Canada and the Vietnam War

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, while Ottawa did not send soldiers to Vietnam, Canada, a member of NATO, provided defense products to the United States, including aircraft parts, bombs, ammunition and defoliant. The author points out that, as Canadian popular sentiment against the war grew, politicians realized that simply distancing themselves from the problem would no longer suffice thus leading to Canada's public condemnation of American actions and Canada's allowing asylum seekers into the country. The paper stresses that, although it does participate in peacekeeping missions, Canada has forfeited extensive military capability in favor of social services; thus, Canada does not have the ability or popular support to intervene in global conflicts on the scale of the United States.

Table of Contents:
Historical Perspective
Canada in the Milieu
At Home and Abroad
Canada and Agent Orange
Canadian Asylum Seekers
A Canadian Change of Heart
Parallels between Vietnam and Current World Issues

From the Paper:

"Canada was a member of the United Nations element responsible for oversight of the Geneva Accords. This position necessitated Canada's neutrality. When the United States reported on infiltration of spies and terrorists from the North into the South, the Canadian delegation to the United Nations wrote a report to the Co-Chairman of the Geneva Convention Conference on the Indo-China (ICC) meant to support the U.S. allegations of aggressive tactics by North Vietnam. This support is viewed with a jaundiced eye by historians."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Viet-Nam, July 20. Accessed on the Internet on 7/12/07 at http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/genevacc.htm
• Greg Donaghy. Tolerant Allies: Canada and the United States, 1963-1968. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2002.
• Sheehan, Neil. The Pentagon Papers: as Published by the New York TimesCopyright 1995 - 2007
• Dennis, Drew. Rolling Thunder 1965: Anatomy of a Failure. 1986. Accessed on the internet at http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA215905.
• Dawson, Alan. 55 Days: The Fall of South Vietnam. Prentice-Hall, 1977

More papers on Canada and the Vietnam War:

• Essay # 65312 : "Protests of the Vietnam War"
• Essay # 7641 : "Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam War"
• Analytical Essay # 5272 : "On the Rainy River"

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