A Time For Greatness: The Alternate Presidency of John F. Kennedy and beyond
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Events 1969 (PART IV) - Mao’s Gamble
1969 PART IV: Mao’s Gamble
On the 29th of May 1969, Mao gave the order to use tactical nuclear strikes against Soviet military targets on the Chinese-Mongolian border, as well as in Xinjian, and Manchuria. Following the deployment of several Dongfeng short and medium range missiles, Mao declared the areas “lost to Soviet invaders” and promised that “the Soviet homeland will suffer the same fate unless they agree to negotiable a fair and honorable peace agreement.”
Mao Zedong, Lin Biao, Suzhou, and the general staff moved to a nuclear bomb proof bunker, awaiting the inevitable Soviet response. Meanwhile, the United States went to DEFCON 2 and dispatched a massive naval force to the region as a precaution, though they were given strict instructions to focus on protecting Japan, South Korea and Taiwan as opposed to trying to dissuade the Soviets and Chinese from fighting one another.
Mao’s strategy was the ultimate gamble of ‘escalate to de-escalate’ strategy. Only days before, nuclear sites such as Base 21 Lop Nor in Xinjian and the Lanzhou Nuclear Fuel Complex in the Gansu Province were evacuated.
The gamble was predicated on the chance that Brezhnev would only strike at Chinese nuclear sites and military instillations in response to attacks not directly on Soviet soil.
Following this, Mao hoped for some sort of negotiated end to the hostilities, being able to claim a symbolic victory in giving the Soviets a black eye before the end of the war.
“They’ve crossed the threshold,” Brezhnev was quoted as saying during an emergency meeting of the Politburo, “We must have a decisive response."
3 days later, the Soviets would retaliate. This Soviet nuclear response was carefully coordinated and utilized ICBMs, short and medium range missiles, ranged bomber planes, and ballistic missile strikes from Soviet submarines in the Sea of Japan and East China Sea.
As expected, Chinese nuclear sites and major military instillations were among the first targets hit. However, the Soviet nuclear strikes went beyond these targets as the cities of Qingdao, Ningbo, Nanning, Fazhou, and Lanzhou were struck also struck with tactical atomic weapons.
Lower yield atomic artillery was used against PLA troops on the various fronts. Whatever Chinese forces remained days after the radiation subsided were quickly routed by Soviet forces.
The outcry from the global community was immediate and harsh. Beyond those nations in America’s sphere of influence, the leaders of several world leaders, like Yugoslavia’s Josip Broz Tito and Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser, who represented the Non-Aligned movement, criticized what they called “a collective punishment carried out against the China’s civilian population”.
However, India, having fought on the side of the Soviet Union during the Sino-Soviet War, was far more reticent.
In a speech at the UN, firebrand ambassador William E. Millar castigated the Soviet Union as “a regime of madmen and thugs responsible for the deaths of millions.”
Soviet Ambassador to the United Nations, Yakov Malik, shot back at Ambassador Miller, stating:
“Our actions were no different from those taken by the United States against Imperial Japan in the Second World War. This was a necessary action to put an end to a costly war, and every target struck was chosen for its military and strategic importance. We are not butchers or genocidaires, and I would remind you that it was the bandit Maoist regime that struck with atomic weapons first.”
Whataboutisms, a favorite of Soviet officials to deflect criticism, could do little to blunt the torrent of outrage directed at the Soviet Union for their repeated, and some would say overly harsh, utilization of atomic weapons.
They had likely won the Sino-Soviet War, but at what cost?
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The American public, which had largely viewed the Sino-Soviet conflict as curiosity halfway across the world, were horrified to wake up to a world where mankind’s most devastating weapons had been exchanged in a war between two atomic powers for the first time.
A mass hysteria enveloped the United States, as many feared that nuclear war between the two great powers – the United States and Soviet Union – would be next.
Anti-nuclear protests, people raiding and fighting over supplies to make hastily constructed nuclear fallout shelters, and a general panic and anxiety amongst the public were commonplace in the days and weeks after the nuclear exchange.
There was also much concern over the prospect of nuclear radiation spreading to the United States, particularly to the west coast. Potassium iodide tablets became highly sought after as a result, and many stores soon ran out.
America’s atomic hysteria reach such heights that President Goldwater himself addressed them in a televised speech from the Oval Office:
“My fellow Americans, I can assure you that the recent crimes by the Soviet Union, their wanton destruction of millions of lives in the People’s Republic of China, shall not be repeated on our shores. We’ve shown them our strength, and that strength has put Soviet aggression into check.
These past several days, and even before then, I have been in consort with America’s governors, particularly those on the West Coast, to ensure the continued safety of all our citizens, not only from the threat of atomic fallout, but also disorder and lawlessness that has crept out of the shadows in this time of uncertainty. I have made our National Guard available to our nation’s governors to protect against the criminal element, and we stand together, Democrats and Republicans, against any opportunistic thug or bully who might threaten us.
