranges in the thousands of kilometers. The US is therefore vulnerable to nuclear attack by powers such as the United Kingdom, Russia, China, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel (allegedly).
Firstly most of the war was fought as a guerrilla war. This is a type of war which conventional forces such as the US army in Vietnam, find notoriously difficult to fight. Conventional forces are easy to identify, guerrillas are not. In Vietnam the Vietcong were peasants by day and guerrillas by night.
The Vietnam War was not simply the wrong war; it was also fought in the wrong way. Military force should only be used decisively, not gradually. Civilian officials should set basic policy but allow the professional military to run wars without micromanagement.
Vietnam is now considered to be a potential ally of the United States, especially in the geopolitical context of the territorial disputes in the South China Sea and in the containment of Chinese expansionism.
America never lost any major battles in Vietnam, yet the North Vietnamese lost many, including the 1968 Tet Offensive. America never lost or gave up ground, yet many NVA/VC strongholds were decimated. America lost approximately 59,000 dead during the Vietnam War, yet the NVA/VC lost 924,048.
The US justified its military intervention in Vietnam by the domino theory, which stated that if one country fell under the influence of Communism, the surrounding countries would inevitably follow. The aim was to prevent Communist domination of South-East Asia.
On a basic level, the new law makes it very difficult for Russians — mostly men but also women with specialized skills — to avoid being drafted or conscripted. Until now, military recruitment officers have had to go in person to deliver a paper summons to a draftee's home or workplace.
Today, all conscientious objectors are required to register with the Selective Service System. A conscientious objector is one who is opposed to serving in the armed forces and/or bearing arms on the grounds of moral or religious principles.
According to the U.S. Air Force Medical Standards Directory, Autism Spectrum Disorder is not disqualifying for continued military service unless it is currently--or has a history of--compromising military duty or training.
Around 15 million were granted deferments, mostly for education and some for mental or physical problems. There were more than 300,000 draft evaders in total, of which 209,517 men illegally resisted the draft while some 100,000 deserted. Among them, around 30,000 emigrated to Canada during 1966-72.
Before the lottery was implemented in the latter part of the Vietnam conflict, there was no system in place to determine order of call besides the fact that men between the ages of 18 and 26 were vulnerable to being drafted.
June 20, 1967: Muhammad Ali Convicted for Refusing the Vietnam Draft. In an era defined by endless war, we should recognize a day in history that won't be celebrated on Capitol Hill or in the White House. On June 20, 1967, the great Muhammad Ali was convicted in Houston for refusing induction in the U.S. armed forces.
South Korean units were as tough and professional as any in the United States Army or Marines, and came to be justly feared by the communists. More than 300,000 Korean troops passed through Vietnam at some point, and more than 5,000 were killed.
The USA was afraid that communism would spread to South Vietnam and then the rest of Asia. It decided to send money, supplies and military advisers to help the South Vietnamese Government.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the United States was wary of getting involved anywhere else in the world out of fear of another Vietnam. Since then, the public's aversion to casualties inspired strict guidelines for the commitment of forces abroad and a heavy reliance on air power to project American military power.