Politico...How Vietnam Haunts the Democrats

[mystery-ak]

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/02/vietnam-lbj-pleiku-haunts-democrats-115259.html?hp=m1#.VOXsrS6GNOU

How Vietnam Haunts the Democrats

Fifty years later, the ghosts of Pleiku and LBJ linger over modern politics.

By MICHAEL A. COHEN

February 17, 2015

On February 7, 1965, a company of 300 Vietcong guerrillas armed with AK-47s, mortars and rifle grenades attacked an American helicopter base named Camp Holloway in the town of Pleiku, located in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. The raid, which came just a few hours after the end of a weeklong cease fire for the Tet holiday, lasted only five minutes; but it produced the highest single number of U.S. casualties in the war: Eight Americans were killed and more than 120 wounded.

President Lyndon Johnson ordered an immediate military reprisal. Within 14 hours, U.S. jets were flying bombing raids over North Vietnam. In reality, Johnson and his advisors had already made the decision to escalate U.S. involvement in the war; Pleiku simply provided the opportunity to do so.

The decision to retaliate would for all intents and purposes mark the beginning of the American war in Vietnam—a conflict that would last eight more years, take the lives of 58,000 Americans and millions more Vietnamese. At home it would create a permanent rift within the Democratic Party.

In the days after the attack, while LBJ was making the push for war, one official inside his administration vocally opposed military escalation in Vietnam: Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Ten days after Pleiku, Humphrey would submit a memo to the president that is perhaps the most prescient document on the disaster that awaited the United States in Southeast Asia—and the president at home. Johnson ignored it.

Fifty years later, the events surrounding Pleiku offer an invaluable lens into not only Johnson’s disastrous stewardship of the war, but also what might have been had he heeded the advice of his vice president.

***

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/02/vietnam-lbj-pleiku-haunts-democrats-115259.html#ixzz3SCQq7Y9L

[Bigun]

There is SO much more to this story that most Americans don't know!

Rather than try to tell it here I will simply recommend a book for anyone who may be interested in the TRUTH to read.



Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954-1965

http://www.amazon.com/Triumph-Forsaken-Vietnam-War-1954-1965/dp/0521869110/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1424357738&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=vietnam+war+history+Moryer

[Bigun]

And yet another tidbit that most Americans have no idea about!

"Basic Airman To General:  The Secret War and Other Conflicts"

Published 2014 by General Pete Piotrowski, ISBN 978-1-4931-6187-4 (Hardcover)

Following is a quote of much interest, from pages 246/247:

"Nearly twenty years later, former Secretary of State Dean Rusk being interviewed by Peter Arnett on a CBS documentary called "The Ten Thousand Day War". 
Mr Arnett asked, "It has been rumored that the United States provided the North Vietnamese government the names of the targets that would be bombed the following day.  Is there any truth to that allegation?" 

To everyone's astonishment and absolute disgust, the former Secretary responded, "Yes.  We didn't want to harm the North Vietnamese people, so we passed the targets to the Swiss embassy in Washington with instructions to pass them to the NVN government through their embassy in Hanoi."  As we watched in horror, Secretary Rusk went on to say, "All we wanted to do is demonstrate to the North Vietnamese leadership that we could strike targets at will, but we didn't want to kill innocent people.  By giving the North Vietnamese advanced warning of the targets to be attacked, we thought they would tell the workers to stay home."  No wonder all the targets were so heavily defended day after day!  The NVN obviously moved as many guns as they could overnight to better defend each target they knew was going to be attacked.  Clearly, many brave American Air Force and Navy fliers died or spent years in NVN prison camps as a direct result of being intentionally betrayed by Secretary Rusk and Secretary McNamara, and perhaps, President Johnson himself.  I cannot think of a more duplicitous and treacherous act of American government officials.  Dean Rusk served as Secretary of State from January 21, 1961, through to January 20, 1969, under President John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.  Perhaps Senator John McCain, POW for five years and presidential candidate in 2008, was one of the many victims of this utter stupidity and flawed policy flowing from President Lyndon B. Johnson. 
Mr. Peter Arnett opined that this would be a treasonous act by anyone else."

[alicewonders]

And yet another tidbit that most Americans have no idea about!

"Basic Airman To General:  The Secret War and Other Conflicts"

Published 2014 by General Pete Piotrowski, ISBN 978-1-4931-6187-4 (Hardcover)

Following is a quote of much interest, from pages 246/247:

"Nearly twenty years later, former Secretary of State Dean Rusk being interviewed by Peter Arnett on a CBS documentary called "The Ten Thousand Day War". 
Mr Arnett asked, "It has been rumored that the United States provided the North Vietnamese government the names of the targets that would be bombed the following day.  Is there any truth to that allegation?" 

To everyone's astonishment and absolute disgust, the former Secretary responded, "Yes.  We didn't want to harm the North Vietnamese people, so we passed the targets to the Swiss embassy in Washington with instructions to pass them to the NVN government through their embassy in Hanoi."  As we watched in horror, Secretary Rusk went on to say, "All we wanted to do is demonstrate to the North Vietnamese leadership that we could strike targets at will, but we didn't want to kill innocent people.  By giving the North Vietnamese advanced warning of the targets to be attacked, we thought they would tell the workers to stay home."  No wonder all the targets were so heavily defended day after day!  The NVN obviously moved as many guns as they could overnight to better defend each target they knew was going to be attacked.  Clearly, many brave American Air Force and Navy fliers died or spent years in NVN prison camps as a direct result of being intentionally betrayed by Secretary Rusk and Secretary McNamara, and perhaps, President Johnson himself.  I cannot think of a more duplicitous and treacherous act of American government officials.  Dean Rusk served as Secretary of State from January 21, 1961, through to January 20, 1969, under President John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.  Perhaps Senator John McCain, POW for five years and presidential candidate in 2008, was one of the many victims of this utter stupidity and flawed policy flowing from President Lyndon B. Johnson. 
Mr. Peter Arnett opined that this would be a treasonous act by anyone else."

They did that then, does anyone doubt that they are still doing that now?

[Bigun]

They did that then, does anyone doubt that they are still doing that now?

The United States Department of State has LONG been riddled with Communist operatives and that remains true to this very day.

[EdinVA]

The United States Department of State has LONG been riddled with Communist operatives and that remains true to this very day.

Damn.. I always wondered how the locals knew what we were doing the next day....