Should any of the major powers have been involved in the Vietnam conflict?

Question

Check out the articles on the Vietnam War at this site:

http://www.answers.com/library/American%20Military%20History-cid-1724961516

This was not a case of "should" but a case of "is". Vietnam was in the midst of a "civil" war and China and Russia were supporting one side. At that time we were in the midst of the Cold War. Therefore it was a "given" that the western powers would support the other side. One can argue that other countries should stay out of "civil" wars, however, had the Colonies not had the help of France, the results of the Revolutionary War might have been different.

For the sake of debate -- I'll take the other point of view. We lost many fine young people in this war, and many others came home broken in spirit, if not in body. And we lost the war. Vietnam is still a communist country, but is rapidly developing a capitalistic economy.

From my viewpoint, it was questionable for us to get involved to bolster Firestone Rubber and their plantations there. Somehow the US decided it was "vital" for our national interests to be there. That may or may not have been. However, in my view, when we realized that the SVN government was corrupt, dishonest, and despotic beyond understanding, and that the "hearts and minds" of the people in the countryside was not supporting them, we should have left quickly. Our government realized all that by 1965. Apparently, we overstayed our needs in supporting some false pride in being "winners", with God on our side.
History seems to repeat itself. My roomate lost his head there, literally. His body was sent back to his dad, in NYC, headless. Nobody bragged that he was a hero, and gave his life for his country. Rich kids got into the National Guard, and lead a comfy life in the States, or stayed in college for the duration.

PS.... I was not in favor of the Vietnamese War at the time. I reacted pretty much as many people my age did. I protested and I probably would have sent my oldest son to Canada should the war not have ended before that was needed. However, reading history from the "long view" ,over time one sees more dispassionately the reasons both for and against. The sites I sent you will present both sides and the middle.