Camelot's Court: Inside the Kennedy White House

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Camelot's Court: Inside the Kennedy White House Page 54

by Robert Dallek


  Vietnam negotiated solution, 277

  Vietnam statement to reporters, 266

  Kennedy, Rose Fitzgerald, 6, 29, 31, 39

  Kennedy, Rosemary, 39

  Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 125

  Kennedy or Nixon (Schlesinger), 81

  Khrushchev, Nikita, 20

  arms control and, 379

  background, 189–90, 194–95

  Berlin and, 181, 182, 185, 225–27, 228–29

  Castro’s government and, 254

  CIA profile, 189, 190

  Cuba as obstacle to U.S.-Soviet relations and, 372, 374, 377, 383–84

  Cuba missile buildup and, 292–93, 293, 294, 295, 298

  Cuban missile crisis and, 304, 313, 314, 319–23, 325–29, 372

  de Gaulle’s advice about, 187

  disarmament treaty, 210

  East Germany peace treaty and, 199–200

  Harriman’s advice about, 194

  JFK and, 189, 255, 373

  JFK asks for public announcement on Soviet withdrawal from Cuba, 386

  “kitchen debates,” 20, 197

  Laos and, 159, 171

  message to Bertrand Russell, 321, 323

  nuclear test ban treaty and, 210–11, 255–57, 356–60, 380

  nuclear war and, 191, 201, 223, 255

  opinion of JFK, 190, 198

  response to JFK address on West Berlin, 225

  Rusk and, 380

  speech on war of national liberation (1961), 166–67

  Thompson as expert on, 313

  at the U.N. (1956), 195

  U.S. first strike concerns, 254

  Vienna summit (1961), 194–200

  Vietnam and, 170, 245, 246

  “we will bury you” quote, 195

  King, Coretta Scott, 60, 120–21

  King, Martin Luther, Jr., 108, 175

  JFK and release from jail, 60–61, 121

  on JFK lacking “moral passion” for racial equality, 173, 292

  Kissinger, Henry, 183, 184, 202

  Kohler, Foy, 183

  Komer, Robert, 231

  Korean War, 42, 69, 70, 98, 128, 157, 247, 248, 262, 273

  Kornbluh, Peter, 144

  Krock, Arthur, 247, 413

  Krulak, Victor H., 343, 346, 391, 392, 395, 396, 406–7

  Kubitschek, Juscelino, 214

  Kuznetsov, Vasily, 365–66

  Lansdale, Edward, 161, 163, 216–20, 237, 253–54, 265, 280, 409

  Laos, 23, 67, 159, 171, 232, 233

  JFK’s opposition to U.S. forces in, 233, 235

  neutrality agreement sought, 280

  Lapowski, Samuel, 117

  Latin America, 23, 370

  Alliance for Progress, 105, 128, 130–31, 133, 139, 167, 216, 253

  communism in, 158, 159, 253, 362, 383

  Cuba and, 366, 375, 383

  Lawrence, Ernest, 209

  Lechuga, Carlos, 385, 386, 389

  Lederer, William J., 218

  LeMay, Curtis, 72, 73–74, 75, 86, 315–16, 331, 382, 432

  Lemnitzer, Lyman, 68–69, 75, 149, 158–59, 220, 226, 254, 277, 289

  on JFK, 69–70

  Vietnam and, 238, 242, 245, 261

  Lewis, Anthony, 427

  Life magazine, 265, 422, 424

  Lincoln, Abraham, ix, x, 1, 25, 108

  Lippmann, Walter, 99–100, 202

  Lodge, Henry Cabot, 5

  Lodge, Henry Cabot, Jr., 42

  as ambassador in Vietnam, 355, 391, 392, 394, 396

  Bundy’s opinion of, 405

  Diem and Nhu coups and, 398, 400, 401, 403–5, 408, 409, 414–17

  McNamara-Taylor visit (1963) and, 410

  New York Times stories on, 413

  press problems and, 394, 396, 409, 412

  Lovett, Robert A., 84–85, 87, 116, 315

  MacArthur, Douglas, 68, 75

  Macmillan, Harold, 195, 198, 202, 200, 213, 255, 324, 357, 358

  Manning, Robert, 393

  Mansfield, Mike, 238–39, 381

  meetings with JFK, 351, 395

  memo to JFK, 337–39

  report on Vietnam, 341, 343

  Marshall, Burke, 122–23, 174, 427

  Marshall, George C., 84, 98

  Marshall, Thurgood, 251

  Marshall Plan, 91

  Martin, Edward, 302–3

  Martin, John Bartlow, 427

  McCarthy, Joseph, 14–15, 20, 98, 133, 138, 248, 312

  JFK and, 14–15

  RFK and, 44–46

  McCloy, John, 225

  McCone, John, 209, 223

  background, 288

  Castro ousting and, 254, 287

  as CIA head, 217, 287

  Cuba and, 360, 367, 368, 371, 375–77

  Cuban missile crisis and, 295, 307, 314, 318, 321, 327

