#2: The Vietnam War (Top 10 Mistakes by U.S. Presidents)

[riky]

#2: The Vietnam War (Top 10 Mistakes by U.S. Presidents)
      

Lesson for President Obama: Ask the tough questions before you go to war.

As President Johnson and his White House advisors---which included many members of the Kennedy administration---discussed what to do, they failed to ask two hard questions:

First, if the worst happened and South Vietnam fell to the communists, was it likely that all of South Asia would fall too? And, second, if the United States did commit its troops to fight alongside the South Vietnamese army, would this combined force be able to win the war?

According to Robert McNamara, who was LBJ's Secretary of Defense, neither he, nor President Johnson, nor anyone in the White House asked those questions.

 
         

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login