LBJ and The Vietnam War

1. LBJ and The Vietnam War

2. Prologue • JFK accepted Eisenhower’s “Domino Theory:” if South Vietnam fell, the rest of Southeast Asia would become Communist • JFK dramatically increased military aid to South Vietnam and increased the number of military advisors to 16,000 (training and support) • “Strategic hamlet” program: forced relocation of South Vietnamese to protect them from Communist influence

3. Prologue, cont. • The government of South Vietnam under Ngo Dinh Diem was increasingly unpopular; Buddhist monks set themselves on fire in protest • JFK began to issue orders to pull out military advisors • November 2, 1963: Diem was overthrown and assassinated by South Vietnamese generals

4. LBJ’s dilemma: intervene decisively or withdraw? LBJ became President right when South Vietnam fell into chaos: 7 different governments in 1964 An all-out American military effort could provoke China and the Soviet Union and lead to WWIII. However, LBJ did not want to appear weak on Communism; a pull-out would leave him vulnerable to attacks from conservatives in the 1964 election. “I’m not going to lose Vietnam. I am not going to be the President who saw Southeast Asia go the way China went.” LBJ chooses to widen our limited war, hoping to force Ho Chi Minh to the bargaining table; the North Vietnamese and NLF believed that they would gain more by outlasting the U.S.

5. LBJ’s dilemma, cont. • LBJ sought to demonstrate American strength and to block his opponent, Barry Goldwater, from capitalizing on the Vietnam situation • In February, he ordered the Pentagon to begin preparing for air strikes, in May, he drafted a congressional resolution authorizing an escalation of military action, and in June appointed Maxwell Taylor, a hawk, as ambassador to South Vietnam.

6. Gulf of Tonkin • August 2 and 4: • Aug 7, 1964:

7. Early 1965 • February 1965:

8. Troops arrive in ‘65 • 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, arrive in Vietnam to defend the U.S. airfield at Danang. • LBJ’s deception begins:

9. American Soldiers • Average Age: 19

11. The impact on South Vietnam • U.S. “search and destroy” missions, attacking villages in search of Vietcong: 4 million refugees created! • Operation Ranch Hand:

12. The war on TV • The “credibility gap” grows for LBJ: according to him, we were winning and the end was near. • In 1965, CBS News shows American troops setting fire to a village • Each night, Americans saw scenes of violence, suffering, and destruction, as well as the latest US body counts • “The picture of the world’s greatest superpower killing or seriously injuring a thousand noncombatants a week, while trying to pound a tiny backward country into submission on an issue whose merits are hotly disputed, is not a pretty one.” –Robert McNamara

13. The Tet Offensive • January 30, 1968:

14. Images of Tet

15. The end of LBJ • LBJ’s popularity plummets after Tet; barely wins the first Democratic primary in New Hampshire; anti-war candidate Eugene McCarthy finishes a close second • LBJ Speech, Mar. 31, 1968