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John B. OakesJohn B. Oakes
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Part:         Session:         Page of 512

Q:

On this issue, yes.

Oakes:

It almost ruined their friendship.

Oakes:

I think - I never had very close personal relations with any of these executives on the Times, news people, in any case, but I am quite sure that this difference helped to chill whatever relationship I would have had. I do feel that, in all candor. I felt that. Maybe I imagined this, and maybe I was a little supersensitive about it, but I have to say that I think the answer to that question is: yes, I think it did. Although I certainly don't have any dramatic evidences of that in my mind, except occasionally at these luncheons there would be sharp - but it was perfectly obvious that I didn't have very close personal connections with any of the people in the news department, and I feel that this rather -

Q:

Just as well.

Oakes:

Yes. Well, I think that this rather helped to chill that.

Turner Catledge, who I guess of all the people in the news department I was friendliest with - we always had very friendly relationships, and, as a matter of fact, I think that Turner was probably, maybe by coincidence, more sympathetic than anybody else over among the top executives to the position that we were taking on Vietnam.

You mentioned Halberstam. That raises a question that I think may be worth just digressing or going into for a minute, because this comes to another matter that, to me, was





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