Vietnam Interview

How did it feel hiding in your village?
It was scary.  My mother told us to stay inside all the time because she said outside was not safe.  I didn't like it.  I didn't know where my father was most of the time.  I was always nervous and afraid.  The noises were unlike anything I had ever heard before.

Do you know where your father is now?
In heaven.

Do you remember how he died?
No, but I can remember when.

When did he die?
He died when there was an attack on my village.  Outside of my house it sounded like a nightmare, and the last thing I heard from him was my mother's name.

How did your mother handle your father's death?
She was very depressed, but she knew that because he was gone we weren't as protected, so we left our village and moved to where our family was.

JFK Twitter

ElPresidenteK

Castro is now in power after the Revolution...interesting...

1/1/59 9:24AM

ElPresidenteK

Even better - Cuba and the Soviet Union are now openly allies with the same policies...not the best news to wake up to.

12/20/60 8:34AM

ElPresidenteK
To intervene or not intervene, that is the question.  I think I'll go with the first option.
8/11/62 3:54PM

ElPresidenteK

It's now confirmed from photos taken with our U-2 planes: Cuba now has missile sites.
10/15/62 4:55PM

ElPresidenteK

A second U-2 flight has predicted what I wish would never have to be the case - Cuba has nuclear missiles aimed at us.

10/18/62 11:02AM

ElPresidenteK
Back on the campaign trail, but with so much more than the campaign on my mind.
10/19/62 6:45AM


ElPresidenteK
Cuba is still rapidly building up their so-called "defenses."  This is starting to get very ugly, very quickly.  I need to take care of some business before I can campaign again.
10/21/62 9:30PM


ElPresidenteK
It pained me to address the nation with news of the offensive missiles in Cuba, but this situation is too important to keep quiet.
10/22/62 8:30PM


ElPresidenteK
The United States military's will advance towards Cuba today; now it's up to you Krushchev.
10/23/62 5:30AM


ElPresidenteK
Krushchev's ultimatum is very tempting...but is it the best thing for the nation?
10/26/62 10:45AM


ElPresidenteK
Just made the deal.  We'll stay out of Cuba, if the Soviets remove their missiles from Cuba.  That works...for now.

10/28/62 4:52PM

Songs: from Vietnam to Today

"Where is the Love"

-Black Eyed Peas

"Overseas, yeah, we trying to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here living
In the USA the big CIA
The Bloods and the Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate you're bound to get irate, yeah
Madness is what you demonstrate
And that's exactly how anger works and operates
Man You gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate 
Let your soul gravitate to the love y'all
People killing people dying
Children hurtin’ an’ ya hear them crying 
Can you practice what you preach?
And would you turn the other cheek?
Father, Father, Father help us 
Send some guidance from above 
Cause people got me, got me questioning 

Where is the love?"

This song was written in 2003, when Americans faced many hardships as a nation.  The most prominent of course, being the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  This song not only promotes anti-terrorism, it is also an anthem against the War on Terror and Invasion of Iraq, terrorism, government hypocrisy, racism, gang violence, war, intolerance, and greed.  This song highlights the problems we have here in the USA and globally.

"Where is the Love" is very similar to the songs we listened to in class regarding the Vietnam War.  Back in the Vietnam War era, some songs were anthems for the war, and some were anthems for peace.  Artists with either perspective produced songs that were known and followed by many supporters, and are still well known today.  "Where is the Love" is a similar form of song--popular and listened to by many.  It highlights conflicts the American nation faces and takes a stand on those issues, providing an anthem for those who share the same beliefs.

Topic 12 Study Guide!

Truman Doctrine:

-USA gave money to any country under a communist threat, the help stop its spread

Containment Policy:

- Containment toward the Soviet Union's communism

-We thought that if the Soviet Union stopped expanding, so would their policies and social system

-Marshall Plan - financial aid to European countries after WWII damage

-NATO - proposed "collective security" where a  'if you mess with me, you mess with my family' mindset was in place

U.S. Foreign Policy (Korea & Vietnam)

- Korea: USA afraid of communism spreading - helped out in South Korea when the communist North Korea invaded (3 year war to restore old border) - USA lost 54,000 soldiers with "LIMITED warfare"

-Vietnam: USA gets involved because of communist leader Ho Chi Minh, a friend of Stalin's, after making Vietnam independent of France in 1945 - USA gives $ to France, they fight Minh and lost in 1954, so we send in troops - resulted in Geneva Agreement (Communist North, Free South Vietnam - where we put a president in place)

Intervention

-USA got involved in foreign affairs, trying to halt the spread of communism as much as possible, "helping" countries being affected and putting new government leaders in place where necessary

Cold War Development

-1949: Soviet Union successful atomic bomb test led US gov.'t to believe there were spies in the USA (Rosenburg's)

-1960: Soviet Union gives Cuba $100 million for "sugar" - USA didn't buy it

             -Bay of Pigs Invasion - Goal = No Communism in Western Hemisphere, USA trained anti-communist Cubans in Florida and sent them back to fight, defeated in 3 days

1962: Cuban Missile Crisis: USA caught Cuba with aimed ballistic missiles (there goes that sugar investment...) with surveillance planes

-Negotiation: Kennedy and Kruschev agreed 13 minutes before USA took out Cuban missile bases - Soviet Union would remove missiles from Cuba if USA removes their missiles from Turkey

-Tension then eased: Nuclear Weapons Ban 1963 (but USA didn't stop testing nukes!)

WWII Foreign Policy vs Post WWII Foreign Policy

- Pre WWII: Isolationism

-Post WWII: Intervention

Limited War

-Not using all available resources and means to defeat an enemy (Korean War)

Examples of Containment in Europe

- Berlin Wall: separated East and West Germany, separated communism and free sides of Germany.  The USA would do a LOT to stop communism from spreading into other countries.

Main Points of Division of Germany

- East Germany: communist Soviet rule

-West Germany democracy ruled by France, Great Britain, USA

Douglas MacArthur Dismissal

- MacArthur failed to comply with all of Truman's orders, and went too far in the Korean war, pushing back the border and entering Chinese territory.  Truman worried he had too much power.

Korean War Similarities with Persian Gulf War

-Assisted by USA to prevent a government from gaining power

-Started with an invasion of a country

-Featured a military end run which resulted in a quick victory and ejected the invaders

-Re-established original borders

Nuclear Test Ban

- 1963: including Soviet Union, USA, and Great Britain signed - no more testing nukes

-Most did not stop testing, especially the USA...

Long Term Effects of Vietnam

- Country divided into pro/anti war groups

-Economic costs

-Veterans coming home with psychological scarring, and coming home to an angry America

-Made USA hesitant of sending troops for extended military action abroad

Peace Corps

-Set up by President Kennedy

-Humanitarian aid for developing nations

-To educate people on how "giving and caring the USA really is"

End of Cold War

-Fall of the Berlin Wall, symbolic end of Cold War

Domino Theory

-The idea that if one country becomes communist, surrounding countries will adopt communism and it will spread like falling dominos

Nixon's Détente

-attempt to ease tension between Soviet Union and the USA