Vietnam is 9000 miles away from the United States. Yet America felt that it was
in it's best interest to protect the peace in south Asia and stop the spread of communism.
Therefore, America thought that the establishment of the "Iron Curtain" of Europe must
be stopped from happening in Asia. The communist take over of China, the Korean War
and the communist victory over the French in Vietnam led many Americans to fear that
the communists were taking over the world and America must dispatch force to stop their
expansion. At that time, most American believed in the "Domino Theory", suggesting
that if one Asian country fell to the Communist the others would quickly follow.