Word: mcchristian
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Retired Major General Joseph McChristian looked straight at the jury in a Manhattan federal courtroom last week, recalling a day in May 1967. He had brought to General William Westmoreland a carefully researched proposal to virtually double the official estimate of enemy troops in Viet Nam. "I stood in front of his desk, and I handed it to him," McChristian said. "I gave him a little bit of background on what it was. He read it. He looked up at me and he said, 'If I send that cable to Washington, it will create a political bombshell...
With that statement, McChristian, who was Westmoreland's chief of intelligence for two years, contradicted sworn testimony by the former commander of U.S. armed forces in Viet Nam. Earlier in the trial Westmoreland declared that he had sought an explanation from McChristian of how he had calculated the troop estimates, and had then disputed inclusion of civilians because, Westmoreland felt, they had a limited impact in combat. McChristian said he never learned what happened to his report, but added, "I think that for a military man to withhold a report based on political implications would be improper...
...factual assertions made in the broadcast," which it too introduced in court. Subordinate officials of the CIA and the Pentagon asserted that they had indeed lowered pre-Tet estimates of enemy strength, under explicit or implied orders from Westmoreland's command team. Retired Army Major General Joseph McChristian suggested that Westmoreland may have sidetracked a cable about troop strength after saying it could be a "political bombshell." Said McChristian: "Although I usually sent my reports directly to Washington, General Westmoreland told me to leave it with him. I do not know what happened to the cable...
Yale had three chances to increase its edge but Cooper, Tim McChristian, and high-scorer Dick Shea all botched foul shots...
...began trickling down the Ho Chi Minh trail, and the gradual buildup began. Lately, the buildup has intensified, bringing the Viet Cong an abundance of modern weapons and ammunition. "There is no longer anything ragtag, bobtail or worn out about their main-force weapons," says Major General Joseph A. McChristian, senior American intelligence officer in Viet Nam. "They are first rate." What is more, says McChristian, "we rarely receive reports now of any Viet Cong shortages of small-arms ammunition-or any kind of ammunition...