Just War – Was the Vietnam War justifiable?
The Vietnam War occurred between the years of 1959-75, involving the Viet Cong against the Republic of Vietnam and the USA. It is arguable that the war was a civil war that the United States of America simply impeded on. Whether or not the involvement of the USA was justifiable comes is questionable.
Casualties:
United States: 58,119 killed, 153,303 wounded, 1,948 missing in action
South Vietnam 230,000 killed and 1,169,763 wounded (estimated)
North Vietnam 1,100,000 killed in action (estimated) and an unknown number of wounded1
Argument for:
The main argument that the war was justifiable comes from the idea that the communist ideology held by the North would spread - by the `domino effect` - to South Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and other such countries. The USA intervened to protect the South, and the surrounding countries from being taken over, as if the spread of communism increased, it would begin to create a sort of `super-communist-power` that would have to be dealt with at some point, and it was best to make the change early.
Arguments against:
The arguments against are stronger both in terms of numbers, and the meaning behind each argument, than those that argue for the Vietnam War. By numbers alone it is evident to see that a huge amount of human life was lost in the war. By the above figures, around two and a half million people were affected, in that they were either wounded or killed; and in fact the civilian figures