• Key Policy: 'Flexible response' (Flex on Communism!)

  • Means: Widening methods to combat communism.

• 📈 Expansion included

  • More US military advisers in South: 17,000 in Vietnam at the end of JFK's term.
  • Counter-insurgency Ops: Fighting the bad guys (Vietcong) guerrilla-style.
    • 💥 Tactic: 'Search-and-destroy' missions.
    • 🍃Jungle Warfare Hack: Spraying defoliants like 'Agent Orange' to reveal hidden Vietcong.
    • Friendly Village 2.0: Strategic Hamlets Program (think of it like fortifying a village in a video game!).
  • New Squad Alert: 'Green Berets', specialists in guerrilla warfare.
  • Pep talk to Diem: Pushing for social and political reforms.

• Oops moments

  • Some moves backfired! The 'Strategic Hamlets Program' and 'Agent Orange' made local villagers 😠.
  • Diem's Anti-Buddhist policies = Big Drama.
    • Example: Imagine a ban on Christmas celebration! Similarly, when Buddha’s birthday celebrations were banned, there were massive protests.
    • Some went extreme: Hunger strikes and even self-immolations (think of the iconic monk on fire picture from history books).
    • Bad PR: Diem’s sister-in-law, Madam Nhu's savage comment: ‘Let them burn and we shall clap our hands.’😲

• End of Diem's chapter

  • US reduced aid → Diem and bro killed in a coup.
  • 🇺🇸 Fun Fact: US intelligence knew about the coup in advance.
  • 🔄 Unintended Consequence: This action meant deeper US involvement.

• Inherits a mess: Unstable South Vietnam + Stronger Communists.

• Also inherits: Kennedy’s advisers and anti-communism resolve.

• LBJ's mindset: Like a gamer not willing to give up - he was determined to win against Communism.

• Big Question: How to increase US involvement and keep the US public on board?

  • Turning Point: Gulf of Tonkin Incident (A sort of "Aha!" or rather "Oh no!" moment).
    • 🌊 Scene: American naval destroyer Maddox "attacked" (or maybe not) by North Vietnamese patrol boats.
    • 🔊 LBJ's claim: Open sea aggression!
    • Result: US bombed North Vietnamese spots.
    • 📜 Next move: The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution - A sort of blank check or 'all-access pass' for the president to wage war against North Vietnam.
    • 🎯 For 6 years, this resolution was the US's green card for Vietnam War.

• LBJ's Moves

  • Bombing Spree: 'Operation Rolling Thunder' against North Vietnam.
  • More Boots on Ground: 100,000 US troops in 1965. By 1968, 520,000 troops in Vietnam (Imagine the whole population of Atlanta in Vietnam!).
  • Intense Support: Bombing South Vietnam spots to help the troops and disrupt enemy bases.
    • Weapon of choice: Rockets, bombs, and the fiery napalm.
    • 🙁 Sad fact: Heavy damage and suffering for local folks.

TL;DR: JFK introduced 'flexible response' to widen anti-communist measures in Vietnam but faced issues. LBJ, inheriting the scenario, deepened the involvement after the Gulf of Tonkin incident, leading to greater US commitment in the war.