»-r /Jo, 5^0 A STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE: ROBERT F. KENNEDY'S DISSENT ON THE VIETNAM WAR—I966-I968 Craig W. Cutbirth A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 1976 An'nrnvprl hv T)r»r».toral nmrtmi ttee* i q ABSTRACT The Vietnam war -was one of the most hitter and divisive issues of the turbulent 1960’s. One American leader -who interacted with this issue was Robert F. Kennedy, United States Senator from New York. He was an ambitious man who had been the second most powerful man in the country during the Administration of John F. Kennedy. He was an acknowledged presidential aspirant. His actions and pronouncements attracted widespread attention—a source of potential benefit and danger for him. Kennedy planned his statements on the war with the utmost caution. He was particularly aware of the consequences of a personal break between himself and President Iyndon B. Johnson, wham Kennedy disliked and mistrusted. Accordingly, this study began with the assumption that Kennedy's planning involved the creation of a strategy through which he approached the Vietnam ,issue. Three of Kennedy's anti-war pronouncements were examined in this study. Each was considered an expression of Kennedy's rhetorical strategy. The nature of strategy was an object of some attention in this study. It was noted that the term has been used in a seemingly-contradictory manner. Accordingly, an attempt was made to clarify the nature of rhetorical strategy. It was determined that strategy is created to achieve some goal, and is implemented by certain tactics designed to energize audience support for the li rhetors position, thus achieving the desired goal. Each tactic employed by the rhetor relies on arguments or constraints designed to affect the audience in the desired manner. Within this framework, each of Kennedy’s anti-war statements was examined and evaluated. Kennedy did utilize a strategic approach to Vietnam. Despite his planning, he was forced into active opposition to President Johnson. » iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Although this manuscript bears my name and I accept responsibility for what is contained therein, I am not yet egocentric enough to deny the contributions of certain individuals. Initially, let me express my heart­ felt thanks to the members of my committee who have lived with this under­ taking almost as intimately as have I. Their suggestions bear the credit for whatever merit this work may have. I am particularly grateful for the wisdom of Dr. Raymond Yeager, who seemed to know exactly when to make entreaties and when to issue orders. The most important person to whom I am indebted is one who was never consulted as to the wisdom or necessity of completing this project. Her reading of it will be her introduction to its contents. Yet it would not, could not, exist without her. The contributions of my mother, Virginia A. Cutbirth, do not lend themselves to neat categorizations or acknowledgements. Her role in shaping my educational career, and my life, is beyond measure. My thanks to her is inexpressible. BOWLING GREEN UN1V. LIBRARY 37$.r// s) ' (\, 3/ ò TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... iii CHAPTER 1. A STRATEGIC STUDY OF ROBERT F. KENNEDY................................. 1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................... 1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM................................. 3 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................... 5 JUSTIFICATION ....................................................................... 5 REVIEW OF LITERATURE............................................................ 7 2. THE STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE........................................................ 1-3 3. A STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE OF ROBERT KENNEDY............................ 28 KENNEDY’S REPUTATION............................................................ 29 KENNEDY’S AMBITION................................................................ 37 KENNEDY’S CONFLICT WITH LYNDON B. JOHNSON ................... 40 KENNEDY AND VIETNAM............................................................ 46 4. TOWARD AN INDEPENDENT POSITION..................................... ... 57 THE EXIGENCE........................................................... 57 FACTORS RESTRAINING INVOLVEMENT...................................... 63 FACTORS COMPELLING INVOLVEMENT..................................... 65 FIRST BREAK: FEBRUARY 19, 1966 ............................. 67 THE AFTERMATH....................................................................... 73 A STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE ..................................................... 75 SUMMATION............................................................................... 84 EVALUATION............................................................................... 85 5. OPEN DISSENT............................................................................... 91 bowling green univ. library V CHAPTER PAGE THE EXIGENCE........................................................................... 91 EFFORTS FOR PEACE................................................................ 93 THE WAR AT HCME................................................................... 94 ROBERT F. KENNEDY ANDV IETNAM........................................... 96 KENNEDY AND JOHNSON: THE BREAKING POINT........................ 97 MARCH 2, 1967 ....................................................................... 102 THE AFTERMATH..................................... 113 A STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE ....................... ........ 118 SUMMATION.............................................................................. 125 EVALUATION............................................................................... 126 6. ALL OUT AGAINST JOHNSON. .................................................... 130 THE EXIGENCE: VIETNAM, I967-I968 ...................................... I3I EFFORTS FOR PEACE................................................................. 132 THE WAR AT HCME................................................................... 133 THE TET OFFENSIVE................................................................ 135 ROBERT F. KENNEDY:I 967-I968 .............................................. 137 FEBRUARY 8, I968.................................................................... 1^ A STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE . .'......................................... 151 THE AFTERMATH.................................................... 15^ 7. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH. I58 BIBLIOGRAPHY.............................. 168 1 CHAPTER 1 A STRATEGIC STUDY OP ROBERT F. KENNEDY Introduction "It was a glittering time. They literally swept into office, ready, moving, generating their style, their confidence. They were going to get America moving again." With these words David Halberstam captured the spirit of the early Kennedy administration. "These were brilliant men, men of force, not cruel, not harsh, but men who acted, rather than waited. There was no time to waste, history did not permit that luxury; if we waited it would all be past us."2 In response to this spirit, the early 1960's found the United States embroiled in a period of reform, of change. Action became the byword of the era. "The challenge awaited and these men did not doubt their capa­ city to answer that challenge . ."^ Fifty mile hikes, men in space, freedom riders--all became symbolic of the new spirit. As John Kennedy said in his inaugural address, the torch had been passed to a new gener­ ation of Americans. It remains now for history, the history which earlier would not let them wait, to judge the actions of the new generation. Among the actions undertaken by the Kennedy administration was a strengthening and expanding of the American military commitment to oppo­ sition to Communist expansion. This opposition was keynoted by Kennedy's approval of the invasion of Cuba, by his actions in the missile crisis, 2 by the Alliance for Progress, and by the American military presence in Southeast Asia. Kennedy's Administration left the United States with a legacy that influenced the course of history. This legacy is complex, but at this time that legacy seems largely influenced by the Vietnam war. The war, "like the transcendent issues of slavery, free silver, and prohibition Zj. in other times . came to dominate American lives in the 1960's." It was not just the war, of course, that was tearing at the fabric of this society; there were many other factors that contributed to the division: the spiritual vacuum that seemed to accompany material affluence and technological success, the great racial sores in the country, the hypo­ crisy in much of American life. But finally, it was the war that magnified all faults, that eroded if not destroyed the faith of so many people in this country. 5 Widespread controversy accompanied the Vietnamese conflict, contro­ versy which grew even as the war grew. The American people were presented with a variety of explanations for the involvement in the small Asian country, along with equally diverse solutions and plans for extrication. Swept up in the currents of controversy over Vietnam was Robert F. Kennedy, "a figure wholly unique in our country"^: . after 1964, when the brush-fire war in Vietnam became a conflagration, when black and student militancy turned