Containment


 * inspired by a monolithic view of Communism
 * long-term ideological cause of the war
 * it led US leaders to overreact to Ho's threat and turn a localized dispute into a fight against Communism everywhere
 * an oversimplication: in reality, Ho would not ally with China because of China's history of dominating the Vietnamese

The idea of containment is an act or policy of restricting the territorial growth or ideological influence of another. The United States practiced containment to prevent communism from spreading. This policy was caused by the United States' monolithic view of communism.