20-08-2013, 11:32 PM
Joseph just a couple of comments first.
On Vietnam I think you understate the case that JFK was getting out of Vietnam. Books by David Kaiser, Gareth Porter, Howard Jones, Gordon Goldstein have combined to make a much stronger case that JFK was resistant to a land from day one. Also on page 59 your mentioning of nuclear weapons in the context of JFK's "extraconstitutional" bellicose rhetoric -- citing Gary Wills-- is, IMO, misplaced given that in many cases such as Laos and the 1961 Vietnam advisor increase, what JFK was specifically seeking to bargain away was the JCS's insistence on keeping the nuclear option as one more quiver in their quill.
Secondly one of the weaknesses in this otherwise excellent book is IMO , a general failure to outline the degree to which the CIA was actively undermining JFK in foreign policy . You do make some occasional points on this re for example Cuba; but the systematic nature of CIA disregard for JFK's policies fails to come through.
This is not surprising considering how difficult it is to write a book that covers BOTH policy and the details of the assassination as yours does.
Also you quote Theodore White on LBJ the day of the assassination: "On the flight the party learned that there was no conspiracy, leaned of the identity of Oswald and his arrest; and the President's mind turned to the duties of consoling the stricken and guiding the quick" That phrase ending in "guiding the quick" is that an allusion to some famous quote that I am missing? Also what do you think White means when he says guiding the quick. Does he offer any specifics there?
On Vietnam I think you understate the case that JFK was getting out of Vietnam. Books by David Kaiser, Gareth Porter, Howard Jones, Gordon Goldstein have combined to make a much stronger case that JFK was resistant to a land from day one. Also on page 59 your mentioning of nuclear weapons in the context of JFK's "extraconstitutional" bellicose rhetoric -- citing Gary Wills-- is, IMO, misplaced given that in many cases such as Laos and the 1961 Vietnam advisor increase, what JFK was specifically seeking to bargain away was the JCS's insistence on keeping the nuclear option as one more quiver in their quill.
Secondly one of the weaknesses in this otherwise excellent book is IMO , a general failure to outline the degree to which the CIA was actively undermining JFK in foreign policy . You do make some occasional points on this re for example Cuba; but the systematic nature of CIA disregard for JFK's policies fails to come through.
This is not surprising considering how difficult it is to write a book that covers BOTH policy and the details of the assassination as yours does.
Also you quote Theodore White on LBJ the day of the assassination: "On the flight the party learned that there was no conspiracy, leaned of the identity of Oswald and his arrest; and the President's mind turned to the duties of consoling the stricken and guiding the quick" That phrase ending in "guiding the quick" is that an allusion to some famous quote that I am missing? Also what do you think White means when he says guiding the quick. Does he offer any specifics there?