I have also spoken with our top scientific minds – of which we have the best in the world – and they tell me that the threat of atomic fallout spreading to our land is very low. However, to those who are concerned regardless, and wish to treat themselves for the threat of radiation, we are working now to ensure all those seek the appropriate medication can find it, in due time. However, we will prioritize those who have medical conditions that necessitate the use of this same medicine, ahead of those who only want it as precaution against the extremely minute issue of atomic exposure.
Furthermore, potassium iodide is being given to all our men and women in the diplomatic service and our armed forces in Asia to protect them from the far more present and real danger of atomic fallout in that region. We remain undaunted however, and our commitments from Vietnam to South Korea and beyond will continue to be met as they always have.
And to address the humanitarian crisis we have already begun to witness coming out of the People’s Republic of China. We are working with our allies in Asia to protect their borders, and to do what we can to send appropriate aid to those innocent civilian victims of Soviet aggression. However, the repressive, communist nature of the present Chinese Communist regime makes it difficult to ascertain the useful of this endeavor.
To those big-hearted Americans who see images and recorded media of the devastation coming out mainland China, the First Lady and I share your pain and heartbreak. We endorse all private efforts to alleviate the humanitarian crisis afflicting the Chinese people, so long as they are focused on human suffering, not supporting a totalitarian communist government.
We face a challenge now unlike any in our history, but we will persevere together as Americans. And we can now see that our chief adversary in the world today, the Soviet Union, is a sinister regime unlike any faced by man in his history. It will require all our diplomatic, strategic, military, economic, and most vitally, all our moral strength to triumph over this enemy and ensure they can never harm another nation as they have done recently. Only by remaining strong can we continue to deter all out-war.
But there is no doubt in my mind we are up to the task.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.”
President Goldwater’s firm resolve in the immediate aftermath of the Sino-Soviet War was praised by many at first, but soon questions were asked.
Long-time foreign policy stalwart, Henry Kissinger, began to argue a case that he would immortalize in a compilation of essays published as a book entitled ‘Passive in a Crisis: How Barry Goldwater Allowed the Destruction of China’. In it, he alleges that the Goldwater administration tacitly allowed the Sino-Soviet War to escalate, and that they did nothing to divert the conflict precisely because they wanted to weaken to communist nations.
“Beyond the millions upon millions of lives lost, there was a great geopolitical opportunity lost,” Kissinger would often repeat, “to unite the People’s Republic of China against the Soviet Union. In turn, this may well have pushed China towards liberalization. Instead, due to Goldwater’s inaction, we saw global atomic devastation”.
This argument was persuasive to many, including Secretary of State Robert Murphy who resigned less than a month after the bombs were dropped.
“None of them listen to me,” he told a friend, “There was no getting through to any of them.”
Beyond his guilt and disappointment at the Sino-Soviet War is main point of contention – Goldwater’s refused to rule out American support for an invasion of mainland China by Chiang Kai-shek. Murphy opposed it completely and resigned in protest that Goldwater would even consider such a measure.
An alternative candidate for Secretary of State quickly made himself known - Former General Lucius D. Clay.
Clay had turned down a position as Secretary of Defense due to his advancing age and lack of interest, but recent crises had inspired him to make himself available to the Goldwater administration.
And so, The Great Uncompromiser was to be the next Secretary of State.
On the July 1st, 1969, he was unanimously confirmed by the Senate. As part of the agreement between himself and Goldwater, he would only serve the remainder of Goldwater’s term. As a former military man, Clay immediately commanded a great deal of respect amongst the Goldwater cabinet, and the man himself – certainly more so than a career diplomat like Murphy.
The new era in world affairs had begun in the shadow of the mushroom cloud, and the Goldwater administration marched towards a great unknown.
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While there were many Americans who doubted their nation’s mission and purpose in Vietnam, James Danforth “Dan” Quayle was not one of those people.
Since the death of his father at the hands of pro-communist radicals, Dan Quayle had looked for a way to carry on the memory of his father.
Quayle put everything he had into working on behalf of Goldwater’s campaign, but even after Goldwater’s victory, Quayle felt no peace or sense of fulfilment.
He had offers to work as a staffer in Goldwater’s White House if they won but turned it down. He needed something else – he needed some measure of revenge. He knew that Barry Goldwater was going to stand up to the communists, and Quayle wanted to be on the front lines of that effort, not sitting behind a desk.
So, he enlisted in the United States Army shortly after Goldwater’s election victory hoping for the chance to fight for his country, and the legacy of his beloved father.
Now, some months later, he had his wish.
Dan Quayle was in the shit.
“Private Quayle, have you taken your pills yet?” his platoon commander asked.
“Yes sir,” he responded.
The news of the atomic bombing of China had terrified even the most hardened of soldiers in Vietnam. There were a million questions – would they be targeted next? What they can cancer from radioactive fallout? Would they be going home?
Weeks went by – no atomic bombs fell, there were no reports of atomic death clouds poisoning men to death. Perhaps the potassium iodide tablets had helped with that, or maybe the fears around atomic weapons were overblown after all.
Instead of going home, they were gearing up to advance into North Vietnam and take the fight to the Viet Cong where they lived.
