The Connection Between President LBJ & The Vietnam War

I realize that this will not be of interest to some of my subscribers but if you want to know about the 1960s from a political point of view and especially about Pres. Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam, this guy spent his life studying it. The speaker is Robert Dallek, the well known presidential historian and I interviewed him in 1989. If you keep on watching, you'll see how clear he is at helping you to understand how Americans felt about Vietnam on both sides. #presidentjohnson #vietnam @1960s

[@rredhawk]

Two of my co-workers were in Vietnam in the early 1960s. One was there in 1962 while the other was there back in 1960. They were both "advisers". We were involved in Vietnam way before things heated up in 1965.

[@GottliebGoltz]

Yup.!

[@jonnuanez7183]

1958-59 marked the first years of "advisors" going over.

[@OldHeathen1963]

Vietnam was our allies! In 1945 we let France back in 🤬 Stab in the back of Uncle Ho!

[@tunafish8769]

Google the name Peter Dewey. The first American KIA in Vietnam. He died in 1945. Dewey was with the OSS the forerunner of today's CIA. He tried to get Truman to stay out of Vietnam and not aid the French in recolonizing Vietnam.

[@dthomas9230]

@@tunafish8769 Reagan's morality authorized Mayan genocide in 1983 Guatemala. Carter was against death squads for cheap fruit. Reagan killed the middle class.

[@geraldsorensen9750]

Bob Dallek, great historian, great lecturer and writer. He brings history to life.

[@acchaladka]

I see a David Hoffman upload and i click like. Easy.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

And I want you to know I appreciate it. David Hoffman-filmmaker

[@nitsujjustin]

Same

[@macewbee]

Same here

[@bethanyphillips622]

Ditto!

[@lbennhtx6072]

Awesome to see these extended interviews. Really enjoyed the PBS film and seeing these is great!!! 👍

[@PSC4.1]

I was looking for something like this for my essay, I am pleased of what I learned from this video.

[@zapapelttari8226]

Very clear and interesting interview. Thank you David, once again.

[@bobcharlie2337]

Wow, very interesting. Thank you.

[@eckhal2]

Accurate I think, lived thru it USAF 66-70. We enlisted to fight communism as our government espoused, little did we know it was or an avoidable lost cause. Lost a HS friend in NAM. Sad!

[@floridabigbear]

And they knew they couldn’t win for a long time before they gave in. No party wanted to be the one that pulled out. While the government knew they were sending American kids to die all because party obviously comes before people

[@eckhal2]

matt tanner Exactly 👌💯 Sad

[@maddrass175]

@@floridabigbear - And..... NO ONE did a damn thing even after the pentagon papers were leaked.... Ellsberg, at great risk to his personal safety and liberty, acted in the public interest and quite possibly prevented the Nixon cabal from deploying nuclear weapons in that 'for profit' war. Fast forward to present day... Assange also acted in the public... correction, sheeple's interest and yet, he is still being paraded from Belmarsh prison to some vaudeville court in the U.K. on bull$#!T charges, all because an embarassed U.S. administration got caught in a lie - yet AGAIN... and the sheeple whose interests were protected by the wikileaks revelations are - yet AGAIN... silent. When are WE ever going to learn to stand up, speak up and more importantly...ACT, to protect the bravest and brightest among us?? SMH ((😩))

[@pulsewatcher0ad]

The saddest part is that you think these sacrifices were in vain, especially for an alleged vet.

[@se4gio]

Thank you Mr. Hoffman.

[@chry1956]

I am a Viet Nam verteran and I like these kind of videos. The fact is that in 1964 Goldwater told us what was happening in Viet Nam and he was not believed. See : Goldwater acceptance speech

[@ronaldgarrison8478]

David, just a suggestion: I think it would be a good idea to show the original event date (interview or whatever it is) in the notes. KZbin should explicitly provide places for various attributes, but in lieu of that you could put it in yourself.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

The date is in the description Ronald. David Hoffman

[@ronaldgarrison8478]

@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker Oh, sorry, don't know why I didn't see it before.

[@peteraustin9715]

More like this please. Excellent.

[@WhiskeyRichard.]

