New Perspectives on the Vietnam War Our Allies' Views

by Schoenl, William; Blackburn, Robert; McMahon, Robert J.; Page, Carolyn; Edwards, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780761823827
• ISBN10: 0761823824
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-07-31
• Publisher: UPA

Summary

In New Perspectives of the Vietnam War, editor William Schoenl has focused on the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) allies of the United States to get beyond the ethnocentrism of "US views" and the amorphousness of "international perspectives." With the exception of South Korea, only SEATO allies- Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand- sent troops to support the US in the Vietnam War. Great Britain, a SEATO ally, adopted a middle-ground position that supported the US diplomatically but refused to send troops. France and Pakistan, the remaining SEATO allies, opposed the War. Edited in a way to present a continuous story of the Vietnam War, from the escalation of the Johnson years to the gradual withdrawal of the Nixon-Ford years, Schoenl provides a provocative work, based on multiple perspectives, to get people thinking about the war.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Acknowledgments	xi
Part One: The Johnson Years: Escalation	1	(68)
Asian Allies	3	(38)
South Korean, Filipino, and Thai Troops
Robert Blackburn
Background	3	(4)
The Republic of Korea Commitment	7	(5)
The Philippines Contingent	12	(6)
The Thai Troop Commitment	18	(11)
Pakistani Opposition
Robert McMahon
Reaping the Whirlwind	29	(6)
Crisis over Kashmir, 1965	35	(4)
Discussion Questions: Asian Allies	39	(2)
European SEATO Allies: British Diplomatic Support, French Opposition	41	(28)
Carolyn Page
European Perspectives	41	(1)
The United Kingdom, 1965-1966	42	(2)
France, 1965-1966	44	(3)
European Media to 1967	47	(8)
The Tet Offensive, 1968: Media Coverage	55	(3)
United Kingdom Government Reaction	58	(5)
French Government Reaction	63	(4)
Discussion Questions: European SEATO Allies	67	(2)
Part Two: The Nixon-Ford Years: Gradual Withdrawal	69	(44)
SEATO Allies ``Down Under'': Australian Gradual Withdrawal	71	(30)
Peter Edwards
Vietnam and Southeast Asia in 1968-69: A Lost Opportunity	71	(7)
The Guam Doctrine and Pressure for Withdrawal of Troops	78	(2)
My Lai, Cambodia, and Kent State, 1969-70	80	(3)
Withdrawal from Vietnam, 1971-72	83	(6)
The ``Christmas Bombing'' of Hanoi, December 1972	89	(4)
The ``Peace Agreement,'' 1973-74	93	(2)
Saigon's Fall, 1975	95	(3)
Conclusions	98	(2)
Discussion Questions: SEATO Allies ``Down Under''	100	(1)
Epilogue: The 20th and 25th Anniversaries of the Fall of Saigon	101	(12)
The Bangkok Post, 1995, 2000
Southeast Asia Joins Hands in the Aftermath of a War	101	(1)
Quest to Rebuild Mutual Trust	102	(4)
Report	106	(2)
Saigon: After the Fall	108	(3)
Discussion Questions: Epilogue	111	(2)
Suggestion for Undergraduate Research	113	(2)
Notes: Works Excerpted	115	(2)
Index	117