Though we may have preconceived notions towards everything in life, many turn out to be misperceptions and can cause bad decisions to be made. The United States has shown this numerous times, but two main cases stand out. The Korean War and the Vietnam War could have been handled much more efficiently and less costly if the US had just believed and interpreted the information they had received equivocally.
             Many ideals that the United States holds are based on notions that have been held for hundreds of years. Since the United States gained "world power" status in the early 20th century, most politicians have analyzed American foreign policy with a slanted view. Nationalism flowed through all of the presidents and their decisions, causing some of the wrong choices to be made.
             Vietnam has struggled against foreign powers throughout all of its histories. For thousands of years, it had fought off countries in their own territory and grew a strong sense of nationalism within the country. The people were proud of their heritage and would fight against anyone to preserve it. In the late 1800s, a French missionary had raised a missionary force to help Nguyen Anh become Vietnam's emperor hoping that the new emperor would look favorably upon France as a trading partner. After this new bond was formed, France fought for possession of Vietnamese land, so they granted the French land in the Mekong Delta. France grew greedy and proceeded to fight for North Vietnam, but the North created the Vietminh to fight off the French and their influence (Karnow).
             The imposition of French colonial rule had met with little organized resistance. However, the national sense of identity had not been crushed, and anticolonial sentiment soon began to emerge. Poor economic conditions contributed to native hostility to French rule. Although the French occupation brought improvements in transportation and communications and contributed to the growth of ...