Path to War Page #8

our allies will lose faith in us.

And three,

because we have so persistently

and publicly committed ourselves

to preventing a Communist

takeover in South Vietnam,

our failure to see that commitment

through will be profoundly

devastating

to our prestige

this is why I recommend the following

1, Put the men in.

Westmoreland's plan is sound,

every quantitative measurement

shows we can win.

2, Call up the reserves

and extend tours of duty

and 3, Expand the bombing.

In the North remove restrictions

on bridge

and rail lines,

mine the harbors.

Expand Rolling

Thunder from twenty-five hundred

to four thousand

sorties a month. In the South,

tactical air strikes

must be supplemented

by increased B-52 bombing

of VC base areas.

Now, to elaborate...

Clark...

Clark, I think you scored

some terrific points in there,

I'm so glad you were arguing

the other side.

Well...

you believe what you've said

to the President,

you're certain we can win?

Well, I sure hope there's no mistake

in my confidence

on the President's part.

Well, that's not what I'm asking.

Clark, I've seen the charts,

I've run the numbers,

everything else is... soft,

speculation.

I had dinner with President Kennedy

just after the Missile Crisis

and he told me

that if it had not been for you,

keeping your head,

facing down the chief,

thinking clearly,

we might not be alive today.

Now, there were no charts

and numbers then.

Just judgment.

You're telling me

that it is your judgment that

this is the best course of action

for this country?

For this president?

I can only give my best advice.

That's what I did for Jack Kennedy,

it's what I'm doing now.

I'll see you at dinner, Clark.

You wanna stop somewhere

and talk about it?

I'm all talked out, honey.

I've done nothing but talk.

At some point the talkin's gotta end.

God happens when the talkin ends.

Lyndon, oh!

A hundred PhD's among em,

ten thousand IQ points

and I can't get an answer

I can sit with.

And if it turns bad,

they'll say this wouldn't ve happened

under Jack Kennedy!

No, sir! Cause he could do no wrong!

He leaves a thousand on the beach

in Cuba and his numbers go up!

Lyndon, now oh...

Lyndon, now c mon, honey.

What do you think of crashin through

that damn gate and drivin back

to Texas?

Now you know you'd get

no argument from me.

You hate it that much?

Have you ever considered

the shoes I've had to fill?

She didn't die with him.

Oh, he didn't die.

He's more alive than ever

cause his half-size brother

with one-and-a-half his brains

and a tenth his scruples

ate his heart out

and took in his spirit

as sure as he was out

of some Injun story.

And me, I'll be President

What's His Name,

who came between the two,

the President

who lost America's first war.

Why must young Americans,

born into a land exultant

with hope and with golden promises

toil and suffer and

sometimes die in such a remote

and distant place as Vietnam?

It is because in the fight

for freedom,

the American people have learned

that retreat does not bring safety,

and weakness does not bring peace.

If we are driven from the field

in Vietnam,

then no nation can ever again

have the same confidence

in American promises,

or in American protection.

We did not choose to be

the guardians of the gate,

but there is no one else.

Nor would surrender

in Vietnam bring peace.

Because we learned from Hitler

at Munch,

that success only feeds the appetite

of aggression.

I've asked the Commanding General,

General Westmoreland,

what more he needs to meet

this mounting aggression.

He has told me

and we will meet his needs.

I have today ordered

to Vietnam the Airmobile Division

and certain other forces

which will raise our fighting

strength from 75,000 to

125,000 men almost immediately.

Additional forces

will be needed later,

and they will be sent as requested.

Yeah, but how many?

Now, I do not find it easy to send

the flower of our youth,

our finest young men into battle.

I think I know how their mothers weep

and their families sorrows.

Mr. Secretary, Senator Morse

has been calling Vietnam,

McNamara's War.

What is your reaction?

This is a war

of the United States Government.

I am following the President's policy

and working in close cooperation

with the Secretary of State.

Now I must say I don't object to

it being called McNamara's War,

I think it's a very important war one

that I'm pleased

to be identified with

and to do what I can to win it.

Appearing on Meet the Press yesterday

McNamara was asked to comment

on Hanoi's claim

that some 10,000 civilians

have been killed in the bombing,

including thousands of women

and children.

Some loss of innocent life

is unavoidable in an operation

such as this,

I can tell you

that we are taking every

possible precaution

in choosing targets,

the risk of civilian casualties

is most assuredly

one of several factors considered.

So, what target are you recommending?

There's a cement factory along

a major rail line.

General Wheeler feels military value

is marginal.

But the monsoon has sucked

in more valuable targets.

What's the output of the facility?

It appears to be small, sir,

even by their standards.

It couldn't produce enough

for them to rely heavily

on the output.

Let's give it a C for military value,

what's your risk analysis?

Risk of pilots is close to zero.

There might be some small arms fire,

but recon shows

no antiaircraft emplacements.

No megs in the area?

They'll be protecting more valuable

targets and probably

won't risk losing them defending

this one.

Depending on cloud cover,

we may have to come in low enough

to be in range of small arms

but this is a small risk.

Give it an A for risk

of pilots and aircraft,

what's your flashpoint analysis?

The target is more than twenty miles

outside Hanoi so

there's little risk of provoking

China or Russia.

Cosigan or Mau won't be down there

touring the factory that day,

will they?

This isn't one of Russia

or China's friendship projects?

A gift from the motherland?

Well, if I were Ho Chi Minh,

I would have returned this gift.

Of course, catching one of them

there might have been a nice bonus

for us.

Thanks, but I've already been

to the brink of nuclear

annihilation and I'm not eager

to go back.

Give it an A for flashpoint risk.

Next. What about civilians?

We're clear of residential

except for one row of hooches

behind the facility.

So what are these, houses

or storage shacks or what?

Well, we can't be sure uh,

most likely the factory

managers and their families

live there.

I'm not too familiar

with Southeast Asian home

construction, sir.

We could certainly use someone

who knows something

about Vietnamese culture around here.

So, what's the outside number

of civilians?

Well, four hooches this size,

we use six per so,

twentyfour.

Twenty-four for a target this size,

that seems high.

Rate this script:4.3 / 6 votes