He said it right there...! The OSS (cia) was helping Ho Chi Min but then the French got involved meaning the OSS deserted the Vietnamese for French alliances.
Ho was our man in Indochina but the French war ruined that. Truman and Eisenhower bungled the entire thing because they needed France in NATO and slow played the anticolonial sentiment that FDR had envisioned post war. Otherwise we would have a strong alliance with Vietnam thru the 50s and an extension of Thailand
Done. Thanks again. Wish we could have produced our documentary but am glad the interviews are finally being seen. It was a great privilege to be able to speak with Roger.
One key driving force prior to 1965 was the political aspect of not looking soft on communism. Eisenhower was elected in part for the blame on Truman on Korea. Allowing the North to take over the south is something that was not permissible. This affect JFK and LBJ policy decisions since they wanted to get re-elected in 1964.. Withdrawal was unthinkable because of political backlash. Even through most knew the odds were against achieving the goal, they thought that American would achieve the war in the end. The war initially had broad popular support from the people and the press. The whole concept of limited war and micromanagement was all for political reasons.
He said it right there...!
The OSS (cia) was helping Ho Chi Min but then the French got involved meaning the OSS deserted the Vietnamese for French alliances.
Ho was our man in Indochina but the French war ruined that. Truman and Eisenhower bungled the entire thing because they needed France in NATO and slow played the anticolonial sentiment that FDR had envisioned post war. Otherwise we would have a strong alliance with Vietnam thru the 50s and an extension of Thailand
This is great first person testimony on something still very misunderstood
It is great to see this on youtube... slight correction, it is "Hilsman" --just one "L" :-)
Thank you for your note and for the correction. Will fix that.
Done. Thanks again. Wish we could have produced our documentary but am glad the interviews are finally being seen. It was a great privilege to be able to speak with Roger.
@@KingRoseArchives Thank you for fixing it. I am glad you enjoyed speaking to my dad... we miss him terribly :-(
Hi there, is there someone I can contact about the possibility of licensing a clip from this interview for a documentary?
One key driving force prior to 1965 was the political aspect of not looking soft on communism. Eisenhower was elected in part for the blame on Truman on Korea. Allowing the North to take over the south is something that was not permissible. This affect JFK and LBJ policy decisions since they wanted to get re-elected in 1964.. Withdrawal was unthinkable because of political backlash. Even through most knew the odds were against achieving the goal, they thought that American would achieve the war in the end. The war initially had broad popular support from the people and the press. The whole concept of limited war and micromanagement was all for political reasons.
Hilsman likes to emphasize every 8th word.
So Johnson wanted to get into Vietnam and said so during the meetings with JFK. He was not reluctant at all.