Tet Documents

After reading the Tet Documents, I ponder over the morality of the Viet Cong. The Tet documents had three documents which stood out. The first was the “The Tet Offensive”, the second was “The Massacre at Hue”, and the third was “The Presidents Address to the Nation”, which was when President Johnson announced his plans for the War in Vietnam, and his decision to not run for reelection. All three documents connect to each other through the ideas of morality and Just War. The document, “The Tet Offensive”, illustrates the unjust warfare and immorality of the Viet Cong during the war. After the U.S. had agreed to cease fire during the holiday of Tet, the Viet Cong had decided to attack “36 provincial capitals and 23 allied bases in South Vietnam.” The Viet Cong went against their word and attacked during the Vietnamese holiday. This attack shows the immorality and unjust warfare of the Viet Cong. The document, “The Massacre at Hue”, also illuminates the immorality and unjust warfare of the Viet Cong. The United States made a discovery in Hue of “2,300 the number of bodies of South Vietnamese men, Women and children”. The South Vietnamese civilians were executed by the Communists. One year after the battle for Hue, the United States had launched a search operation, and “about 24 sites were unearthed and the remains of 809 bodies were found.” The Viet Cong had slaughtered innocent South Vietnamese civilians. The act of killing innocent civilians by the Viet Cong demonstrates their unjust warfare and immorality. The document, “The Presidents Address to the Nation”, also confirms the immorality and unjust warfare of the Viet Cong. President Johnson desired to make peace with the North Vietnamese, but the North Vietnamese denied the peace offerings. During the Presidents peace offerings the North Vietnamese had prepared “for a savage assault on the people, the government, and the allies of South Vietnam.” The Viet Cong had also “caused widespread disruption and suffering. Their attacks, and the battle that followed, made refugees of half a million human beings.” President Johnson had tried to make peace with the North Vietnamese, who took part in immoral and unjust warfare. Ultimately, the North Vietnamese’s dismissal of peace offerings and immoral and unjust attacks on civilians had made the Viet Cong immoral. Overall, the documents, “The Tet Offensive”, “The Massacre at Hue”, and “The Presidents Address to the Nation” had connected through, as well as proved, the Viet Cong’s unjust warfare and immorality.