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American Imperialism Case Study: the Vietnam War

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American Imperialism Case Study: the Vietnam War Faculty of Letters, Languages and Arts Department of Anglo Saxons Languages Doctoral School of English, EDALPSCBS 2011-2012 Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Magister in American Civilisation American Imperialism Case Study: The Vietnam War Candidate: Supervisor: NEBEG Raouf PR. YACINE Rachida Board of Examiners Soutenue le 22 Juin 2014 Chairman: ….Dr BENHATTAB Abdelkader Lotfi................................... (University of Oran) Supervisor: …Pr. YACINE Rachida……...…………….. ........................ (University of Oran) Examiner: ......Dr DJAILEB Farida.................. (University of USTO Mohamed Boudiaf-Oran) ACADEMIC YEAR 2013-2014 Dedication Dedications I pleasurably dedicate my dissertation to my dearest parents, my wife, all my brothers and sisters and of course my son Rayane. II Aknowledgements Acknowledgements I am deeply grateful to my supervisor, Pr. YACINE Rachida, who gave me assistance in many ways. I would like to thank her for the academic guidance, the constructive criticism, the encouragement, and mostly for the moral support she provided me with when things went at worst. Prof. YACINE is a rare pearl if we may call her, after 10 years she gave me a chance to return back to the university she gave me a glimpse of hope. There is quite a lot to say, but my words fail to express all my gratitude. Thank you Prof. YACINE Rachida for making this thesis comes into being. Thank you for saving me from dropping out, as the Oil and Gas industry took a better part of my life. Besides my supervisor, my sincere thanks are due to all the teacher of our first year in the Doctoral School. It is with great honours to have Dr Mrs Zitouni Mimouna, Dr Moulfi Léila, Dr Benhattab Lotfi and Dr Djaileb Farida your teachers. III Abstract Abstract Since its creation the U.S.A went to wars all the time as a part of its foreign policy. This dissertation will deal with the American Imperialism and the Vietnam War. It is composed of three chapters. The first chapter will deal with the background of the U.S. Imperialist policy, definition of imperialism, American attitudes towards imperialism, their overseas policy and examples of some imperialist cases such as Grenada, Panama and the Vietnam. The second chapter will focus on the Vietnam War, the causes, and the attitudes of the political powers at that time. The American War and the use of unconventional weapons internationally banned such as Napalm and Agent Orange. We will focus, as well, on the reactions of war in Vietnam through ambushes and general attacks such as the Tet Offensive; and reactions in the U.S through student movements and media. At last we will discuss the Vietnamisation and the U.S withdrawal from Vietnam. The third and last chapter will be devoted to the implications of the Vietnam War on the U.S. economy, domestic politics, society, and also its impact on the world. And how The Vietnam War served to undercut much of the logic and rationale. It was used to justify American support of authoritarian regimes. Dictatorships created political polarisation, blocked any effective means for reforms, destroyed the centre, and created a backlash of anti-American sentiment that opened the door to radical nationalist movements that brought to power the exact type of governments the United States most opposed, and originally sought to prevent. From Cuba to Iran to Nicaragua, and most tragically in Vietnam, the limits of this policy were discovered. V Contents CONTENTS Page Dedications _____________________________________________________________ II Aknowledgements_______________________________________________________ III Abstract ________________________________________________________________ V Contents _______________________________________________________________ IV General Introduction______________________________________________________ 1 I. Chapter One: Background of the US imperialist policy I.1. The background of the US Imperialism: Political and economic reasons______ 4 I.2. American attitudes towards imperialism________________________________12 I.3. The US overseas policy_____________________________________________18 I.4. Imperialistic situations: 1.4.1. The case of Grenada_______________________24 1.4.2. The case of Panama________________________26 1.4.3. The case of Vietnam_______________________28 II. Chapter Two: The Vietnam War (1945-1975) II.1. Causes of the Vietnam War_________________________________________31 II.2. The American War on Vietnam______________________________________39 II.3. Reactions within Vietnam and in the US_______________________________46 II.4. Vietnamisation and U.S. Withdrawal__________________________________54 III. Chapter Three: The impact of the Vietnam War on the USA and the world. III.1. Impact on the US Economy____________ ____________________________59 III.2. Impact on the US Politics__________________________________________66 III.3. Impact on the US Society__________________________________________74 III.4. Impact On the world______________________________________________79 Conclusion_______________________________________________________________ 85 Appendix ________________________________________________________________ 87 List of Abbreviations, Tables, Figures and Maps_______________________________ 89 Bibliography_____________________________________________________________102 IV Introduction Introduction Imperialism is a policy of extending control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires, either through direct territorial conquest or through indirect methods of exerting control on the politics and/or economy of other countries. The term is often used to describe the policy of a country in maintaining colonies and dominance over distant lands, regardless of whether the country calls itself an empire. Insofar as 'imperialism' might be used to refer to an intellectual position, it would imply the belief that the acquisition and maintenance of empires is a positive good, probably combined with an assumption of cultural or other such superiority inherent to imperial power. Imperialism draws heavy criticism on the grounds that it is a form of economic exploitation in which the imperialist power makes use of other countries as sources of raw materials and cheap labour, shaping their economies to suit its own interests and keeping their people in poverty. When imperialism is accompanied by overt military conquest, it is also seen as a violation of freedom and Human Rights. In recent years, there has also been a trend to criticize imperialism not at an economic or political level, but at a simply cultural level, particularly the widespread global influence of American culture. Some dispute this extension, however, on the grounds that it is highly subjective (to differentiate between mutual interaction and undue influence) and also applied selectively (for example, hamburgers being imperialist and black tea not). Our goal is to focus on the American imperialism in Asia and particularly in Vietnam. We will also analyse how this war has changed the Americans views towards their government, how they started to think that their country is killing on their behalf. What attracted me to this subject is the overall idea of how the U.S as the super power is built, how they protect democracies in the world for their interest. How The U.S is ruling the world through its strong foreign policy based on interest? U.S imperialism is guilty of aggression- its crimes are enormous and cover the whole world. But this guilt also applies to those who, when the time came for a definition, hesitated to make Vietnam an inviolable part 1 Introduction of the socialist world; running the risks of a war on a global scale-but also forcing a decision upon imperialism. And the guilt also applies to those who maintain a war of abuse and snares -started quite some time ago by the representatives of the two greatest powers of the socialist camp. The fundamental field of imperialist exploitation comprises the three underdeveloped continents: America, Asia, and Africa. Every country has also its own characteristics, but each continent, as a whole, also presents a certain unity. From an economic point of view, the United States had very little to lose and much to gain from Asia, for instance, these changes benefited its interests; the struggle for the overthrow of other neo-colonial powers and the penetration of new spheres of action in the economic field is carried out sometimes directly, occasionally through Japan. Our aim is to discover the atrocities of the US, against the whole world. The U.S. happens to be the only state in the world that has been condemned by the World Court for international terrorism. Moreover, it was condemned by the Security Council, except that it vetoed the resolution. For example, Chomsky points out that ” During the U.S terrorist war against Nicaragua, the court ordered the United States to desist and pay reparations. The U.S responded by immediately escalating the crimes, including first official orders to attack what are called soft targets -- undefended civilian targets.’’1 This thesis elaborates these atrocities, and how the U.S foreign policy is formulated? What is the background of the U.S Imperialism? The American attitudes towards imperialism. Also, How the entire world and international institutions react to the American policies? Why is the U.S considered as the policeman of the world? Why the U.S invaded countries in the name of
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