William Fulbright And The Vietnam War
Not the least of Senator Fulbright's contributions is his careful preservation of voluminous, orderly private papers and their donation to the University of Arkansas for the use of scholars. Mr. Berman has made excellent use of these papers in his fine chronicle and analysis of the senator's transformation from supporter of Johnson's Tonkin Gulf Resolution in 1964 to convinced and effective opponent of the war two years later.
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Let us make two assumptions: first, that the Viet Nam war has reached the beginning of the end and that it will be over within the next year or two; second, that the settlement will involve an American defeat and the extension of communist power to South Viet Nam. Events may falsify both these assumptions, but they may not; it is worth thinking about what the situation will be like if they do not.
During Richard Nixon's first term, when I served as secretary of defense, we withdrew most U.S. forces from Vietnam while building up the South's ability to defend itself. The result was a success -- until Congress snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by cutting off funding for our ally in 1975. Washington should follow a similar strategy now, but this time finish the job properly.
In taking the war upon himself, Robert S. McNamara forgets that containment abroad and anticommunism at home virtually ensured the Vietnam tragedy.

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