  Cuba reconciliation opposed, 388

  as hawk, 287

  JFK’s dislike of, 293, 295

  press leaks and, 369

  resignation from LBJ’s White House, 431

  RFK’s advocacy of, 288

  Soviet military build-up in Cuba and, 288–89, 292–93, 295, 361–62

  suggestions for resolution of Cuban problem, 374

  Vietnam and, 341, 407, 416

  McGarr, Lionel, 261

  McGhee, George C., 248

  McKinley, William, 47

  McNamara, Robert, 85–87, 116, 430

  Bay of Pigs and, 146, 147, 148, 149

  Berlin strategy and, 185, 222

  Burke and, 71–72

  Castro ousting and, 215, 216

  character and personality, 88–89

  confrontation with Admiral Anderson, 322

  Cuban missile crisis and, 294, 296, 298–99, 302, 303–4, 307–8, 310–11, 314, 318, 328, 331, 332, 333, 430

  Cuba policy and, 156, 287, 360, 375, 384, 386

  death of, 431

  as Defense Secretary, 71–72, 84, 86–88, 89, 102, 126

  Diem and, 267–68, 407, 409

  at Ford, 85, 86

  Galbraith’s memo and, 272

  identified with JFK’s wishes, 369

  JFKs opinion of, 87, 149, 279

  as LBJ adviser, 429

  Norstad and, 73

  nuclear war and, 304

  space race and, 179

  test ban treaty and, 381, 430

  Vietnam and, 162, 240, 241, 242, 245–47, 260, 267–68, 274, 280–81, 341, 349, 399, 403, 411–12

  Vietnam and Joint Chiefs memo, 261

  Vietnam as “McNamara’s war,” 267

  Vietnam mistakes acknowledged, 404–5, 430–31

  Vietnam visit (1962), 274–76

  Vietnam visit (1963), 409–10

  Vietnam War and reputation, 430–31

  Mendenhall, Joe, 285, 406–7

  Meredith, James, 282–83

  Middle East, anti-colonialism and, 46, 102, 159

  Milton Academy, 39

  Mindszenty, Cardinal, 40

  Minow, Newton, 180

  Monroe, James, 31–32

  Morgan, J. P., Jr., 118

  Morse, Wayne, 266, 268

  Naftali, Timothy, 320

  NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Act)

  LBJ and, 123–24, 180

  moon landing and, 177–80

  Shepard’s orbital flight, 179

  National Aeronautics and Space Council, 123, 177, 180

  National Security Council

  Acheson’s Berlin report and, 204

  Bundy sets up, 92

  Castro and, 253, 370

  Cuba and, 363–64, 367, 375, 383, 384

  Cuban missile crisis and, 318–19

  Forrestal as Vietnam expert, 281–82, 285–86, 337

  JFK proposes ending to Cuba raids, 384

  JFK’s proposal for Vietnam, 244–45

  JFK wants troop withdrawal from Vietnam, 411–12

  Komer on Southeast Asia, 231

  Rostow in, 92

  NATO, 23, 72–73, 326

  Neustadt, Richard, 24,
25–26, 119

  Newsweek

  leaks to, 203, 221

  Sully expelled by Diem, 286

  New York Herald Tribune, 286

  New York Times

  criticism of Vietnam war, 276–77

  Eisenhower criticism of JFK story, 295, 296

  Halberstam in Vietnam, 230, 285, 337, 395, 397–98, 412–13

  Halberstam on Mansfield, 338

  JFK request to remove Halberstam, 414

  Krock column on CIA-Lodge disagreement, 413

  Reston article on censorship of Saigon reporters, 408

  secrecy about U. S. forces in Vietnam decried, 263

  Vietnam coverage, 412–13

  wider U.S. role in Vietnam reported, 268

  Ngo Dinh Diem, 230–31, 235, 236, 240, 243, 336, 337

  assassination attempt, 266

  assassination of, 417

  background, 163–64, 230

  corruptness and unpopularity, 163, 164, 234, 285, 286, 341, 344

  demands on U.S., 171–72

  JFK’s pressure policy, 409–10

  JFK’s shock at killing of, 417–18

  journalists and, 344, 345, 392

  Kennedy letter to, 245–46

  LBJ and, 165, 168, 170

  McNamara-Taylor visit and, 410

  ouster considered, 349, 351, 352, 355, 392, 394, 397, 398–404, 407, 410, 414–16

  political reforms and, 344, 349

  reelection, 165

  religious intolerance of, 349, 355, 391

  removal of Nhus and, 397, 403, 405

  resistance to American advice, 348

  supporters of, 164, 230, 266, 267, 267–68, 281, 392, 397, 398, 399, 407

  Taylor and, 231, 284

  U.S. press and, 286

  U. S. warnings to, 391, 394, 405

  Ngo Dinh Nhu and Madame Nhu, 267, 283, 284, 336, 337, 344, 348, 349–50, 351, 408, 413