If you watch The Big Picture, the weekly news reel the services ran for their members, in about 63/64 it was talking about how training - especially communication - was how they were going to turn the tide. I'm not kidding when they touted the teletype as the device which was destined to do it. By 67, it the tone had gone from the 50s-esque optimistic Trans-Atlantic accented narrator talking about training Indigenous troops to fight their own battles, to one with a far darker drama to his tone, citing, "Everyone is counting on you to do your job out there. If you don't, it's your buddies on the ground that are going to die."

[@keepkalm]

More on Gulf of Tonkin incident please.

[@mizeryluvkompany]

It was all a lie. Never happened.

[@lynnwood7205]

@@mizeryluvkompany I worked alongside a man who was a petty officer on the Maddox, he said he was topside and would say of that night "It never happened, I was there.". Then there was another fellow who was with the Marine detachment at the fall of Saigon. "Yeah, so this officer comes out and orders to set up burn barrels and start burning. Then these dweebs come over with cardboard boxes filled with paper, only it's not, it's bundles of hundred dollar bills. Do you know how hard it is to burn a brick of tightly wrapped money?". There was no room on the helicopters for anything but people. Me, I was there in 69-70, 71-72

[@kiddeath96]

​@@lynnwood7205 it's kinda funny that regular guys saw that and I didn't matter. They could have exposed or even tried and nothing ever happen. The power.

[@genesilencer]

Didn't learn this in high school.

[@dayender]

Good one Mr Hoffman. Johnson underestimated his enemy. He was thinking well we won WW2 in a few years. I don’t think theirs been a clear winner in any war we been in since. Only because we had nuclear weapon we would’ve used as a threat back in 1945. Oh yeah we did throw a couple of those.

[@BrisLS1]

Actually, he was thinking, we got a tie in Korea, maybe worst case here is a tie? Thanks.

[@SandfordSmythe]

He was not sure of winning.

[@williamprior7831]

Thank mr hoffman 🙏🙏🙏

[@johnfalkenstine8377]

Early sixties. Our neighbor in Paris was Vietnamese. He told me I should visit (the south). “Very nice country” he said. In perfect French of course.

[@hklinker]

Now you’ve made me think about how many stories of Vietnam are not that well known. The American perspective dominates, and that’s understandable. But what of the generations of French and Vietnamese who lived through what must be 70 or so years of mostly French rule? I’m sure it was documented and written about, so I suppose I should find it and read it 😉.

[@tunafish8769]

​@@hklinker read "Street Without Joy"

[@hklinker]

Thanks for the tip.

[@arubberball]

When was this interview recorded?

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

1989. David Hoffman - filmmaker

[@arubberball]

Thank you. I'm sure when it came, but the Golf a Tonkin turn out be a lie. Overall I enjoy the interview. Sadly, foreign policy has a changed a lot over the past several decades. Both politcal parties should be ashamed of themselves and held accountable for the lost of blood and treasure.

[@snafu4714]

Damn this still rings true today.

[@aprilmay2125]

Former Soviet Union leader Lenin had ever said” TO FORGET YOUR PAST HISTORY IS TO BETRAY YOURSELF” !!! (忘记过去意味着背叛!） Unfortunately, some American politicians keep forgetting the history of American unsuccessful involvements in the Korea War, Vietnam War, Iraq War, and Afghan War.

[@hotwheel6663]

I still wonder how JFK would of handled it? Would he have escalated it like Johnson or pulled out?

[@wesoblander3648]

I had wondered for many years whether Kennedy would have continued with the advisors before moving them out if it became violent. JFK did not appear to be one who would have wanted his hand-prints on an avoidable war. He showed more of his face cards with the Bay of Pigs than some people probably realize. LBJ took the fight to Vietnam, and unfortunately, we as a country became embroiled in a war that seemingly had no end. The politicians should have stayed out of it, in any case.

[@crowbird213]

Probably

[@williamschirmacher6526]

All wars are avoidable. Stupid ppl join the military and listen to the politicans.

[@TheMallen07]

Wow, so amazing how history repeats itself. The political climate described during the last few minutes of this interview sound strikingly similar to today, for good or bad.

