Mcgeorge Bundy\'s Memo to President

¶ … McGeorge Bundy's memo to President Lyndon Johnson in 1965 with regards to the Vietnam conflict. The overall tone of the memo advises Johnson on what McGeorge feels the best way to handle the conflict would be with as little negative reaction from the American public. The paper also addresses a speech by Martin Luther King as he sees what the war means to the nation's Black population.

In general the entire article is a how to manual about how to con and manipulate the American public with regard to the issues in Vietnam. McGeorge advises Johnson to begin a weekly laundry list to be made public of wrongs that North Vietnam commits against South Vietnam so that the Americans will provide support in the attacks on the North. While he doesn't come out and call the American public a bunch of idiots the implication is there when he suggests that these tie ins do not have to be provided for every air strike, but enough of them to cause Americans to associate the air strikes with the evils of the Northern Vietnamese people.

In addition he suggests that there be a worldwide campaign to convince the world that as soon as the North stops its actions against the South, then America will stop its air strikes and ground attacks.

The memo also suggests that each and every action promoted by the U.S. is handled with a hint that there is much more to come if the demands are not met.

This memo could easily have been written about the current war that is going on in Iraq. With each and every action that the United States takes the president's office provides a hint that there is more to come if the people do not comply. In addition the United States has gone into Iraq and forced democracy on it without so much as a question beforehand if this was something the people there wanted.

This memo implies the same attitude with regard to the "saving" of the Vietnam people. The Southern residents are to be convinced that the North is mistreating them and will not stop until the U.S. makes them stop just as the current administration has decided to convince the people of Iraq that they were being ravaged and it would not stop without U.S. involvement.

In the next article by Martin Luther King the issue of Vietnam and its impact on young Black men is addressed. In this article King expresses the irony of Black men being sent to fight a war and defend a nation in which they are mistreated.