The Vietnam War:

Controversies and Legacies

I. John Kennedy

II. Lyndon Johnson

III. The Historical Debate

IV. The Military Debate

V. Legacies

I. John Kennedy

“Let every nation know,

whether it wishes us well

or ill, that we shall pay

any price, bear any

burden, meet any

hardship, support any

friend, oppose any foe to

assure the survival and the

success of liberty.”

“Strategic Hamlet” Program

Madame Nhu

Barry

Goldwater

Berlin Wall

Cuban Missile Crisis

Henry Cabot

Lodge

Diem, Brother, and General Minh

II. Lyndon Johnson

• Geopolitical

• Political

• Historical

• Personal

Fall of China (1949)

Red Scare

Policy by Pool

Lee Clark

III. The Historical Debate

Dean Rusk

McGeorge

Bundy

Robert

McNamara

William

Westmoreland

“Johnson Treatment”

IV. The Military Debate

• Strategy

• Tactics

• Politics

Ronald Reagan

Ho Chi Minh

V. Legacies

“Vietnam Syndrome”

“Munich Analogy”

Vietnam Viewpoints

• “Tragic Mistake”

• “Healthy Corrective”

• “Imperial President”

• “Noble Cause”

• “Unhealthy Cancer”

• “Imperiled President”

Dick Cheney

Iraq War (2003)

Afghanistan War

The Vietnam War:

Controversies and Legacies

I. John Kennedy

II. Lyndon Johnson

III. The Historical Debate

IV. The Military Debate

V. Legacies