Falling Dominoes Create Waves of Repression

Falling Dominoes Create Waves of Repression

Domino theory would be the motivating factor behind CIA operation and U.S. military actions starting in the 1950's. Domino Theory has its roots in Truman Doctrine from 1947, and was exemplified by Eisenhower's famous speech in 1954. The theory was one which said that if one state in a region fell under the influence of communism then surrounding countries would also fall.

Courtesy of Katoomba.edu.au

Courtesy of Katoomba.edu.au

This was of great importance in regards to U.S. influence and resources in the Asia's. The chain of events was best described by then Vice-President Nixon, "If Indochina falls, Thailand is put in an almost impossible position. The same is true of Malaya with its rubber and tin. The same is true of Indonesia. If this whole part of Southeast Asia goes under Communist domination or Communist influence, Japan, who trades and must trade with this area in order to exist, must inevitably be oriented towards the Communist regime."¹  This foreign policy "objective" would be integral to the revolutions and massacres that would take place in Guatemala, Cuba, Brazil, Chile and Vietnam. This policy was the green light which gave the CIA free reign to wreak havoc on the world with secret ops and can be related to millions of deaths in every corner of the globe. Though most of these operations occurred in the black, Vietnam is perhaps the shining light of the theory, illuminating the lengths America went to prevent the dominoes from falling. Even if the lengths included the death of  3 million + Vietnamese and utter destruction of an entire country.² 

The 1960's and 70's would become a battle of empire vs. soul. A battle at home for social conditions would be presented side by side with that of empire abroad with men such as LBJ and Nixon at the helm. The same man who once said he was "...against sending American GIs into the mud and muck of Indochina on a blood-letting sprees to perpetuate colonialism and white man's exploitation in Asia."³,would escalate and send more troops and bombs into the jungles of Vietnam. We will see next week as a man whom supposedly prided himself on his vision for great social reform allowed his ego and the mantra of fighting communism force him to escalate a conflict was was perhaps "The Wrong War".


I have found a very interesting book review in which explores this issue of "The Wrong War, at the Wrong Time". The author of the book, Jeffrey Record, argues that it was profound misjudgment that lead us into Vietnam which then lead to a series of some of the most gross injustices every demonstrated by the United States government. The review from the New York Times can be found here. The book can be found below:

Amazon Link

1. Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick, The Untold History of The United States (New York: Gallery Books, 2012), 266
2. Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick, The Untold History of The United States (New York: Gallery Books, 2012), 387
3. Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick, The Untold History of The United States (New York: Gallery Books, 2012), 268
4.  http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/r/record-war.html