ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the impact of the Korean analogy on the US decision to intervene with military force in Vietnam in 1965. It argues that the Korean analogy— or rather what US decision makers considered to be major lessons of the US experience in the Korean War— played a major role in the US decision to intervene. The chapter explains the containment explanation of Vietnam and suggests that the analogical explanation provides insights not found in the containment explanation. Relying on the public statements of policy makers to document what they learned from the US experience in the Korean War and how they applied those lessons to Vietnam is an appropriate point of departure. While the Korean analogy provides a good explanation of the war decisions of 1965, the analyst impressed by the basic continuity of the United States' containment policy might wonder what explanatory mileage has been gained through the preceding analysis.
