Why did the US fail to defeat Communism in 1965-1973?

This question is very imprecise. I think you are asking why the U.S. failed to prop-up the anti-communist government in South Vietnam.

This is an incredibly complex and in-depth subject, so just take this as a thumbnail sketch.

Communist/nationlist rebels (lead by Ho Chi Minh) had been fighting to gain independence for Vietnam since 1945. The rebels gained significant strength and support during their war against the French (1945-1954), not so much because the Vietnamese people loved or even understood Communist doctrine, but simply because they wanted their independence.

When the U.S. started to support the South Vietnamese army in 1955, they had to deal with an incredibly corrupt and unpopular government in South Vietnam. Throughout U.S. military involvement in South Vietnam, the U.S. had to deal with a series of revolving-door governments in South Vietnam that often lacked popular support among the people.

From 1965-1973, U.S. forces won every major military engagement they had with communist forces (either North Vietnamese or Viet Cong (South Vietnamese communists). However, communist rebels continued to gain control over much of the South Vietnamese countryside throughout these years. The reasons are numerous and inter-related, and include social, economic, and cultural reasons.

Answer

In the most simple terms...............Communism is a IDEA, and you can't defeat an IDEA with guns.

No matter what you do to people, they can still think. In order to get them to come to YOUR way of thinking, you have to convince them that YOUR idea is a better one than the one that they think is best.

That is the core reason why the USA, with all of it's military power was DEFEATED by the IDEA of Communism during that war, AND it is also the reason why Communism was eventually discredited in the USSR and many other former Red states.

Now a days, only a very few countries such as Cuba can be said to be hard line Communist states. Most of the others are now democratic, to some degree.

First answer by Max Fleming. Last edit by Buntingj. Contributor trust: 701 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 75 [recommend question]