in response to the request of the government of south vietnam, president eisenhower sent economic aid and military equipment to assist the people of south vietnam in their efforts of prevent a communist takeover. seven years ago, president kennedy sent 16,000 military personnel to vietnam as combat advisers. four years ago, president johnson sent american combat forces to south vietnam.
now many believe that president johnson’s decision to send american combat forces to south vietnam was wrong. and many others, i among them, have been strongly critical of the way the war has been conducted.
but the question facing us today is -- now that we are in the war, what is the best way to end it?
in january i could only conclude that the precipitate withdrawal of all american forces from vietnam would be a disaster not only for south vietnam but for the united states and for the cause of peace.
for the south vietnamese, our precipitate withdrawal would inevitably allow the communists to repeat the massacres which followed their takeover in the north 15 years before. they then murdered more than 50,000 people and hundreds of thousands more