Dereliction of Duty (H.R. McMaster) p211
On the first day of his four-year term, Johnson hid the truth about Vietnam for the sake of a domestic political agenda. McNamara assisted his dissembling. For those who might urge the administration to take additional action against North Vietnam, McNamara indicated that tough measures were already under way. He divulged the nature of covert operations against North Vietnam under OPLAN 34A and revealed that U.S. aircraft were bombing infiltration routes in Laos under Operation Barrel Roll. Contrary to reality, he depicted both operations as highly successful. For those wary of deepening U.S. involvement, McNamara struck a note of reassurance. He suggested, contrary to recent reports from the field, that the South Vietnamese Army had increased its effectiveness in response to increases in the size and strength of the Viet Cong. He misrepresented the Chiefs’ assessment of the situation, stating that they believed that the South Vietnamese armed forces were stronger than a year before. For those who feared that the American commitment to Vietnam had grown too costly, be minimized the price of American involvement. McNamara stated that only 254 Americans had been killed in action there in the past decade, without mentioning that more than half of the American combat deaths in Vietnam had occurred within the last year. He did not disclose plans to begin reprisal bombing of North Vietnam, and stated that there would be “no need” for U.S. troops.
Tgk1946's Blog 