Path to War Page #5

I will send you a law

which will eliminate illegal barriers

to the most basic American right,

the right to vote.

Many of the issues of civil rights

are very complex,

and most difficult

about this there can

and should be no argument,

for outside this chamber

is the outraged conscience

of a nation

and the harsh judgment of history.

Because of the American Negro,

to secure for himself the full

blessings of American life,

must be our cause.

Because really, it is all of us

who must overcome

the crippling legacy of bigotry

and injustice

and we shall overcome.

Dick, ninety three million on TV,

it's a record.

Congratulations,

Thanks.

Hey, Dick, Dick, the switchboard

is jammed haven't

had this many calls since't

he Cuban Missile Crisis.

Hmm, at least we know

they don't only call to complain.

Hey, Dick, sit down, sit down.

That was ole Dick Russell.

Says I'm a low-down cur and a turncoat

but he wants me to know

that's the best speech

he ever saw any president give

and that goes back to Lincoln!

Mr. President, it's Dr. King.

Oh, Dr...

Oh, Reverend King, that's kind

of you to call.

Did you know I was on TV tonight?

Oh, oh, you saw it? Yeah.

Okay, All right. I understand.

Yeah. Bye. Bye.

You've got Arthur Crimm on Line 3,

sir.

Oh, no-no-no. No, no, I can't.

No, no, no.

No.

You know, boys,

I'm reminded tonight of Texas

hill country in spring.

Oh, Lyndon,

your guests are far too weary

to appreciate your poetry.

Now let me tell you boys

about the hill country

in the spring.

Good night.

Good night, all.

Good night, Mrs. Johnson.

Good night. Luci.

Now, in the spring...

Luci. Come with me. Good night.

Good night, Mrs. Johnson.

Good night.

In the spring, in the hill country,

the sun is up early

and the ground gets warmer,

and you can see the steam risin

and the sap drippin.

And in his pen, there's my prize bull.

Now he is the biggest...

Best hung bull in the hill country.

Well, in the spring that bull gets

a hankerin for them cows

and he starts pawin the ground

and gettin restless.

So I open up the pen

and he goes down the hill with

his pecker hangin hard and swingin .

Well, those cows

get so goddamn excited,

they get more and more moist

to receive him

and their asses just start quiverin

they start quiverin all over

every one of em is quiverin !

And as that bull struts

into their pasture,

oooh, boys,

ha-ha we had em quiverin tonight!

Arriving in Naval transports,

United States Marines

storm the beaches

in Danang Vietnam in full battle gear.

These are the first U.S.

ground troops to step foot

on Asian soil since the Korean War.

They were greeted

by some lovely local ladies.

The Pentagon says their mission

is a defensive one,

to protect the U.S. air base

from enemy attack

so Operation Rolling Thunder

can roll on.

Speaking with reporters,

President Johnson emphasized

that these thirty-five hundred

marines

will free up

the South Vietnamese troops

now guarding the base to go out

and fight Vietcong.

Reports from the field, however,

indicate that Saigon forces

may be no match

for full Vietcong regimen.

Recently, in one of the heaviest

attacks of the war so far,

the Vietcong inflicted

major casualties

in Quai Nang Province.

Unofficial sources say

that many South Vietnamese army

units are near collapse.

Oh, my, oh, my.

Mr. President.

Mr. President.

All right, sit down, sit down boys.

I, I heard you fellahs

were talkin over dinner.

Can I get you a plate of food,

Mr. President?

No, thank you.

Drink?

No.

Why? Why do they want war with us?

To Ho Chi Minh and North Vietnamese

this is just a continuation

of the war with the French,

and the Japanese,

and the Chinese a thousand years

before that.

We never should have allowed

the French

to reclaim their colonies in 45,

but we needed them aligned with us

against the Soviets and that

was their price.

Will we end up like the French?

A great power cuttin and runnin from

a bunch a little men in black pajamas,

tuckin our tail in defeat?

France didn't have the fire power

we have.

But the bombing seems

to have no affect.

Well, it appears now

that it won't stop them,

but it has slowed down their resupply.

Hanoi's starting

to send down large units

and the more of

their men we can tie up

with repairing roads and bridges,

the fewer they can spare

to fight the South.

What do we have there now?

Well, we've got the 3rd Marines

at Danang, Phu Bai,

Chu Lai, the 173rd Airborne

at Vung Tau,

for base defense and support

of the South Vietnamese

units 13 battalions in all.

Never mind battalions, how many boys?

Fifty-one thousand troops,

Mr. President.

Yeah, and Westmorel

and wants how many?

One hundred eighty-four thousand.

And the authority to launch

offensive operations

under his own command.

The South Vietnamese are useless,

Mr. President.

They've lost four battalions

in a month.

Desertions are at record levels.

They're losing

and they're losing fast.

National Security Advisor

I know they're losin !

I don't need a Phi Beta Kappa key

to know they're losin !

Anyone smart enough to pour piss

out of a boot

knows they're losin !

How many casualties

you think we'll take?

We could reach 500 a month

by the end of the year

if Hanoi hasn't quit by then.

Five hundred a month?

You tell Westmorel that

he's got the authority.

Tell him to get out there

and kill Vietcong,

and do whatever he has

to do to hold em off.

Then you and Wheeler go and see him

and nail him down on what he needs

to get this thing over with.

Then damn it, let's get it over with!

U.S. Command Center, Saigon

Kid was setting fuses

on the goddamn bridge,

do you believe it?

I was five minutes away.

And that potshot last time I was here

he missed me by a mile.

Jesus, you'd think they'd put their

best sniper on the job.

I wish I could tell you

they were representative of the enemy

Mr. Secretary.

My strategy for the war is divided

into three phases.

In Phase I,

employing the 184,000 man level

now being considered,

we would halt the losing trend

by the end of 1965.

In Phase II,

for which an additional

100,000 troops would be needed,

allied forces would gain

the initiative by June 30, 1966,

pacification activities

would be expanded

aimed at winning the hearts and minds

of the South Vietnamese peasantry.

If the Communists do not then give up

Phase III of our strategy would kick

in the win phase,

which would being on July 1, 1966

and conclude by December 31, 1967

the defeat of remaining

enemy forces and base areas.

Additional reinforcements

will be needed for this phase,

following which allied forces

will begin to be withdrawn.

General, that's a marvelous plan,

but uh, excessively abstract.

I want to see your numbers.

I want to see the percentage

of the country you now control,

The percentage intend to control

with these 200,000 additional men.

I want to see rates of infiltration

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