  assassination of, 417

  Buddhist crisis and, 391, 394, 396, 397

  removal discussed, 396, 397, 398, 403, 405

  U. S. warnings to, 394

  Nguyen Khanh, 398–99

  Nguyen Ngoc Tho, 400

  Nietzsche, Friedrich, 138

  Nixon, Richard, ix, x, xi, 20, 21–22, 120

  break-ins of JFK’s doctors’ offices and, 2

  criticism of JFK’s administration, 203, 207

  debate with JFK, 20–21

  JFK meeting with, 22

  JFK’s negative campaigning against, 19–21

  “kitchen debates,” 20, 197

  Schlesinger book and, 81

  supporters of, 20

  as vice president, 26, 47

  Nolting, Frederick E., Jr., 164, 238, 261, 262

  as ambassador in Vietnam, 163, 243, 244, 265, 274, 275, 337, 340, 343, 348

  cable from Harriman, 269, 272

  complaints about media in Vietnam, 337

  Diem and, 266, 267, 344–45, 355, 392, 398, 399, 401

  JFK request for data, 281–82

  JFK’s meeting of August 27, 1963 and, 399

  optimism for a military solution in Vietnam, 280–81

  on progress of war, 278

  quashing of criticism, 347

  replacement of, 391, 392

  Norstad, Lauris, 72–73, 226

  nuclear test ban treaty, 209–13, 255–57, 336

  Cousins and, 358–59

  JFK-Macmillan initiative, 358

  Joint Chiefs resistance to, 358

  nuclear war and weapons

  atmospheric tests, 208, 210, 256–57

  Berlin threat and, 185, 204

  Cuban missile crisis and potential for war, 294, 299, 301, 302, 304, 305, 308, 312, 314, 320, 321, 332

