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A Matrix movie quality of deception misleads much of the US public to believe US foreign policy is noble against terrorists, because the public is falsely led to believe the US nobly entered Viet Nam in 1954 to fight communists. But the US entered Viet Nam in 1865 and engaged in a hidden 1865–1954 period of US business in Viet Nam that was enabled by French invasion force.
With much of the public misled, US leaders have continued through 2024 to pursue US business expansion by force. Many nations are angry at this US violation of a grade school level of basic ethics.
The ludicrously false claim of a 1954 US entry into Viet Nam is based on two false assertions. The first one falsely asserts that the U.S. entered Viet Nam in 1954. It is presented as a noble entry to fight communism. But during 1865–1954, US businesses operated in Viet Nam, enabled by French force. That was far from a noble purpose.
Viet Nam defeated France in 1954, So, US leaders attacked in 1955, trying to continue the business. That was the real reason for the US-Viet Nam War.
In U.S. National Archives, thousands of reports sent by US consuls in Viet Nam starting in 1889 prove the occurrence of the early business. They are declassified, awaiting only requests from high school classes, college students, and adult discussion forums. Please see Teachers page for lesson plan suggestions.
The second false fact asserts that a country called “North Viet Nam” existed. That falsity is ludicrous. The 1954 Geneva Accords did not create any such country. It is “an absurd concept” to think the Accords did, historian Joseph Buttinger wrote Click for full quote. The Accords simply set up two “regrouping zones” in the existing, single nation of Viet Nam. One zone was the north half of Viet Nam, and the other zone was the south half. The purpose was to separate the armies of the two sides, entangled in many places.
Moreover, Article 14(a) says, in plain words, that France had a temporary duty to administer the southern “regrouping zone” until elections. No other entity had any right to administer there.
Other than the two zones, nothing else was created.
Notwithstanding that plain, easy to read fact, US leaders claim the US fought a country named “North Viet Nam.” The truth is that the US fought against the whole Viet Nam that existed from the southern tip in the sea to the northern border with China.
US soldiers found out the hard way: Viet Nam being one country, and having the overwhelming majority in the south, who had helped defeat the French in 1954, now defended against the US. US soldiers had no idea.
Corporate Tsunami in Countryside Paradise : 1875–1900 Origin of US War in Viet Nam (2020) details the early US business. And, in the 1940s, US leaders set up a system for worldwide business expansion, often by force. In 1954, the US pressured France to depart from Viet Nam. And, US leaders attacked trying to continue the early business.
Foreign Policy Fault Line 1619–2024, with US in Viet Nam 1865–1975 (summer 2025) uses Analytical Lenses to show: (1) The real reason for the war; (2) after 1954, Viet Nam remained one country, north and south; (3) The false claim of a noble purpose in Viet Nam has built unwitting US public support for business expansion worldwide, often by force, through 2024; and (4) this is part of the 1619–2024 pursuit of US business expansion, often by force.
The Teachers page in this website uses Analytical Lenses as aids. A lens of 21 Facts shows that business expansion, often by force, started in 1619 and never abated. In that system, a 1943 State Dept report is “The Future Status of Indochina [Viet Nam] as an Example of Future Colonial Relationships.” It says not one word about communism.
Worldwide, reactions against ignoble US foreign policy have ocurred through 2024. Mercosur, BRICS+, and other blocs seek to reduce trade with the US. Local people sometimes fight back. US leaders often mislabel them as terrorists. A lens to view them is the Golden Rule of all major religions and ethics systems. Where the Golden Rule is violated by US leaders doing business expansion by force, nice people understandably react.
At its April 30, 2025 celebration of its 1975 victory, Viet Nam said that a US-Viet Nam strategic partnership exists, but that the war was a US imperial invasion. That was an appeal to the US public, if not the US government, to state the truth.
However, for six reasons, the US public not only fails to respond, but also has long failed to correct the wrongful foreign policy. One is that the false claims mislead the public. Another is a sense of entitlement: Some Americans think they have a right to pursue a good life without worrying about what others do in foreign policy.
Photo 1. After US business expansion in Viet Nam 1865–1954, enabled by force, and after attacking Viet Nam during 1954–1975 to continue that business, US leaders pursued a similar practice worldwide. This 2007 photo shows the US training soldiers in Niger. US “security” enabled US ally France to take Niger minerals at low cost. France paid Niger 1/250 the value of its uranium. Much of Niger lived in poverty. In 2024, Niger kicked the US out. Public domain photo 2007, Wikipedia: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael Larson.
From 1865 onward, much of Viet Nam’s rice, grown in fields like shown here, was stolen by French colonials and sent overseas, some on US ships. The rice supported growth of the French and US economies. Widespread malnutrition struck Viet Nam in the 1880s. It lasted through the entire colonial period. Photo by Kieran Barry (2021).