Personally, I don't buy the "capitalist exploitation" argument for either country/war. IMHO, both are entirely the result of the national leadership entirely misunderstanding the amount it could bite off and chew. Eisenhower/Kennedy were firm believers in the domino theory and the need to "contain Communism," and saw Vietnam as part of that process. Johnson/Nixon were caught by the "we can't leave until we've finished the job" syndrome. I decline to attempt to explain Bush's motivation, except to say that his father shouldn't have dropped him on his head so often as a child.