Did Our Vietnam Intervention Save Southeast Asia?

Mark Moyar, writing in the Christian Science Monitor, argues that U.S. support for South Vietnam was far more successful than portrayed by journalist-historians such as Neil Sheehan. For one thing, says Moyar, U.S. involvement kept Indonesia from going Communist:

The military leaders of Indonesia, the most important Southeast Asian domino, informed the US in February 1965 that their future willingness to stand up to the pro-Communist President Sukarno and the massive Indonesian Communist Party would depend upon America's actions in Vietnam.

"President Johnson should learn to use his power and should hit North Vietnam hard," said General Marjadi in explaining why American inaction was discouraging the generals from taking a firm anticommunist position. "The prize for victory in Vietnam is all of Asia. Asia respects power, and has no respect for weakness or for strong people afraid to act." Indonesian generals later said that US intervention inspired them to oust Sukarno [pictured] and work to destroy the Indonesian Communist Party in late 1965.