- Joined
- Feb 29, 2004
- Messages
- 1,720
- Points
- 248
1964 Taylor and Khanh have "heated" discussions in Saigon
Ambassador Maxwell Taylor meets twice with South Vietnamese Premier General Nguyen Khanh to register U.S. disapproval of the recent calls by Khanh and Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky to extend the war into North Vietnam.
Both meetings were reportedly "heated." It was also said that Khanh stood firmly against Taylor's reprimands, arguing that the war had changed because of the presence of North Vietnamese forces in South Vietnam. Khanh offered to resign at the second meeting, but Taylor, who had become convinced that Khanh was partly right about taking the war to the North Vietnamese, not only dissuaded him but also ended up cabling Washington that the United States should undertake covert planning with the South Vietnamese for bombing the North. In a news conference in Washington on July 24, President Lyndon B. Johnson insisted that relations were good between the U.S. and South Vietnam.
1965 Johnson urged to declare a state of national emergency
President Lyndon B. Johnson, in the course of discussions about what to do concerning the deteriorating situation in Vietnam, is told by some that he should give the American public all the facts, ask for an increase in taxes, mobilize the reserves, and declare a state of national emergency in the United States. Johnson rejected this approach, and informed his staff that he wanted any decisions implemented in a "low-key manner" in order to avoid an abrupt challenge to the communists, and to avoid undue concern and excitement in Congress and in domestic public opinion. During these discussions, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara urged the president to "expand promptly and substantially" the U.S. military presence in South Vietnam. Johnson, not wanting to "lose" Vietnam to the communists, ultimately accepted McNamara's recommendation and authorized a total of 44 U.S. battalions in South Vietnam, which led to a massive escalation of the war.
Ambassador Maxwell Taylor meets twice with South Vietnamese Premier General Nguyen Khanh to register U.S. disapproval of the recent calls by Khanh and Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky to extend the war into North Vietnam.
Both meetings were reportedly "heated." It was also said that Khanh stood firmly against Taylor's reprimands, arguing that the war had changed because of the presence of North Vietnamese forces in South Vietnam. Khanh offered to resign at the second meeting, but Taylor, who had become convinced that Khanh was partly right about taking the war to the North Vietnamese, not only dissuaded him but also ended up cabling Washington that the United States should undertake covert planning with the South Vietnamese for bombing the North. In a news conference in Washington on July 24, President Lyndon B. Johnson insisted that relations were good between the U.S. and South Vietnam.
1965 Johnson urged to declare a state of national emergency
President Lyndon B. Johnson, in the course of discussions about what to do concerning the deteriorating situation in Vietnam, is told by some that he should give the American public all the facts, ask for an increase in taxes, mobilize the reserves, and declare a state of national emergency in the United States. Johnson rejected this approach, and informed his staff that he wanted any decisions implemented in a "low-key manner" in order to avoid an abrupt challenge to the communists, and to avoid undue concern and excitement in Congress and in domestic public opinion. During these discussions, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara urged the president to "expand promptly and substantially" the U.S. military presence in South Vietnam. Johnson, not wanting to "lose" Vietnam to the communists, ultimately accepted McNamara's recommendation and authorized a total of 44 U.S. battalions in South Vietnam, which led to a massive escalation of the war.