[@MJ-gw2zu]

Rigged systems with bs red vs blue never changes. Trump was definitely close to being Johnson from 'civil liberties' to fighting the fight on behalf of the rich

[@tunafish8769]

Yeah we just keep stepping in the same pile a shit.

[@josephanderson7237]

Interesting interview. Not certain about the comment of more tonnage of bombs dropped on NORTH Vietnam than WW2. Perhaps he meant all of Vietnam. Big difference.

[@ernestgrouns8710]

We haven't fought a war worth fighting since WWII, everything else was for the benefit of the military industrial complex. We defended our soil successfully with the Cuban Missile Crisis, but beyond that we've rarely if ever used our military for defense.

[@blindsqurill]

You sir, have hit the nail on the head , Fun Fact Johnson’s wife became one of the largest shareholders in The Bell Helicopter Company , right before her husband just happened to decide Huey’s would be the primary transport , In Short LBJ broke this Country’s Spirit and ruined Millions of lives to sell some choppers.

[@Beez27]

Absolutely! The rest post WWII have been nothing but manufactured for the self serving purposes of politicians and corporate interests.

[@MJ-gw2zu]

And all those lives as collateral, including royalty like Diana. So sad

[@oldsport500]

Who is this? Having lived through the era, I say he's accurate

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

He is Robert Dalleck, the presidential historian. david Hoffman - filmmaker

[@mike04574]

crazy to think he's almost 90 now

[@kevinmahoney1995]

We've come so far from this time

[@brando36922]

Gulf of tonkin was bullshit! Your telling me these little troller not even that big boats attacked a destroyer lol yeah right it was proven false anyway!

[@1966human]

Did Watergate take enough focus off vietnam

[@jacksutherland846]

The more I learn about Johnson, the more he seems to resemble a 20th century Roman Ceasar. What power seemed to do to his brain is terrifying. The way he would stand there and slowly talk down to the people was just disturbing. I don't know. I think he dug the whole ring kissing thing. I was raised to observe much caution when near those that regarded obedience to be as vital as oxygen. Imagine Living in a spectrum that begins with an almost dear quality of child insecure innocence that eventually led to the unsavory blossoming of a sociopathic, and tyrannical lust for power and the crystal clear understanding by any subject that a hesitation or restraint of cruelty, would ever would ever be a factor of negotiations.

[@JR-mx4cv]

At the end of the day dude he sacrificed a lot of political capitol to pass the civil rights act, I don’t like him give him a damn break

[@maddrass175]

Mr. Sutherland - LBJ did indeed see himself as something of a reincarnation of Ceasar. People ALWAYS tend to underestimate the depths to which ALL political parasites will lower themselves just to carve their legacy in stone. Cutting a committed segregationist "some slack" as Mr. Big Smoke suggests, only covers up and burnishes that sordid image when the unwholesome reasons behind the decision is examined. In his 20 + years on the hill he consistently spoke against, and voted with the south to suppress the civil rights bill - the "nigger bill" as he often referred to it, and deliberately crafted strategies that would be used to undermine such bills. Everybody conveniently forgets that... So why the flip? This life-long segregationist "championed" the civil rights movement because it was THE defining issue of his time... And, in order to be "recognized" as the "great man" he so desperately wanted to be, he not only HAD to be on the right side of that landmark bill, but he HAD to be seen as it's "champion"! A complex man but a vein, egocentric, hypocritical, racist bully who threw a tantrum because Jackie K. refused to change out of her blood stained clothing when she was forced to stand by LBJ - to "lend credibility" to a rushed swearing in ceremony. Take a real good look at that picture sometime, really look at it. The woman just lost her husband - shot like a dog in the street only to be forced to stand beside that guy as he crowned himself. She did NOT want to be there at all. He was openly insulting toward his own chauffeur who once delivered his beloved dogs to Washington DC and was NOT allowed to rent a motel room for himself but yet the dogs could stay all night... People overlooked, or know nothing about all that... He reportedly said to Richard Russell; "... these negros are getting pretty uppity these days and that's a problem for us since they've got something they never had before. The political pull to back up their uppityness. Now we've got to do something about this, we've got to give them a little something just enough to quiet them down, not enough to make a difference... for if we don't move at all, then their allies will line up against us and there will be no way of stopping them, we'll lose the filibuster and there will be no way of putting a brake on all sorts of wild legislation. It'll be reconstruction all over again." "One real slip and we"re done for." - A quote from Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream Sounds a lot like self preservation to me. Maybe leopards never change their spots but people have been known to grow, mature and change... He was quoted as saying; "... it is not just the negros but all of us, who must overcome the crippling bigotry..." Perhaps he meant all of us who inhabit this stolen country... including himself.

