The goal of the United States was to keep communism contained. By doing this, they used many different types of tactics that persuaded countries to fight communism in different ways. The United States did not use any of these tactics in aiding South Vietnam until it was too late. The United States dug them selves into a hole they could not get out of; they had made too many mistakes, and due to their negligence, the fall of South Vietnam was inevitable. The United States sent in youthful, inexperienced troops, and they fought a war for themselves--for democracy--not for the people of South Vietnam. Finally, the United States became too preoccupied with the French Vietnamese war, leading to other problems. The United States could have taken the correct methods in preventing communist takeover, but fecklessness scarred them. .
The United States entered the war because of their commitment to South Vietnam through SEATO. Although they entered the war to protect Vietnam it later became a war for democracy in Asia. Some Vietnamese did want a democratic government but a Vietnam veteran stated, "We found most people didn't even know the difference between communism and democracy. They only wanted to work in rice paddies without helicopters strafing them and bombs with napalm burning their villages and tearing their country apart."(Kerry) If the United States would have stayed focused and just concentrated on protecting the people of South Vietnam rather then protecting the free countries then they would have been able to stop the collapse of South Vietnam. By the United States looking to protect all of Asia, they overlooked the Northern Vietnamese who were very dedicated fighters. If the United States would have dedicated more troops and firepower to take care of the situation in Vietnam then they could have accomplished both of their goals.
During WWII Germany had control of a puppet state of France called Vicci, this enabled Japan to build military bases along the coast of Vietnam which was a French colony.