Principles of Machiavelli in the Vietnam War

            Have you ever thought that cruelty and villainy could be utilized in a manor that produced a positive outcome? Probably not, but for a medieval theorist named Niccolo Machiavelli, this was his main viewpoint on ruling a country. He believed that the only way to successfully rule a country was to use cruelty while striving for a stronger and larger empire. Though he didn"t exactly believe that treachery was a noble attribute to execute, he believed it was the only thing that could be done. He also believed that there was a right and a wrong way to use cruelty. Machiavelli said that the only thing you must ask yourself is, "does the end justify the means." By this he means, "did you have a positive outcome or will your empire weaken?" A pure example of this theory is the United State government's role in the Vietnam War and its shaming outcome. Three important points were that the government lost a lot of public support, government funds being drained on military units causing inflation, many unneeded casualties, and there was nothing to be gained. Machiavelli would have thought the Vietnam War to be an example of cruelty used poorly.
             During the Vietnam War, the US government was in turmoil over the number of people disgusted by their recruiting methods, which included most males in the US eighteen years of age or older being called to duty against their will. Many fled to Canada only to lose American citizenship and to be marked as a traitor by the government. This is a prime example of how Machiavelli would disagree with what the government did. One of his main beliefs is that you can never lose the trust from the people to believe that you are always doing the right thing. Once this is done you have already lost one of your best allies, public support. Without any support, the people may turn on you when you need them the most.
             Another problem for the government was the dept they placed themselves in by committing to the war.