This is a graded discussion: 10 points possible due Nov 21 4 4 DISCUSSION: Why Did LBJ Decide to Intervene in Vietnam? A In 1964, LBJ decided, against his better judgment, to intervene militarily in Vietnam. The war would come to define and eventually destroy the Johnson presidency. Why did the United States intervene militarily in Vietnam? What were the factors and issues that drove LBJ to intervene in a largely peasant nation thousands of miles from the United States? How might the "red scare" of the 1950s and the charge of the right-wing China lobby ("who lost China?"), have impacted the Johnson administration's thinking in terms of Vietnam? What might have been some other possible alternatives that were not chosen