Johnson and Vietnam

1
Johnson and Vietnam

• Was it Johnsons War?

2
Lyndon Johnson A man of his Time

• Very patriotic and proud of US military power
• Anti - Communist
• Defeat by that raggedy-ass little fourth rate
  Vietnam was inconceivable
• Believed US were fighting for world freedom as
  well as US security
• Did not believe in appeasement If you let a
  bully into your front yard, the next day he will
  be in your porch, and the day after he will rape
  your wife in your own bed
• Believed in Domino theory

• Felt it was a question of national honour for US
  to stay committed to South Vietnam
• Did not understand foreigners or foreign affairs

3
Impact of Kennedys Assassinantion

• Johnson resented the younger and less experienced
  man being president
• Guilt feelings contributed to a determination to
  stand by everything Kennedy had done
• I swore to myself that I would carry on.
• 2 days after Kennedys death, Johnson told
  Ambassador Lodge that he was not going to lose
  Vietnam
• Thus Johnson reaffirmed Kennedys policies
• Kennedys Vietnam would become Johnsons
• As vice-president Johnson had opposed US support
  for the coup against Diem
• Johnson continued Kennedys policy and kept on
  his officials
• The retention of Kennedys advisors ensured
  continued involvement in Vietnam

4
Johnson and his Advisors

• Johnson made it clear he was the boss
  kiss-my-ass-at-high-noon-in-Macys-window and
  tell me it smells like roses loyalty
• Some argue Johnson had a closed mind, some say he
  was poorly advised
• Retention of McNamara and Rusk meant no fresh
  ideas emerged on the Vietnam problem
• Rusk was obsessed with continuing the struggle
• McNamara was so important that some called
  Vietnam McNamaras war

5
Johnson and his Advisors

• 1963 Mike Mansfield suggested a united and
  neutralised Vietnam
• Johnson rejected this and he said that there
  would be no need for US involvement so long as
  the South Vietnamese government adopted
  political, social and economic reforms
• Mansfield kept the debate going questioning
  support of Saigon and asking searching question
  about Vietnam
• Johnson not interested in debate
• Kennedy men in White House wanted to save face so
  would not admit to past errors
• Johnson felt duty bound to listen to Generals
  (Vietnam was only war they had, they wanted to
  escalate it in order to win)
• Johnsons personal ambitions re-inforced what the
  generals were advising
• Johnson did not want to be the first president to
  lose a war especially to the Communists

6
Debates, Doubts and Decisions

• From Dec 1963 Vietcong increase infiltration of
  South
• Response from South was unimpressive
• Strategic hamlets not working estimated that
  Communists controlled half of South Vietnam
• Some favoured bombing
• Lemay we are swatting flies when we should be
  going after the manure pile
• Johnson felt the war needed to be won quickly
  before Congress ordered a withdrawal
• Johnsons administration did not discuss whether
  US should withdrawal but how US could continue war

7
The Escalation of War

• By July 1964 200 Americans had died in Vietnam
• Most of Johnsons advisors urged escalation
• But Johnson would need support of US Congress and
  US public
• August 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
• US gunboats on covert operations off coast of
  north Vietnam
• US claimed unprovoked attack on gunboats Maddox
  and Turner Joy
• As a result Congress passed a resolution giving
  Johnson the power to wage war in Vietnam
• Senate passed the resolution 88 to 2

8
1964 Presidential Election

• Tonkin Resolution came at perfect time for
  Johnson
• He quickly started the bombing of the north and
  his public approval rating went from 42 to 72
  helping him win the election
• During the election campaign Johnson was clever
  to appease both sides.
• He told Left wingers he was not going to do
  anything rash we are not going to send
  American boys away from home to do what Asian
  boys should be doing for themselves.
• He reassured the right by saying America keeps
  her word
• The Republican candidate Barry Goldwater tended
  to use verbal gaffes and was seen as a trigger
  happy hawk

9
Why did Johnson escalate?

• Personality of Johnson suggests escalation was
  inevitable
• He was aggressive, arrogant and over confident
• When finally elected president he said Ive been
  kissing asses all my life and I dont have to
  kiss them any more. Tell those press bastards of
  yours that Ill see them when I want to see them
  and not before
• Sanders-
• Generalisations about Johnsons character are
  unhelpful
• Sometimes there was fear and uncertainty behind
  the confident bluster
• Privately Johnson admitted that he did not know
  what to do with Vietnam
• More often than not he responded to advice and
  pressure of events

10
Other factors for escalation

• The incompetence of the Saigon Government
• The Working Group Recommendations
• Defending American Bomber Bases with Rolling
  Thunder
• Defending American Bomber Bases with American
  Troops

11
1. The Incompetence of the Saigon Government

• Saigon regime not winning the war
• Generals tended to squabble
• American Ambassador General Maxwell Taylor said
  US should take over
• Taylor treated Saigon Generals like academy
  cadets
• Dean Rusk Somehow we must change the pace at
  which these people move.
• November 1964 100 Vietcong disguised as peasants
  attacked and greatly damaged US air base near
  Saigon
• Saigon regime seemed powerless to halt VC attacks

12
2. The Working Group Recommendations

• Group made up of Defence dept, State dept, CIA
  and JCS
• Reiterated Domino theory
• American national prestige, credibility and
  honour at stake
• Escalation necessary due to weak Saigon govt
• Favoured heavier bombing of north
• Although Johnson is blamed for escalation his
  military and civilian experts were urging
  escalation in the interests of national security

13
3. Defending American Bomber Bases with Rolling
Thunder

• X-mas eve 1964 VC plant bomb in bar frequented by
  US officers
• Feb 1965 VC attacked huge American camp near
  Pleiku (8 killed, 100 injured)
• Johnson then began the large scale bombing in
  Vietnam
• Such was the intensity that by march they were
  known as Rolling Thunder

• Johnson refused to declare war, he was seducing
  rather than raping the north..Im going up her
  leg an inch at a time.

14
Johnson on Bombing
15
4. Defending American Bomber Bases with American
Troops

• Spring 1965 General Westmoreland requested US
  troops
• Mar 1965 3,500 US troops landed at Danang beach
• April Johnson approved an increase of 18,000 US
  support forces
• Congress supportively granted 700 million in may
• House of Representatives voted 408-7, Senate
  voted 88-3 in favour
• Press supported action as well

16
(No Transcript)