Word: vietnams
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1960-1969
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...moved in as a result of our shock at the Communist victory in China and the French defeat in Vietnam--a defeat, as I have noted, by a Communist Party that had achieved leadership of a nationalist movement. And at each juncture that we felt ourselves losing our grip, we increased our investment. Opportunities to exit with a modicum of grace were regularly by-passed in the expectation of eventual success. And now that that success seems further off than ever, our stakes have been transformed, and exit is infinitely harder...
Today there are some American planners, in the universities as well as Washington, who still see Vietnam as the ultimate test of their doctrine. I have in mind those gifted but in my view, wrongheaded men who have given a new life to the missionary thrust in American foreign relations--who believe that this nation, in this era, has been granted a threefold endowment of sorts that can transform the world...
...reaching toward this goal, Vietnam is seen as the last and crucial test, a test not only of doctrine but a test of our character. Once we have succeeded there, they seem to feel, the road ahead is clear...
Tripwires on Vietnam...
Incidentally, I would just add on an earlier point that it has been our view--those of us in government and outside government--that the tripwires or at least one tripwire which would bring on Chinese intervention in Vietnam, and, therefore, a collision with China despite China's very considerable reluctance to intervene--Mao Tse-tung, appreciates the situation as it is now, he believes we are bleeding ourselves to death, he believes we are isolating ourselves from the rest of the world, and this ideally suits his purposes...