[@jacksutherland846]

@@maddrass175 I thank you for your keen knowledge and insight. However, I disagree that this country is stolen. It was conquered. This land was riddled with atrocious violence within the many tribes that were constantly fighting and killing each other in efforts to obtain spoils and territory for many centuries before any Europeans ever set foot in the Americas. All nations have suffered and endured these types of metamorphosis. Human nature at its worst. And sadly, it will never change.

[@maddrass175]

@@jacksutherland846 - This country was systematically and ruthlessly stolen... ok... "conquered" as you put it... by self-serving, genocidal hypocrites. To illustrate my point, let's say I am fleeing from oppressive, draconian economic and religious inequalities... Let's say I "discover"😂😂😂 your house and ask - no, BEG for refuge in a corner of your yard... I ask for food... You being a good man agree when what you should have done was toss my sorry ass back into the sea because in less than three generations your animals and your family are slaughtered... you are driven from your home and YOU are living in a corner of your own yard with what's left of your family. Does that sound like I "conquered" your home? Don't worry, you are in good company, famously brilliant company at that too. Ayn Rand also agreed with you. She said they (the native Americans) weren't doing anything with this land and so we had every right to take it. Chief Joseph, Chief Seattle, Tecumseh, Sitting Bull.... all disagreed with that statement. I agree, there were warring tribes in this land long before Europeans "discovered" this place. ZERO mention that there were people living here for centuries😂😂😂😂 However, not all tribes were at war my friend. Did you know that the framers of this country's constitution borrowed heavily from the first nation's proven concepts of federation? Oh yes, Ben Franklin and the privileged, monied, slave-owning cabal, secretly consulted "the savages" when they were drawing up their "We the People" constitution. One of these 'secret' consultants who were all hidden away from public view or knowledge was named Canasatego and he was Chief of the six nation Iroquois tribe. In 1744, this illiterate "savage" introduced the colonists to the federalist ideas we see in our constitution today. What is also NOT taught in the woefully deficient education system in this stolen country, is that this savage and all the other first nation leaders NEVER read John Locke... nor did they ever hear of the Roman Senate. Read; Written Out of History: The Forgotten Founders Who Fought Big Government, by Sen Mike Lee. Yes, these people may have been primitive by the 'high and mighty' European standards. They were certainly treated as "less than" by the colonists, yet these alleged heathens were able to teach the framers key lessons which are now indelibly written into the fabric of this country. And for that egregious sin they were driven from their homes, lied to, dispossessed, their children ripped from their homes, placed into church run "schools"... molested... raped... punished for speaking their native language... their culture broken... they were slaughtered and driven to the point of extinction. As with politicians - elected parasites... I call it as I see it my friend. I could tell you stories that would make a dog barf. You see, I dated a first nation woman some time ago and while I was not "accepted" by her family, her grandmother took a liking to my interest. That woman answered my questions and shared some real history with me. There were many a night I left her company thoroughly disgusted, sick and appalled at man's inhumanity to his fellow man. This country was stolen from the people who took us in... fed us... showed us how to cultivate crops... gave us a new start... And no, none of us were there and I don't know about you, but this is NOT a charitable "christian" 😂😂😂way to treat benefactors, or repay a kindness that could NEVER have been bought at ANY price. Sad, very tragic testament to who and what we truly are deep down under all the glitz and glamour... the contrived American exceptionalism... As with much of our history, this could and SHOULD have been done very differently.

