Who did the US help in the Vietnam War?

The US supported the South Vietnamese and tried to prevent the spread of communism from North Vietnam. If the military had been allowed to fight the war according to what military strategists knew would work, we would have succeeded. In my opinion, it was a war that was led by our congress...not the military....very frustrating. Perhaps, we should be looking to military strategists today instead of Congress to make the decisions of how to set up and keep peace in the Middle East!