The Liberals and Vietnam (1).: An article from: The Australian Journal of Politics and History

This digital document is an article from The Australian Journal of Politics and History, published by Thomson Gale on September 1, 2005. The length of the article is 6521 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: How did the Menzies Governments of the early to mid 1960s arrive at the position of sending Australian troops to Vietnam? During the 1950s, Menzies, and especially his External Affairs Minister Richard Casey, developed an appreciation of the strategic significance of Indochina, but struggled to view the conflict in Vietnam in ways other than through Cold War lenses. By the 1960s too, Britain's capacity to demonstrate a lead for Australia in foreign policy for the region was diminishing with its power, and the Menzies Governments were mindful of the need to support an American preparedness to intervene in Southeast Asia against communist-led forces. This logic became more compelling in the face of Indonesia's "Confrontation" with Malaysia from 1963. As a result, the Liberals were not reluctant to support US military intervention in the region, in Vietnam.

Citation Details
Title: The Liberals and Vietnam (1).
Author: David Lee
Publication:The Australian Journal of Politics and History (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 51 Issue: 3 Page: 429(11)

Distributed by Thomson Gale