[@jacksutherland846]

@@maddrass175 I absolutely appreciate your assessment. And I'm definitely not cut from a cloth that condones any form of human cruelty. History is not merely black and white. Many complex situations occurred on vast scales. I don't think that it's fair to associate all European settlers with those that committed terrible atrocities against their fellow man. Not all were evil. Many were good people that lived harmoniously with natives. It was ruthlessly pillaged and conquered by the European empires that feared each other's power acquisitions! And yes, the new nation of ours carried on with it as well. Trail of tears, etc. I don't deny any of that. All primary reasons for massive tyranny and bloodshed. Always has been, always will be. Just look at Eisenhower's corporate friendly policies of meddling with Latin America to exploit and rip off their resources under the falsehood of containing communism. That's but one example. I could go on until I run out of digital memory. It's the same old story. Greed and power always causes the inhumane forsaking of those that stand in the way of power and valuable resources. Sad but true my friend. When I use the term 'conquered', I just wanted to equate that the world is up to its neck in the innocent blood of millions and millions of people. I have no intention of condoning such barbarism. If you choose to concentrate only on the sordid affairs of this country, I feel that is a short sighted stance. In spite of all, this is still the greatest place on earth, and we are all very lucky to be here. We have a duty to pay attention, learn from history, and curtail as much evil as possible with the intent to leave our nation better than we have found it.

[@arubberball]

You have to have a clear victor. Unconditional surrender is the only acceptable goal. Negotiating peace, when there is no clear victor, is ridiculous. This why America has been tied up in endless war since WW II. Total war against your enemy and complete victory is the goal. If not, do not engage in war. In it to win it, lol.

[@SandfordSmythe]

More innocent civilians.

[@Dr170]

Schoolyard bullies sending others to fight their battles.

[@ADAMSIXTIES]

6:45 His analysis was spot on until he said WW2 ended the New Deal. Actually the New Deal saved the system by reforming it. The war ended the Depression and made us the #1 economic superpower.

[@BrisLS1]

Amazing how perfect this analysis was right up to when it was made in 89. Wow, have things changed since then. We have had a black president, and some powerful liberals like Bernie Sanders. Thanks.

[@prt464riv]

Just one thing please, the posting date is of little value to the viewer. But a date of production should be included.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

You are correct. It should say that in the description. I am surprised that it doesn't. 1989.

[@larrywheels762]

The backers of lbj got a return. Govt contracts, oil depletion allowance, old j Edgar even got to stay past 70.

[@fergal2424]

'The Gulf on Tonkin' yes, sure.

[@saoulidany4568]

"When there was an incident in the Gulf of Tonkin" lol...i am dead...😂...so are millions of vietnamese and tens of thousands of murricans...because of an 'incident' that was 'supposed to have happened'.

[@fergal2424]

@@saoulidany4568 yes..that pesky "accident"

[@saoulidany4568]

@@fergal2424 yeah incidents are tough man...this morning i spilled my coffee on a British collegue or at least thats what he thinks happened...still waiting to see if the house of commons will empower Theresa May to bomb Paris where i reside. Wish me Luck with my incident.

[@SMC247]

Well known have been staged. Sad but true.

[@saoulidany4568]

@@SMC247 not well known enough. The same populace fell for even bigger lies than an attack that didnt happen 30 years later.....after the attack that never was...we had the babies that never were thrown out of their incubators....and the WMD's that never were. The Wars though, were real as for the deaths that occured and will occur even after the horrid chaos that was created settles, if it ever does....but we dont talk about those horrors, we prefer the crimes we invented that justified our very real atrocities which conveniently do not exist even when our cancer-plagued soldiers sue the army for exposing them to nuclear waste-based ammunitions.

[@mattsmith1440]

I don't think the top brass thought the war in Vietnam could be won at all. Quite the opposite in fact. The USA backed the French with money and 'advisors' and they lost after 8 years of fighting, so they didn't have good reason to think they'd get a quick victory.

[@BricksVideo]

Jesse Jackson? You are joking, right?

