Why are we still at war?
As you all know the new President Richard Nixon has PROMISED that he will work to end the War in Vietnam. As he stated just last year in his inaugural address “For the first time, because the people of the world want peace, and the leaders of the world are afraid of war, the times are on the side of peace.”. He promised us peace, but still we are at war.
What is the Vietnam War: The Story They Want You to Hear
Nothing can be more romantic and than an exotic trip to South Eastern Asia, and no area need American troops more than Vietnam. 
The war that the government wants you to think is going on oversees is one for freedom, for peace and for democracy.
They want us to protect what it is to be an American. To fight for the peace and freedom that every man woman and child deserves.
This however is not the reality of the war. We did not enter to secure peace and freedom. Much of our actions in Vietnam have been unwarranted, unnecessary and unconstitutional.
What is the Vietnam War: The Reality:
What to know what is really going on in Vietnam? See our page on “Stories from the Fount-lines: Vietnam”.
In 1964 Senator Wayne Morse spoke out against the actions of the American government in regards to the current war in Vietnam. He was one of the only TWO US senators who spoke out against the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Since his initial criticism of that resolution Morse has been one of the Anti-War’s best ally in Washington. According to Morse, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution is unconstitutional.
See Video of Morse HERE
Why do we continue to out step out boundaries as an international nation, and our own mores and codes of justice to fight in a war which seems to have no end?
Is there an end?
A Vietnam War Timeline:
1945 – Japanese assume direct rule in Indochina and recognize the independence of Cambodia. Following the end of hostilities, British and U.S. military forces assist the French attempt to reestablish colonial rule in Indochina. The Vietminh resists thus begining the First Indochina War.
1949 – Mao Zedong consolidates power in China for Communists.
1950 – The Korean War indicates a big threat in Asia. The United States begins to cover 75% of French military expenses of the war in Indochina, in addition China begins to provide North Vietnam with modern military weapons.
1953 – Ho Chi Minh introduces a land reform program that classifies the population into five categories, and collectivization begins in North Vietnam.
1954 – French are defeated at Dien Bien Phu after the United States refuses to send air support. The Geneva accords are signed by French and Vietminh, establishing the International Control Commission, deciding that the 17th parallel will be the temporary dividing line between the two, and creating plans for a free election in Vietnam no later than July 1956. Ngo Dinh Diem gains power in South Vietnam. United States sends technical and financial aid in expectation of social and land reform. SEATO formed by Pakistan, Thailand, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, France, United Kingdom, and United States. South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia join later. The nations agree to consult regarding military affairs; the commitment is not as strict or as binding as that required by NATO.
1955 – The height of the land reform program in North Vietnam. Under Ho Chi Minh’s rule, between 10,000 and 100,000 individuals were murdered as a direct result of the class warfare that the Vietminh leadership waged. Mass terror unfolded throughout North Vietnam as dissidents and “class enemies” were rounded up and executed.
1956 – In North Vietnam, nearly 6,000 villagers in Ho Chi Minh’s hometown of Nghe-An are deported or executed for rebelling against the brutal repression of the North Vietnamese government. In the Nhan Van, Giai Pham affair, intellectuals were punished either by imprisonment, execution, or exile for publishing criticism of the North Vietnamse government. Meanwhile, no elections in South Vietnam or North Vietnam take place. Diem outlaws his opposition, and election of village chiefs.
1960 – Political opposition in South Vietnam goes underground. Sporadic terrorism occurs; NLF ask for, and obtain, help from North Vietnam. NLF conduct a campaign to assassinate village chiefs appointed by Diem.
1961 – John F. Kennedy sends 1,364 American advisors to South Vietnam. Still no land reform. An operation of U.S. military pilots and planes were ordered to bomb targets in South Vietnam. The operation is cancelled moments before takeoff.
1962 – The number of U.S. advisers increases to 9865. U.S. pilots are clandestinely bombing North Vietnam in an attempt to destabilize the Ho Chi Minh government. “The U.S. did not want to harm relations with Diem, and he was the last political stronghold in Vietnam facing the communists. This ‘fact’ is debatable…”
1963 – 15,500 Americans in Vietnam. Diem is losing his grip on the Buddhist revolutionaries. Kennedy agrees with South Vietnamese generals to remove Diem. With the CIA’s conveying Kennedy’s approval, Diem is assassinated in a military coup and succeeded by a series of military commanders. John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas. He had reconsidered the Vietnam strategy —hundreds of soldiers were on route to the US at the time of his assassination.
1964 – Situation in South Vietnam deteriorates rapidly. In August, Gulf of Tonkin Incident occurs. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed by the United States Congress gives Lyndon B. Johnson a free hand to protect American forces in Vietnam, the pretext for deepening the U.S. military commitment. Publicly, Johnson had taken a mild position during his election campaign regarding the Vietnam issue, but privately agrees to proceed with the escalated Vietnam policy, now seemingly an entrenched policy.
1965 – In February, the United States begins to bomb North Vietnam on a steady basis after the Pleiku attacks. In March, Marines land at Da Nang to begin full scale U.S. military action. In May, a 6-day bombing pause occurs. In August, 125,000 American troops are in Vietnam. In December, American bombing pauses again, with no apparent reaction from the Vietnamese.
1966 – 400,000 American troops are now in Vietnam. In September, South Vietnam elects Thieu and Ky under their new constitution. One of Thieu’s first acts after being put in power is to arrest the leader of his opposition.
1967 – 500,000 American troops in Vietnam. U.S. conducts demonstration election and claims Saigon government is legitimate based on voter turnout.
1968 – Tet offensive occurs. The U.S. embassy is occupied for a short while. On March 12, the state of New Hampshire gives strong support to Eugene McCarthy, running on a campaign to end the war. On March 16, 1968, U.S. Army troops murder 347 civilians in My Lai. News of the massacre does not reach the U.S. public until November, 1969. On March 31, Lyndon Johnson calls for a partial bombing halt, and announces “I will not seek or accept my party’s nomination for President of the United States.” In April, the United States and North Vietnam begin talks in Paris. In October, Johnson halts all bombing north of the 17th parallel. Four-way talks begin.