Antiwar Propaganda: Conflict Irresolution

The following was published in S.E. Parker's The Egoist (formerly Minus One), No. 12, 1990, and attributed to Are We All Nazis? by Hans Askenasy © 1978. [Further amended to include additional material from the book—May 2005.]

A Brief History of the Defence of Western Civilization in Vietnam

• “I didn't come back to Indochina to give Indochina back to the Indochinese.” [French General Jean Leclerc, September 1945]

• “There is no question that the Communist menace in French Indochina has been stopped.” [American General J. Lawton Collins, Army Chief of Staff, 1951]

• “I am also impressed by the French military plans, by the apparent Vietnamese determination to fight. I could not make any better plans than those already in existence.” [American General Mark Clark, February 1953]

• “I'm going to kick General Giap's teeth in, one by one!” [French Brigadier General Christian de Castries, April 1954]

• “The French are going to win. It is a fight that is going to be finished with our help.” [American Admiral Arthur Radford, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1954]

• “It is fashionable in some quarters to say that the problems in Southeast Asia are primarily political and economic. I do not agree. The essence of the problem in Vietnam is military.” [American General Earle K. Wheeler, November 1962]

• “Every quantitative measure we have shows we're winning the war.” [Robert McNamara, American Secretary of Defence, 1962]

• “It's the inherent right of the government to lie to save itself.” [Arthur D. Sylvester, American Assistant Secretary of Defense, 1962]

• “The corner definitely has been turned towards victory in Vietnam.” [Arthur D. Syvester, 1963]

• “By Christmas it will be all over.” [American General Paul Harkins, April 1963]

• “The Laotians are very interesting people. They don't like to kill each other.” [Dean Rusk, American Secretary of State, September 1963]

• “We are not about to send boys nine or ten thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.” [Lyndon B. Johnson, President of the USA, October 1964]

• “Presently the military operations appear to be going better. There have been reports from a military point of view in recent weeks... We have also insisted on continuing the bombing as we did in the spring. The President made some very impressive speeches in that direction.” [J. William Fulbright, US Senator, October 1964]

• “The Vietcong will just peter out.” [American General Maxwell Taylor, October 1965]

• “The Vietcong are going to collapse within weeks. Not months, but weeks.” [Walt W. Rostow, American State Department policy planner, 1965]

• “By the end of 1967, there might be light at the end of the tunnel and everybody will get the feeling that things are much better...” [Henry Cabot Lodge, US Ambassador to Saigon, December 1966]

• “Vietnam is our greatest adventure, and a wonderful adventure it is!” [Hubert H. Humphrey, Vice President of the USA, November 1967]

• “It can be said now that the defeat of the Communist forces in South Vietnam is inevitable. The only question is, how soon.” [Richard Nixon, 1967]

• “I have never been more encouraged in my four years in Vietnam.” [American General William C. Westmoreland, November 1967]

• “It looks very good. The other side is near collapse. In my opinion, victory is very near... I'll show you the charts. The charts are very good.” [Walt W. Rostow, 1967]

• “The enemy have been defeated at every turn.” [General William C. Westmoreland, 1968]

• “Peace is at hand.” [Henry Kissinger, American Secretary of State, 1972]

• “Hanoi has accepted near-total defeat... Anyone with practical common sense should be able to see...Hanoi's acceptance of near-total defeat... The numerous American politicians and thinkers who endlessly said...we could never get an honourable settlement...look pretty silly.” [Joseph Alsop, American columnist, November 1972]

• “The Swiss charter company Balair Monday confirmed that it refused to fly sixteen tons of gold, apparently belonging to President Nguyen Van Thieu and Cambodian President Lon Nol, out of Saigon to Switzerland.” [Los Angeles Times, April 1975]

• “I am absolutely convinced if Congress made available US$722 million in military assistance by the time I asked—or sometime shortly thereafter—the South Vietnamese could stabilize the military situation in Vietnam today.” [Gerald Ford, President of the USA, April 16, 1975]

• “South Vietnam surrenders unconditionally to the Viet Cong.” [Los Angeles Times, April 30, 1975]

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