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Discuss Dalleck's account of Johnson's handling of the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968.

What were his reasons for fighting the war? What was his reasoning behind key decisions?

In taking over the mantle of President of the United States from John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Baines Johnson appeared to inherit a number of loose ends both domestically and internationally. On the international front the most prominent concern was the situation in Vietnam and the continued presence of American involvement in the region. Dalleck's text 'Flawed Giant', discusses and questions Johnson's handling of the war throughout his presidency.

Dalleck characterizes Johnson's presidency and rhetoric as possessing "a substantial gap between what he said in public and what he worked toward privately". (P59) Thus we can suggest that contradictions and hidden agendas played their part in Johnson's handling of the war. For example, Dalleck states that Johnson had no intention of escalating the conflict in Vietnam at the time he took office. Yet, according to Dalleck, Johnson was intent on the US being able to control the factors of any future confrontation thus allowing "maximum results with minimum danger" (P238). (This is perhaps reminiscent of JFK's desire

By the spring of 1965, Dalleck suggests that Johnson's main concern with Vietnam surrounded the development of a solid government policy on Vietnam. The reasoning behind this perhaps lies in Johnson's desire for a quick end to the war in order to concentrate his energy on "some bigger things... at home" (P100) This perhaps qualifies Dalleck's opinion that Johnson's handling of the war was "characterized ....... By ambivalence and contradiction (during) the sixteen months after he became President". (P257)

By mid 1965 military and civilian advice was more, more in the air and on the ground. The advent of operation 'Rolling Thunder', Johnson realized, could mean immediate short-term gains for the US. However, as Dalleck points out, Johnson "couldn't bring himself to admit that the bombing was to make America's role larger and embroil the US ever more deeply into the Vietnamese conflict". (P253) Dalleck points out that this was "so unpalatable" to Johnson that he refused to discuss such a potential outcome.

During 1964 and 1965, Johnson's actions in concerning Vietnam were largely supported by the American public. Yet as Dalleck points out, by 1966/67, there was a distinct lack of suppo

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Approximate Word count = 807
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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