The Vietnam War: Setting the Stage

As this program carefully chronicles, the road to war with Vietnam began in 1944 when America enlisted the help of Ho Chi Minh against a common foe, Japan. The domino theory soon cast Ho as an enemy; Cold War Europe made France an ally--and France wanted Vietnam back. Narrated by Martin Sheen, the program uses newsreel footage and interviews with key figures, such as Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense, 1961-67; Paul Kattenburg, State Department, Vietnam Desk, 1952-56; and Daniel Ellsberg, the Defense Department consultant who made public The Pentagon Papers. The program concludes in 1960, when years of massive U.S. financial aid, propaganda, and behind-the-scenes diplomacy had set the stage for full-scale war. A Discovery Channel Production. (53 minutes, color