19-10-2018, 04:19 AM
No one is arguing that JFK was a "professional leftist". Jim clearly pointed out that he used that term in reference to polemicists and commentators like Chomsky, Cokburn and the Counterpunch crowd.
I disagree that Vietnam was a "steamroller" that would have "overrun" JFK. It wasn't a "steamroller" until Johnson's massive escalation in 1965. Eisenhower's commitment was small and considered much less important than Laos.
Kennedy did a hell of a lot more than "contemplate" withdrawal - he had concrete policies and plans that had already been set in motion. And it wasn't just Vietnam that got him assassinated. It was the combination of his willingness to ratchet down the whole Cold War enterprise by exploring detente with the Soviet Union, normalization of relations with Cuba and the Limited Test Ban Treaty.
I disagree that Vietnam was a "steamroller" that would have "overrun" JFK. It wasn't a "steamroller" until Johnson's massive escalation in 1965. Eisenhower's commitment was small and considered much less important than Laos.
Kennedy did a hell of a lot more than "contemplate" withdrawal - he had concrete policies and plans that had already been set in motion. And it wasn't just Vietnam that got him assassinated. It was the combination of his willingness to ratchet down the whole Cold War enterprise by exploring detente with the Soviet Union, normalization of relations with Cuba and the Limited Test Ban Treaty.