Home
Search transcripts:    Advanced Search
Notable New     Yorkers
Select     Notable New Yorker

John B. OakesJohn B. Oakes
Photo Gallery
Transcript

Part:         Session:         Page of 512

had talks with Johnson, and from then on, from the beginning of '64, any conversation that I had with Johnson would have dealt, if not exclusively, primarily with the Vietnam matter, in which I feel that Johnson really felt very much in a bind. He really didn't want to involve the United States in a wider war, and I think that was absolutely genuine. But Johnson was so absolutely determined not to let his presidential administration be tarnished with anything that would look like a military defeat in any way for the United States, and in a sense you can't blame him; but unfortunately, he was absolutely trapped by that overwhelming determination, trapped in the sense that he didn't really give enough credence or wasn't really willing to take a chance, I guess is the fairest way to put it, to take a chance on pursuing seriously real negotiations that would involve some real give on our part in connection with reaching a peace agreement, because we couldn't get to any kind of a peace with the Vietcong from mid -- I'm sure, mid '64, maybe the next year, '65. We could not have gotten a peace agreement without making some concessions to North Vietnam, concessions in the sense of establishing, recognizing -- God knows what. But Johnson's overwhelming determination --

[TAPE INTERRUPTION]

Q:

Go ahead.

Oakes:

Anyway, Johnson was swept up in the idea that the only way we could bring an end to this thing was to wipe out the other side. I don't think he really wanted to do that, but he -- I'm not going to repeat what I've already said to you, but I think that was his overwhelming philosophy. It certainly wasn't that Johnson was out to conquer the world or anything like that. But he felt it was a damn sight more important to not have the U.S.





© 2006 Columbia University Libraries | Oral History Research Office | Rights and Permissions | Help