  destructive powers of, 362–63

  Eisenhower’s massive retaliation policy, 72, 93, 157, 158

  fallout concerns, 208, 256

  JFK’s concerns, xi, 1, 17, 67–68, 70, 185, 205, 223, 363

  JFK’s “flexible response,” 72, 93, 159

  Joint Chiefs willingness to engage, 362, 363

  Joint Strategic Capabilities Plan, 74

  Khrushchev and, 191, 201, 223, 356–60

  MAD (mutually assured destruction) and, 69, 159, 205

  McNamara and, 304

  nuclear testing and arms control, 207–13, 255–57, 356–60, 379–83

  nuclear winter, 208

  preemptive first strike policy, 74, 254

  stockpiling of weapons, 208

  U.S. military establishment and, 69, 70, 72–73, 158–59

  O’Brien, Lawrence F., 109, 112

  as JFK’s point man with Congress, 112–14

  JFK’s campaigns and, 112, 113

  as member of “Irish Mafia,” 112

  O’Donnell, Kenneth, 109, 111, 226, 227

  dislike of Sorensen, 81, 369

  friendship with RFK, 111

  as gatekeeper, 110

  as JFK confidant, 339

  JFK on Joint Chiefs, 317

  as JFK’s principal political adviser, 110–12

  JFK’s Senate race and, 42–43

  JFK’s speech to Cuban exiles and, 364

  as member of “Irish Mafia,” 112

  Onassis, Aristotle, 423

  Once Upon a Secret (Alford), 31

  One World (Wilkie), 218

  Organization of American States (OAS), 300

  Oswald, Lee Harvey, 421

  Other America, The (Harrington), 107

  “Our Men in Miami” (New Republic), 141

  Parnell, Charles, 35

  Passman, Otto, 404

  Peace Corps, 121, 128–30, 131

  Pearson, Drew, RFK letter to, 64

  Pentagon. See U. S. Department of Defense

  Power, Thomas, 72, 73

  Powers, Dave, 109, 335

  JFK and Bay of Pigs, 136, 144

  Kennedy’s womanizing and, 32, 109

  as member of “Irish Mafia,” 112

  as special counsel to the president, 109–10

  Presidential Power (Neustadt), 24

  Profiles in Courage (JFK), 14, 80

  Quiet American, The (Greene), 218

  Rauh, Joe, 336

  Rayburn, Sam, 13

  Raymont, Henry, 145

  Reagan, Ronald, ix, x, 146

  Republican Party

  anti-Castro hawks and, 366–67

  Cuba hosting Soviet missiles, concern about, 293

  foreign policy and, 16–17

  Goldwater nomination, 335

  JFK’s advisers, Republicans among, 22, 76, 82, 85, 89, 102, 104, 116–17, 288

  on JFK’s involvement in Vietnam, 263

  presidential campaign (1952), 42

  Reston, James, 15, 198, 263, 292

  Ribicoff, Abe, 63

  Riesman, David, 90–91

  Roosevelt, Eleanor, 15, 60, 95, 124, 125

  Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (FDR), ix, x, 1, 8, 19, 28, 47, 82, 108, 118, 186

  advisers and decision-making, 25

  brain trust for, 82

  Good Neighbor Policy, 131

  hiding of paralysis by, 11

  Joe Kennedy, Sr. and, 7–8

  as model for managing staff, 111–12

  national consensus on war and, 262

  New Deal, 55, 336

  State Department and, 184

  Roosevelt, Franklin, Jr., 55–56

  Roosevelt, Theodore, ix, x, 17, 25, 28, 47, 108

  Rostow, Walt

  as adviser to LBJ, 429

  anti-communism of, 91–92

  background, 91–92

  on Bay of Pigs, 136, 146

  Bundy and, 92–93

  as Deputy National Security Adviser, 91–93, 126

  JFK’s diminished confidence in, 279

  JFK’s presidential race and, 92

  Vietnam and, 164–65, 170–71, 229–36, 242, 243, 277–78, 404–5, 431

  Vietnam fact-finding trip, 237, 238

  Rusk, Dean, 84, 98–99, 429

  Acheson and, 98
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  as adviser to LBJ, 429–30

  attitude toward position, 100

  background, 97–98

  Bay of Pigs and, 133, 139–40, 143, 150–51

  Berlin crisis and, 227–28

  conflict among advisers and, 369

  Cuba and, 287, 360, 377, 388

  Cuba hosting Soviet missiles disputed by, 290, 293

  Cuban missile crisis and, 296, 298, 299–300, 302–3, 304, 310, 321, 325, 328–29, 333

  disarmament and, 210

  as “gray eminence,” 100

  humor directed at, 100, 101

  JFK’s compelling to accept appointment, 99

  JFK’s diminished confidence in, 279

  JFK’s message to Khrushchev and, 323

  JFK’s opinion of, 140, 429

  JFK’s relationship with, 101

  JFK’s speech to Cuban exiles and, 364

  Korean War and, 98

  lobbying for appointment, 101

  middle-ground as characteristic, 371, 388, 429

  Moscow trip for test ban treaty signing, 380

  post-State Department career, 430

  regard for Dulles, 133

  secrecy and, 100

  as Secretary of State, 93, 97–101

  space race and, 179

  Stevenson and, 142

  test ban treaty and, 255, 256

  Vietnam and, 162, 229, 230, 232, 234, 238, 240, 241, 242, 243, 245, 248, 265, 266, 268, 341, 409

  Vietnam and Diem, 352, 354, 355, 398, 403, 404, 416

  Vietnam War and reputation, 430

  Russell, Bertrand, 321, 323

  Russell, Richard, 242

  Rustin, Bayard, 173

  Ryan, Elizabeth “Toodles,” 6

  Salinger, Pierre, 109, 111, 203, 229

  anger at Bowles, 153

  JFK’s live televised press conferences and, 115–16

  Khrushchev message sent through, 229

  on O’Donnell, 110

  as press secretary, 114–16

  Samuelson, Paul, 118

  Scali, John, 325

  Schlesinger, Arthur, Jr., 27, 307

  as adviser, 81–83, 96, 126

  Bay of Pigs invasion and compromising of, 136–37, 140–41, 143, 146

  Berlin crisis and, 229

  on Bundy, 333

  on Burke, 71

  Castro ousting and, 215

  on Dillon, 117

  on Fulbright, 96

  on Harriman, 193

  Harriman message to JFK and, 322

  at Harvard, 82, 83

  Jacqueline Kennedy interviews, 27, 422

  JFK and Berlin, 183–84

  JFK and the Soviets, 223

  JFK and Vietnam, 241

  JFK on job of, 1

  JFK on military as mad, 332

  JFK presidential campaign and, 81–82

  JFK’s health problems and, 79

  on JFK’s management style, 112

  JFK’s memory preserved by, 422

  on JFK’s retention of Joint Chiefs, 75

  on Lemnitzer, 69

  as liability, 279–80

 

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