Bill Moyers offers up a fascinating hour of history that is a must listen/watch for those of us who are seriously interested in considering the question of what to do in Afghanistan. Whether we agree or disagree, advocate more troops or pulling them out, like Obama or despise him, using LBJ’s taped phone conversations and his own remembrances, Moyers’ look at Johnson’s deliberations as he stepped up America’s role in Vietnam is compelling history. From the program’s introduction:
Our country wonders this weekend what is on President Obama’s mind. He is apparently, about to bring months of deliberation to a close and answer General Stanley McChrystal’s request for more troops in Afghanistan. When he finally announces how many, why, and at what cost, he will most likely have defined his presidency, for the consequences will be far-reaching and unpredictable. As I read and listen and wait with all of you for answers, I have been thinking about the mind of another president, Lyndon B. Johnson.
I was 30 years old, a White House Assistant, working on politics and domestic policy. I watched and listened as LBJ made his fateful decisions about Vietnam. He had been thrust into office by the murder of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963– 46 years ago this weekend. And within hours of taking the oath of office was told that the situation in South Vietnam was far worse than he knew. […]
Lyndon Johnson secretly recorded many of the phone calls and conversations he had in the White House. In this broadcast, you’re going to hear excerpts that reveal how he wrestled over what to do in Vietnam. There are hours of tapes and the audio quality is not the best, but I’ve chosen a few to give you an insight into the mind of one president facing the choice of whether or not to send more and more American soldiers to fight in a far-away and strange place.
Granted, Barack Obama is not Lyndon Johnson, Afghanistan is not Vietnam and this is now, not then. But listen and you will hear echoes and refrains that resonate today.
I’ve just finished listening. I’m struck by the similarities with our situation today, most especially the truth that there were no, there are no, good answers. But a decision was made. The program gives some solid insight into that process. I urge you to see this program.