Escalation of Vietnam essays

Escalation of Vietnam essays It is my observation that at this point in your administration you are enjoying considerable latitude with the American public. Your overwhelming victory in the recent election has illustrated your popularity. The platform on which you ran promised the American public that our boys would not be sent to die in Vietnam. If you are going to act on your word, and end the war in Vietnam, the time is now. It is also my observation that your top aides having been overwhelming you with advice in the opposite direction. Your beloved Robert McNamara, whose opinion you value deeply, has made this war his personal project. He is guaranteeing that the war can be won within two and a half years. He has stated that there is no risk of a catastrophe. He and General Westmoreland feel confident that the war can be won. However, they have continually been asking for more and more troops since mid-1964. You have already agreed to send more marines and authorize offensive operations. If there is no limit set on the number of troops, it becomes easier and easier to keep sending them. What is our clear military objective? Do our military leaders have a strategic plan for victory? Again in June, General Westmoreland has asked for more troops. After McNamara was sent in July to assess the situation in Saigon, he returned with the request to raise the American presence from 75,000 to 175,000 with a possible 100,000 more to follow. Does this sound like the promises you have made to the American public? The goals of your administration, the Great Society, will have to be halted and perhaps never completed should you lose the support of the public and Congress. In your recent meeting on July 21st with your top aides, it is evident that you feel you are continuing down the right path towards escalation. George Bundy has become militant in his stance, and is urging you to escalate and not to be deterred by the risk of a ground war with Chin...