Thursday, February 16, 2012

Vietnam and Japan

I read the following in a 2010 non-fiction work by H.W. Brands.

"A principal reason the Truman and Eisenhower admins worried about SE Asia-to the point of committing the US to the defense of Vietnam-was that access to SW Asia was considered essential to the economic revival of Japan".

Was this the basic underlining objective behind our war there? Is this the reason 60,000 US soldiers died there? For a former enemy's economic well-being?
(Source: American Dreams: The US Since 1945 by H. W. Brands. The Penguin Press/NY 2010. Brands of the U of Texas professor and author of six other American History books.)