Moyers.....Part II of Johnson Tapes where he's Asked to Commit More Troops to Vietnam..and NeoCon

[KoKo]

Types are there with Smiling Faces TELLING HIM WHAT TO DO! Like McCrystal and the rest. By now Vietnam was a Quagmire (I hope you listened to Part I that I posted here a couple days ago).

Anyway...as a child of the 60's I've hated Lyndon Johnson all my life (in spite of what he did for Social Programs that no Dem President has equaled) ...I remembered my classmates from my Southern High School who DIED IN VIETNAM because of JOHNSON.

When I listen to "Part One" of these tapes and how Johnson agonized over sending more troops and felt it would go badly and asked for advice from those ...even Bobby Kennedy...(whom he said he "wanted to hear his view...because it was important contrary to what he was hearing from Advisors} and yet he knew that POLITICALLY the REPUGS IN CONGRESS WANTED THIS WAR TO GO ON...and THAT's WHAT HE HAD TO DEAL WITH!

The TROOP INCREASE (In this PART II) where he was given advice which seems to be the SAME ESCALATION THAT OBAMA'S CHOICE IS...is HEART BREAKING! By this time Johnson was "way waste deep in the Big Muddy" just like Obama with TWO WARS ONGOING.

When you listen to the tapes and how hard Johnson was working to get ANY...just ANY folks who would tell him to PULL OUT...IT's a LOST CAUSE...and that he couldn't find anything but ESCALATE...ESCALATE..MORE TROOPS IN....then I NOW understand why he chose NOT TO RUN AGAIN.

As I said...all these years I hated Lyndon Johnson because of my two classmates who died in Vietnam..

But listening to this...I realize it WAS NOT JOHNSON...but the MILITARY/INDUSTRIAL/CORPORATE WHOREDOM who MAKE THE DECISIONS. I now give CREDIT TO JOHNSON..for TRYING TO GET US OUT.

{b]PART II of Bill Moyers and the "JOHNSON TAPES." (Part I is there on the site and worth the watch for understanding my RANT!

THESE ARE THE ACTUAL TAPES OF JOHNSON...not SOME CRAP MEDIA REPORTS..filtered and SPUN.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11202009/watch2.html

[Clio the Leo]

1. Bookmarking for later. Thanks. NT

[BrklynLiberal]

2. It is somewhat wrenching to find out now what a torn man he was...

As has been said before...he accomplished many great things, but the only thing that most people remember and talk about is Viet Nam

[KoKo]

3. Over the "Turkey Weekend" maybe some folks will have time to watch this...

It's really good. Stuff many of us didn't know.

[tilsammans]

4. Lyndon Johnson's inferiority complex

I've read that LBJ felt his advisors had better academic credentials than he did. He was a graduate of a teachers' college in Texas, and they had degrees from Ivy League schools and military academies. Therefore, he assumed they were intellectually superior when it came to advice about defense issues.

Had he trusted his gut instinct, things would likely have turned out quite differently.

[jeanpalmer]

5. Maybe LBJ isn't a good comparison

I don't think Obama is going to surge mmore troops to go for an all-out military victory, as LBJ was doing. Bits of information leaked out of the meetings have indicated they're looking at: (1) rapidly building up the Afghan army so that it can assume responsibility for supporting the government, and (2) paying the enemy "bags of gold" to switch sides and work for the government. There are also reports of a behind-the-scenes effort to bring the Taliban into the government. Basically it's the surge strategy employed in Iraq. They're hoping for the same result. They've spent a lot of time working on this strategy, so I doubt it's simply sending more troops to engage the enemy on the battlefield.