Jerry Rose, who was an expert on Vietnam, accepted the containment policy after Diem’s removal and supported the overriding necessity for stopping the spread of communism in Vietnam. He says:To sum up: one solution now for the U.S. appears to be a show of power in South Vietnam which would pave the way toward a compromising settlement. But is the risk of a power-play warranted? Southeast Asia has been likened to “a set of dominos.” If South Vietnam falls; the rest of the blocks go, too. It would seem, therefore, that it is in the high interest of the U.S., as a leader and a system of government, to risk much in stabilizing that tottering block (Scheer 76-77).After Diem’s government was ousted, President Johnson had to decide afresh the new ways in which the U.S. could help Vietnam. The United States continued the policy of supplying, training, and advising the Army of the Republic of Vietnam on an increasing scale (Trager 179). On August 2 and 4, North Vietnamese boats attacked the warships U.S.S. Maddox and U.S.S. C. Turner Joy in international waters in the Gulf of Tonkin. Johnson ordered an immediate reply, and on August 4, United States aircraft began bombing Vietnam. This operation became known as Rolling Thunder (Trager 180).North Vietnam had deliberately made war on the South, though it had bound itself to refrain from war. The United States had become an ally of the South at the time when no further war between the two states had been expected (Trager 182). Eventually, after this unprovoked war had begun, the United States recognized its obligation to its ally and slowly, and with many misgivings, assumed a responsible role in this alliance, a role which was defined, until as late as February, 1965, as one of assistance and advice only (Trager 183). This is when the United States finally entered combat troops into the Vietnam conflict.On April 7, 1965 President Johnson explained the United Sta...
