Vietnam syndrome

Vietnam syndrome is known as the feeling of defeat and helplessness suffered by American society in the 1970s and early 1980s of the 20th century after the defeat in the Vietnam War.< sup>[citation required]

The causes

In the 1960s and the first three months of 1970, the United States fought the longest (undeclared) war in its history and one of the most expensive in both lives and dollars. However, victory was not achieved:

• 58 169 dead.
• More than 300 000 wounded.
• More than 2000 disappeared.
• Thousands of disabled, amputated, paralytic and mental health problems.
• Hundreds of thousands of soldiers with extensive drug addiction and serious problems of adaptation to civilian life.
• Thousands of dollars in equipment and help of all kinds.

All this effort led to the fall of Laos in the early 1970s, the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge on April 17, and on April 30 the communists took Saigon and the United States embassy. Joined.

The feeling of defeat on all fronts was total. The Army defended itself and continued to do so later, stating that it had fought correctly; but politics always had his hands tied. However, other sources, such as the CIA itself, had warned of the impossibility of winning that conflict by force of arms.^{[citation required]}

The position in the United States changed gradually. Going from 60% in favor of the conflict to clear opposition, despite the intensification of attacks and bombings carried out by Nixon.^{[citation needed]}

At the end of the conflict the situation did not improve. The demonstration that the United States could be defeated by an underdeveloped people using guerrilla warfare had a profound impact on numerous countries such as Afghanistan, and especially the nations of Central America, which were already experiencing conflicts before. With this moral impulse the guerrillas in Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia, etc. They increased their actions, causing a more or less widespread feeling (much among politicians and the military and not so much in the rest of society) of losing the war against communism and the Domino Theory being true. ^{[quote required]}

But the Vietnam Syndrome is not only nor mostly a consequence of a possible growth of communism. It is also the loss of confidence in the values that Americans themselves believed their country defended, the well-known doctrine of manifest destiny. ^{[citation required]} Events such as the bombings of Operation Rolling Thunder, the secret bombings ordered by Nixon, the My Lai Massacre, the use of mercenaries and drug traffickers in Laos or the support given to dictators who claimed to admire Hitler (as the general stated in public when command of the South Vietnamese Air Force) represented what some have called the loss of innocence; that is, discovering that their country's actions were not more morally approvable than the rest of the countries, which they did think when they said "liberate" to the American nations of the Spanish Empire, to the Asians from their Japanese or North Korean invaders or to the Europeans from fascists and Nazis.^{[citation required]}

A third factor was the social struggles carried out inside the United States against a clearly discriminatory recruitment system that tried to keep the lower classes away from the American streets (famous people like Mohamed Ali strongly opposed to this policy assuming the consequences). Although this system was modified twice to eliminate racial discrimination, the traces were very deep.^{[citation required]}

A fourth factor for which many politicians like Nixon were not prepared were the massive demonstrations, the burning of draft cards, the participation of anti-war veterans and other public events that increasingly increased in number and importance. The philosopher Bertrand Russell himself joined the protesters. Actions of this type continue to persecute the Americans who carried them out and constitute a weapon in acts such as electoral campaigns.^{[citation required]}

Consequences

These events established the future behavior of the nation in the next war conflicts, since it would be quite embarrassing for the United States to get involved in another foreign conflict without really defining both political and military objectives effectively.^{[ citation required]}

For this reason the different administrations were very reluctant to intervene in Central and South American countries such as Nicaragua or Peru; where opposition guerrillas attempted and, in the case of Nicaragua, managed to overthrow governments sympathetic to the United States.^{[citation required]}

They would also need the approval of American society, in order not to find themselves in the same situation of internal conflict that was generated during the Vietnam War. This is how we moved from the recruitment system to the professional army.^{[citation required]}

Overcoming the Syndrome

Because it is too recent a stage, historians and analysts do not fully agree on the moments and actions that led to overcoming the defeat in Southeast Asia. For José María Carrascal, Ronald Reagan's firm reactions meant definitive improvement; For others, the end of the syndrome was brought about by the Gulf War, although it also caused the so-called Gulf Syndrome.^{[citation needed]}

In any case there is no certain context^{[citation required]} in stating that the sensation did not exceed the last decade of the century XX; despite the specter of defeat changing actions in Somalia and Iraq.^{[citation required]}