Early in the Vietnam War, the CIA, headed in Saigon by Colonel Edward Lansdale used clandestined methods to undermine the infant Vietminh regime in the North, including all of the following EXCEPT:
A. Infiltration across the DMZ by paramilitary troops to commit sabotage
B. Attempts to destroy the government’s printing presses
C. Demobilizing and disrupting the transportation system by contaminating bus engines
D. Carrying out “psywar” operations, which included distributing fake leaflets predicting harsh times under the new government in the North
E. Attempts to assassinate Ho Chi Minh
ANSWER: E

Which term was used to describe the exodus of nearly 900,000 refugees, most of them Catholics, from North to South Vietnam in 1954?
A. Deer Mission
B. Passage to Freedom
C. Battle of Ap Bac
D. Operation Rolling Thunder
E. La mission civilistrace
ANSWER: B

What group was founded at the direction of communist leaders in Hanoi in December, 1960 which formally approved the shift to armed struggle and the liberation of the south?
A. National Liberation Front (NLF)
B. Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)
C. Buddhist-Catholic Communist League
D. Vietcong (VC)
E. The Ho Chi Minh Trail Brigade
ANSWER: A

The Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG) in Saigon attempted to build a South Vietnamese Army, but ran in obstacles, including all of the following EXCEPT:
A. The Vietnamese army, inherited from France, was poorly organized, trained, and equipped
B. They suffered from low morale and lacked a national spirit
C. The Vietnamese people were so completely passive, never having fought for themselves in generations
D. They were deficient in trained officers, engineers, and artillerymen
E. American advisors had to bridge language and cultural gaps
ANSWER: C


Which of the following is NOT a part of the governing concept of “personalism” as practiced by Ngo Dinh Diem having absolute state power in South Vietnam?
A. Distrust of popular rule
B. Belief that a small elite was responsible for defining the general welfare
C. That reliance on charisma, coupled with devout Buddhism would win peasant support
ANSWER: C

Just as the communist takeover in Cuba by Fidel Castro disrupted the foreign policy of the Eisenhower administration, what event disrupted the foreign policy of the Kennedy administration and continued to lead U.S. leaders to fear the global communist threat?
A. Khruschev's building of a concrete and steel wall in Berlin, separating democratic and communist zones
B. The shooting down of a U-2 spy plane over Russia and the capture of the American pilot Francis Gary Powers
C. The fall of China to Mao Zedong's communist forces, who defeated Chiang Kai-shek's nationalist forces
D. The rise in power of the Republican nominee Barry Goldwater for the upcoming presidential election.
ANSWER: A

In 1963, tensions between communist China and the Soviet Union became openly hostile, which started to relax some Cold War tensions, but what other event in that year led to new, greater problems in Vietnam.
A. Madam Nhu's comments regarding American student war protesters
B. The self immolation of Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc
C. South Vietnamese government crackdown on protesters in Hue
D. The landing of American combat forces in Pleiku
E. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas
ANSWER: B

President Johnson personalized the struggle in Vietnam.  All of the following statements are true EXCEPT
A. He viewed the crisis in Vietnam as a test of his strength and personal prestige.
B. He viewed the crisis in Vietnam as a test of his authority as President of the United States.
C. He viewed the crisis in Vietnam as a test of his leadership of the Free World.
D. He viewed the crisis in Vietnam as a test of his manhood.
E. All of these answer are true.
ANSWER: E

The importance of the Cold War mindset in the 1960's cannot be underestimated.  It put a premium on toughness and viewed compromise as weakness, and retreat as a sign of cowardice.  All of the following statements are indicative of this mindset EXCEPT
A. A firm stand in Vietnam would discourage any Soviet tendencies to support further exploits; moreover, it might even lead to a more peaceful coexistence.
B. It was important to contain the more aggressive and reckless Chinese, who had actually sent troops into North Korea on the communists behalf during the Korean War.
C. Policymakers believed that the way the United States stood up to communist provocations in Vietnam would have profound consequences everywhere.
D. If the U.S could force the leadership in Hanoi to the bargaining table, the conflict could be resolved through peaceful negotiations
E. Turbulent changes and leftist revolutions in the Third World would see the resolve of the United States in Vietnam and be less inclined to proceed.
ANSWER: D

Although the events surrounding the Gulf of Tonkin incident are problematic, President Johnson's handling of the event, from a domestic political standpoint, was “masterly”.  All of the following fact attest to that fact EXCEPT
A. Johnson's firm but restrained response to the alleged North Vietnamese attacks won broad popular support and saw his approval rating soar up from 42 to 72 percent.
B. Johnson was easily able to get congressional, military, and public approval for his decision to implement Operation Rolling Thunder
C. Johnson effectively neutralized any “soft on communism” criticism from his Republican political rival in the 1964 election, Barry Goldwater.
D. The resulting first Congressional debate on Vietnam brought Johnson near unanimous endorsement of the president's policies.
E. Johnson won one of the largest popular and electoral majority landslides in presidential election history to that time.
ANSWER: B


When General William Westmoreland requested two marine landing teams to protect the air base at Da Nang in 1965, many question arose.   All of the following questions arose, EXCEPT
A. Had American combat forces been adequately trained for guerilla warfare in the Asian jungles?
B. Would the introduction of such forces encourage the ARVN to pass military responsibility to the United States?
C. Would the introduction of even small numbers of U.S. combat troops, which had been avoided since the beginning of the Indochina wars, be the start of an inevitable troop escalation?
D. Would the United States have to commit air power and bombing raids to Vietnam in order to protect American troops stationed there?
ANSWER: D


The Johnson administration took the nation to war in Vietnam with secrecy, deceit, and obfuscation.  Which of the following is NOT true?
A. The president immediately gave the military commanders in Vietnam all of the soldiers that they asked for, without question, yet kept the real numbers hidden from the American public.
B. Operation Rolling Thunder was publicly justified as a response to the NLF attack on Pleiku and other North Vietnamese “aggressions” rather than an attempt to halt the military and political deterioration in South Vietnam.
C. The administration never publicly acknowledged the shift from military “reprisals” to “sustained pressures”.
D. The sending of ground troops was explained solely in terms of protecting U.S. military bases, even as American troops were undertaking offensive “seek and destroy” missions.
ANSWER: A

All of the following are true of the aerial bombing war in Vietnam, EXCEPT
A. It cost the U.S. Almost 10 times the amount of money in bombing to exact one dollar of damage inflicted on North Vietnam.
B. The bombing of a Third World country by a more powerful nation gave Ho Chi Minh an effective propaganda advantage that they exploited throughout the war.
C. The presumed psychological impact of the bombing of North Vietnam did not destroy Hanoi's determination to prevail.
D. From the United States point of view, the bombing campaign did not achieve its goals.
E. Because Vietnam was such a rural country, the bombing actually did not inflict extensive damage on the industrial capacity and infrastructure of North Vietnam.
ANSWER: E


Which of the following did the North Vietnamese leadership consider to be their enemy's most vulnerable points?
A. South Vietnamese government
B. South Vietnamese army
C. American public opinion
D. All of these were considered the must vulnerable points
ANSWER: D