---
"title": "Judged Vietnam Had Been a Mistake When U.S. Troop Withdrawals Began"
"description": "That's the proportion of Americans who, in January 1973 when the signing of the Paris Peace Accords ended direct U.S. military involvement in Vietnam, said that sending U.S. troops there was a mistake."
"date": "2007-08-27"
"authors":
  -
    "name": "Russell Heimlich"
    "job_title": "Former web developer"
    "link": "https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
"url": "https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/short-reads/2007/08/27/judged-vietnam-had-been-a-mistake-when-u-s-troop-withdrawals-began/"
---

# Judged Vietnam Had Been a Mistake When U.S. Troop Withdrawals Began

As in the case of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, few among the public initially took a dim view of U.S. intervention in Vietnam — in March 1966, only about one-in-four Americans (26%) told a Gallup poll that they thought sending U.S. troops to Vietnam was a mistake — but as that involvement deepened and lengthened, the number taking that view increased more or less steadily, rising to more than half in August 1968 and to 60% by early January 1973 as the U.S. began withdrawal of most American troops.[Read More](https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/pubs/432/iraq-and-vietnam-a-crucial-difference-in-opinion)