American Involvement In Vietnam, 1968. Many people wonder how the Americans managed to become involved in a war 10,000 miles away from their native continent, but the initial reasons for U.S. involvement in Vietnam seemed logical and compelling to American leaders. Following its success in World War II, the United States faced the future with confidence. From George Washington's perspective, the threat to U.S. security and world peace was communism emanating from the Soviet Union. …showed first 75 words of 902 total…

…showed last 75 words of 902 total…pressure against the government in South Vietnam. By July 1965, Johnson chose a course that vastly escalated U.S. involvement in Vietnams affairs but stopped short of an all-out application of American power. By 1968 the number of American troops in Vietnam exceeded 500,000. Also a tremendous air campaign against North Vietnam was started. Suddenly, the American forces had found themselves in "a bottomless military and political swamp" as President de Gaulle of France had warned years earlier.