Did JFK Intend to Pull Out of Vietnam?

JFK's assassination, according to those sources, left President Johnson responsible for the further escalations of the war.

Former U.S. President John Kennedy

(PORTLAND, OR) - As William Blum points out in this excerpt of his report 125, JFK’s own brother challenges the recollections of JFK’s apologists that he was prepared to pull out of Vietnam after committing more than 16,000 US troops to defeat the popular Viet Cong uprising.

Instead, RFK testifies his brother based his military intervention on his belief in the “domino effect” then popular among the Washington foreign policy establishment.

His assassination, according to those sources, left President Johnson responsible for the further escalations of the war.-MM

The Anti-Empire Report #125

By William Blum – Published February 4th, 2014 VIA janefranklin@hotmail.com

On April 30, 1964, five months after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, was interviewed by John B. Martin in one of a series of oral history sessions with RFK. Part of the interview appears in the book “JFK Conservative” by Ira Stoll, published three months ago. (pages 192-3)

RFK: The president … had a strong, overwhelming reason for being in Vietnam and that we should win the war in Vietnam.
MARTIN: What was the overwhelming reason?
RFK: Just the loss of all of Southeast Asia if you lost Vietnam. I think everybody was quite clear that the rest of Southeast Asia would fall.
MARTIN: What if it did?
RFK: Just have profound effects as far as our position throughout the world, and our position in a rather vital part of the world. Also it would affect what happened in India, of course, which in turn has an effect on the Middle East. Just as it would have, everybody felt, a very adverse effect. It would have an effect on Indonesia, hundred million population. All of those countries would be affected by the fall of Vietnam to the Communists.
MARTIN: There was never any consideration given to pulling out?
RFK: No.
MARTIN: … The president was convinced that we had to keep, had to stay in there …
RFK: Yes.
MARTIN: … And couldn’t lose it.
RFK: Yes.

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Michael Munk tries to glean important but overlooked items from the world media on the issues of the day and posts them on an irregular schedule. Although items can overlap, he also maintains separate lists for activists in Portland, Oregon and the Northwest, and special lists for: Labor, Latin America, Israel, Torture Taxis, Korea, and the Czech Republic.

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