Michaleen Kilroy Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 This from Alternet: https://www.alternet.org/visions/chomsky-republican-party-most-dangerous-organization-human-history Excerpted: Quote NC: There are some steps towards imposing constraints and limits on state violence. For the most part, they come from inside. So for example, if you look at the United States and the kinds of actions that John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson could carry out in Vietnam, they were possible because of almost complete lack of public attention. I don’t know if you know, but as late as 1966 in Boston we could barely have an anti-war action because it would be violently broken up with the support of the press and so on. By then, South Vietnam had been practically destroyed. The war had expanded to other areas of Indochina. The Reagan administration, at the very beginning, tried to duplicate what Kennedy had done in 1961 with regard to Central America. So they had a white paper more or less modeled on Kennedy’s white paper that said the Communists are taking over. It was the usual steps, the propaganda, but it collapsed quickly. In the case of the Kennedy white paper, it took years before it was exposed as mostly fraudulent, but the Wall Street Journal, of all places, exposed the Reagan white paper in six months. There were protests by church groups and popular organizations and they had to kind of back off. What happened was bad enough but it was nothing like Indochina. Anyone have any clue what 'white paper' he's talking about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James DiEugenio Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 (edited) Oh my God, what a nutcase this guy is. What White Paper? Does he even know what a White Paper is? It is usually referred to as some kind of PR device in order to get the public behind a policy or attitude. Is he really saying the November 1961 Taylor/Rostow report was a White Paper? Kennedy himself did not back it! And he sent Galbraith to Vietnam to get a contrary view of things. Galbraith then gave his report to McNamara in April of 1962, and he became the point man on Kennedy's withdrawal plan. Then in 1963, Kennedy did not even trust his advisors to come back with a trip report. He had his brother supervise that one under his orders. Prouty and Krulak wrote it under RFK's supervision. It was then jetted out to Hawaii upon their return form Siagon in bound form. That became the basis for NSAM 263, which officially announced the beginning of American advisors being withdrawn. Kennedy rammed this through his team and then sent McNamara out to brief the press. On the subject of Kennedy and Vietnam, Chomsky merits nothing but derision. Edited March 23, 2018 by James DiEugenio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Brancato Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 Amen brother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaleen Kilroy Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 Thanks for clarifying, James. Never understand the down-playing of JFK's unique approach and attitude in both his foreign and domestic policies by those calling themselves progressives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James DiEugenio Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 Thanks for alerting me to this. I will write a reply at Kennedys and King. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paz Marverde Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 6 hours ago, James DiEugenio said: Oh my God, what a nutcase this guy is. I prefer to avoid saying what I think about Chomsky ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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