Creating the Enemy:The Great U.S.Debate on Vietnam Policy in 1961
At the end of 1961,the United States faced an important policy choice on the Vietnam issue.The Taylor-Rostow Report triggered a major debate on Vietnam policy at the top of the federal government,in-volving almost all major policymakers.The core issue of the debate was how much the U.S.should bet in Vietnam to contain the spread of communism in Indochina.The debate showed that due to the fierce con-frontation and a series of crises in the Cold War,the U.S.had strengthened the importance of Vietnam,both theoretically and practically.The great debate brought Vietnam to the center of the Cold War stage,and Vietnam,which had no stake in the U.S.,was portrayed as a Cold War adversary.As a result of the debate,the U.S.began to assume unlimited obligations to South Vietnam,and Vietnam gradually occupied the center of American foreign affairs.The U.S.reshaped Cold War diplomacy with its Vietnam policy.
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