Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Octafish

(55,745 posts)
23. JFK ordered withdrawal from Vietnam. LBJ reversed it four days after Dallas.
Thu May 22, 2014, 12:57 PM
May 2014

In National Security Action Memorandum (NSAM) 263 JFK orders everybody out...



Then in NSAM 273...



Vietnam Withdrawal Plans

The 1990s saw the gaps in the declassified record on Vietnam filled in—with spring 1963 plans for the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces. An initial 1000 man pullout (of the approximately 17,000 stationed in Vietnam at that time) was initiated in October 1963, though it was diluted and rendered meaningless in the aftermath of Kennedy's death. The longer-range plans called for complete withdrawal of U. S. forces and a "Vietnamization" of the war, scheduled to happen largely after the 1964 elections.

The debate over whether withdrawal plans were underway in 1963 is now settled. What remains contentious is the "what if" scenario. What would Kennedy have done if he lived, given the worsening situation in Vietnam after the coup which resulted in the assassination of Vietnamese President Diem?

At the core of the debate is this question: Did President Kennedy really believe the rosy picture of the war effort being conveyed by his military advisors. Or was he onto the game, and instead couching his withdrawal plans in the language of optimism being fed to the White House?

The landmark book JFK and Vietnam asserted the latter, that Kennedy knew he was being deceived and played a deception game of his own, using the military's own rosy analysis as a justification for withdrawal. Newman's analysis, with its dark implications regarding JFK's murder, has been attacked from both mainstream sources and even those on the left. No less than Noam Chomsky devoted an entire book to disputing the thesis.

But declassifications since Newman's 1992 book have only served to buttress the thesis that the Vietnam withdrawal, kept under wraps to avoid a pre-election attack from the right, was Kennedy's plan regardless of the war's success. New releases have also brought into focus the chilling visions of the militarists of that era—four Presidents were advised to use nuclear weapons in Indochina. A recent book by David Kaiser, American Tragedy, shows a military hell bent on war in Asia.

CONTINUED with very important IMFO links:

http://www.history-matters.com/vietnam1963.htm

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

Don't worry your pretty little head off. DetlefK May 2014 #1
BFEE chum and CIA director Allen Dulles lied to JFK. Octafish May 2014 #5
File under vacant promises dipsydoodle May 2014 #2
Whatever's in there, must sure cast some body or some thing in a bad light. Octafish May 2014 #9
So, which idiot isn't dead yet? Demeter May 2014 #16
Corporations never have to die. What Vol. III found Dulles told the 'Economic Royalists'... Octafish May 2014 #22
George H W bush. jwirr May 2014 #25
Well said. Louisiana1976 May 2014 #30
Down the memory hole it goes...n/t deutsey May 2014 #3
And from its spout, new memories magically appear. Octafish May 2014 #12
'Bay of Pigs' threat by Nixon to CIA chief Helms. Ichingcarpenter May 2014 #4
see also Ichingcarpenter May 2014 #6
E Howard Hunt planted phony cables in a White House safe to implicate JFK in Diem assassinations. Octafish May 2014 #14
Miami Jury: CIA Involved in JFK Assassination MinM May 2014 #35
The Texans and the 'Bay of Pigs Thing' Octafish May 2014 #13
Notice how the CIA/JFK/Oswald files are also to be hidden Ichingcarpenter May 2014 #15
Sounds like someone isnt drinking their cool-aid. Just sayin. nm rhett o rick May 2014 #7
Also done with the Soylent Yellow. Octafish May 2014 #20
Next: Hiding Vietnam. L0oniX May 2014 #8
''By God, we’ve kicked the Vietnam Syndrome once and for all.'' -- GHW Bush Octafish May 2014 #21
Just "protecting our freedoms" phil89 May 2014 #26
JFK ordered withdrawal from Vietnam. LBJ reversed it four days after Dallas. Octafish May 2014 #23
I think that as long as I'm getting a paycheck, johnnyreb May 2014 #10
That's some spooky tune, wot? Octafish May 2014 #24
Don't forget Poppy. PeoViejo May 2014 #11
Ah, yes...that's the one! Demeter May 2014 #17
Anyone remember the name of Poppy's oil company in Cuba that had been taken over? The name jwirr May 2014 #27
Arbusto. WinkyDink May 2014 #28
That is it. Connected with both Oswald and the Bay of Pigs. jwirr May 2014 #29
Zapata Offshore Octafish May 2014 #34
Why would the CIA be stonewalling? MinM May 2014 #18
Ukraine MinM May 2014 #31
Robert Parry MinM May 2014 #32
K & R !!! WillyT May 2014 #19
In these days of... CanSocDem May 2014 #33
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»CIA Successfuly Conceals ...»Reply #23