[@monahawk]

LBJ escalated Viet Nam to make billions for his friends - pure traitor...and I lost more than 'a friend or two' to that farce...losing children to that 'war' didn't just devastate some families...it literally ended them. Some of my neighbors lost their first born son who was a chopper pilot and had been hit, but managed to set his chopper down safely and all of his crew and men survived but he died right there. They did not live long after he was killed - their lives were ruined, their hearts completely broken and his little brother has lived without them for the rest of his life and is STILL messed up over it. Please don't pretend that LBJ had a human bone in his body...he was a power-mad monster!

[@ownSystem]

Honestly at the end of the day the protesting was a open hand hand to Ho chi loves the ignorance of people. If u start a war win it.

[@SandfordSmythe]

LBJ at this point was more worried about his legacy.

[@jonnybravo4328]

He also created the Great Society that enslaved and devastated millions of black people in the inner cities.

[@HVACSoldier]

“Advisors” is just another term for “combat troops,” without having to admit it.

[@sumandhabolkar2819]

Should the whole blame be put on USA? What would've happened to USA & Vietnam if USA never invaded Vietnam?

[@marbleman52]

Grudo...If we, the USA, hadn't tried to help South VietNam stop Communism from taking over the entire country, both North & South, then Communism would have taken over South VietNam quickly. Are you familiar with The Domino Theory which said that without help from the US, the countries of South East Asia would fall to communism like dominos ? This was perhaps the main motivation for Washington getting involved with that whole VietNam mess in the first place. Kennedy was already having 2nd thoughts about our involvement in VietNam and supposedly had drafted an order to start pulling troops out...one of the reasons that he was assassinated. The Gulf of Tonkin incident, which Robert Dallek mentioned as being the justification for escalating the US's presence and activity in VietNam, was a "false flag" incident . I highly recommend this research paper by The US Naval Institute to explain what this Gulf of Tonkin incident really was and how it was used by Johnson & Secretary of Defense McNamara to justify the escalation of US involvement in VietNam: www.usni.org/magazines/navalhistory/2008-02/truth-about-tonkin. I enjoyed listening to Robert Dallek. He mentioned many salient points about those turbulent years.

[@marbleman52]

@It Ain't Me 1968 In my comment ,I gave a link to the U.S. Naval Institute study about the Gulf of Tonkin incident...did you read it? And if you did, then what is your question. And if you didn't read it, then why not ..do you want to educate yourself about this or just ask questions ?

[@floridabigbear]

Everyone know gulf of tonkin was a false flag. One of our many many failures there

[@Wolfshield7]

3:58- He talks like “nationalistic” is a bad thing. It isn’t. Quite the opposite, really.

[@buddyboy6783]

Rick Moranis really knows his stuff

[@melissadurante1450]

Hahaha

[@BEATNIKMACHINE]

This Chaps one eye doesn't trust the other !

[@californiaslastgasp6847]

Looks like Dallek had indigestion during his interview.

[@mr_crabs1]

Does he have a glass eye?

[@nowhereman6019]

Lazy eye more likely.

[@Mandragara]

no both move

[@fergalfarrelly8545]

Now afganastan the same. Poloticians care more about being chewed up in media before if they should be sending our boys over at all.

[@theblitz6794]

In 2016, we finally got one. Bernie Sanders 2020 baby!

[@jasoncharles8651]

Funny, we know now the gulf of Tonkin lie has muddied all talks.

[@johnplaid648]

The Tonkin Gulf needed dredging. Lyndon Baines Johnson was an investor in the compaany that got the contract to do the dredging.

[@SandfordSmythe]

LBJ was not worried about money at this time in life. He was worried about future history books

[@johnplaid648]

@@SandfordSmythe No worries.

[@keithmorgan411]

Interesting how at the end of this clip Dallek identifies Jesse Jackson as the leading liberal in the country in 1989. He then rather bluntly dismisses Jackson's chances of becoming president. I would have liked to have heard his reasons for dismissing Jackson's presidential aspirations. But Jesse Jackson has been a central figure in American politics for over 50 years. Jesse Jackson's campaign created the precedent for Obama to run a credible campaign for president as an African American. Jackson's outsider presidential campaign also influenced Trump's outsider campaign and both highlighted problems with foreign imports.

[@mjt2231]

Very prescient. The Democrats are still "in the wilderness."