Abstract:

As this program carefully chronicles, the road to war with Vietnam began in 1944 when America enlisted the help of Ho Chi Minh against a common foe, Japan. The domino theory soon cast Ho as an enemy; Cold War Europe made France an ally—and France wanted Vietnam back. Narrated by Martin Sheen, the program uses newsreel footage and interviews with key figures, such as Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense, 1961-67; Paul Kattenburg, State Department, Vietnam Desk, 1952-56; and Daniel Ellsberg, the Defense Department consultant who made public The Pentagon Papers. The program concludes in 1960, when years of massive U.S. financial aid, propaganda, and behind-the-scenes diplomacy had set the stage for full-scale war. A Discovery Channel Production. (53 minutes, color)