Paper Abstract
This is a 5 page paper discussing the difference in opinions and policy of Robert McNamara and George Ball during the Vietnam War. Robert McNamara was the Secretary of Defense to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson during the war in Vietnam while George Ball was the Undersecretary of State during the same period. While both men were devoted in their belief in the strength of the political system of the United States, their opinions varied greatly in regards to how the policies and involvement in Vietnam would result. McNamara supported Johnson in his war against communism with the belief that a defeat of communism in Vietnam would lead to a domino effect and eventually lead to an end of communism throughout Asia. In addition, McNamara believed that with the strength of the American forces, they could not be defeated. George Ball, on the other hand, with his experience and study of the World Wars and the Korean conflict did not believe that Americans could win in a fight against a guerilla army and should not become involved as it would result in a great loss of Americans’ lives, lead to discontent and the loss of faith in the system within their own country. Furthermore Ball did not believe that the purpose of the policy should be to defeat communism and hope for a domino effect. McNamara and Ball years later ended up agreeing that the United States should never have become involved in the Vietnam War. However, this agreement never occurred during their time together as consultants in the White House with the results of their actions and inactions now well documented. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
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