For someone who’d only recently landed in-country, it was an exciting development. Quayle had avoided the months of counter-insurgency action that many of his fellow soldiers had been forced to endure.
Whatever the case, word from the top brass was that the Chinese military was crippled and in no position to help out the North Vietnamese. There would no repeat of Korea – they were marching to Hanoi to take it.
And Quayle wanted to personally raise the Stars and Stripes flag in the square of the capital, in the name of his father.
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It took several months before the outside world was able to get a sense of what was going on inside the People’s Republic of China.
After several weeks of silence, Mao came out of exile to announce a period of Great Rebuilding to “replenish our industrial might and military strength to retake our stolen land”.
However, his nation was in complete chaos – lines of supplies and communication had been massively disturbed, and the humanitarian crisis that resulted from the use of atomic weapons had thrown several regions into chaos.
The PLA lacked the equipment or supplies to continue any sort of offensive against the Soviet Union, and the threat of further atomic strikes prevented a continuation of the war. Even if they had the necessary equipment, the PLA was shattered and demoralized, and many blamed the military defeat on politicians of the Chinese Communist Party, up to and including Mao himself. They were thrown into the meat grinder at the behest of politicians and millions died as a result, all for a few meaningless islands and the egos of a few.
This animosity was not missed by Mao, who had grown even more paranoid in the wake of the Chinese defeat against the Soviet Union. As a result, he established a paramilitary force to protect himself – The Red Revolutionary Guard.
This Revolutionary Guard was made up of the Red Guard veterans of the Sino-Soviet War and were tasked with protecting the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and preventing any coup by the PLA. In practice however, they acted more like the student radicals of the Cultural Revolution, attacking, and killing anyone they viewed as “dissidents” or insufficiently loyal to Mao.
Rather than entrench Maoism, it served to alienate many war-torn communities and frustrate officers of the People’s Liberation Army.
If Mao’s position was made tenuous because of the Sino-Soviet War, then Brezhnev’s position was made even stronger.
He had secured two new satellite states in the Soviet sphere of influence – a reconstituted Manchuria, and a new state – The Turkestan Soviet Socialist Republic – out of the former Xingjian province. Manchuria would be a nominally independent, de facto satellite state of the Soviet Union, while Turkestan would be part of the Soviet Union proper.
This, along with the impending integration of Mongolia into the Soviet Union, had been a sizeable increase in the overall territory controlled by the USSR.
As well as that, Brezhnev’s willingness to make liberal use of atomic weapons had given him an era as a ruthless leader not seen his Stalin, even if the current General Secretary had not engaged in the sort of purges Stalin would use. The USSR was in his iron grip, at least for the moment.
However, this victory had not come without great cost – thousands upon thousands of Soviets died in the fighting, and a substantial strain put on Soviet military capabilities, especially with the ever-present threat of the United States and NATO a constant factor.
The Bear and the Dragon had clashed, and the Bear had won, but not without wounds.
President Goldwater sought to exacerbate economic damage done to the Soviet Union and slapped on several harsh economic sanctions onto key areas of Soviet industry. Many other countries, mostly out of disgust for Brezhnev’s use of atomic weapons, followed suit. The international reputation of the Soviet Union was at an all time low, and many inside and outside the USSR wondered if it would ever be rebuilt.
Some in the Politburo couldn’t help privately wonder if the outcome of the Sino-Soviet War hadn’t been a pyrrhic victory.
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While the Soviet Union’s international reputation was in tatters, America’s reputation was not shining under President Goldwater by any means.
As the Sino-Soviet War and Vietnam had consumed the first year of Presidency, the President had very little opportunity to go on trips abroad.
So far, in his first year, he had managed only to conduct state visits to Canada and Mexico. The Mexico visit which occurred first went extremely smoothly, with Goldwater declaring the relations between himself and incumbent President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz as “simpatico”.
Goldwater made an effort to visit several Mexican landmarks and take in the beautiful landscape.
The domestic media, both in the US and Mexico, was largely very positive towards Goldwater on the trip, describing him as “Presidential”, “statesmanlike”, and “at ease on the North American stage.”
President Goldwater’s visit to Canada later in the year was a little icier, with he and Pierre Trudeau clearly at opposing sides of the political spectrum. The men were respectful in light of their positions, if nothing else, but the warmth and goodwill found in Mexico was not similarly displayed in Canada.
Goldwater’s first major overseas state visit, however, would prove extremely controversial – he would visit South Africa.
In meeting with new South African Prime Minister John Vorster, President Goldwater declared a new era in American-Afrikaner relations following the tense Kennedy years.
“It is a blight on the United States for us to attack and question the leadership of a friendly nation, an ally in our struggle against the forces of communism. The days where we attack our treasured friends are well and truly over. I say to you all here, and everyone around the world – relations between the United States and South Africa have never been stronger. The free nations of the world are united as one against the communist menace.”
Goldwater’s comments drew ire from anti-apartheid activists and politicians across the world, and he did not escape criticism of American public for his words.
Martin Luther King, a persistent criticism of Goldwater, again spoke out:
“President Goldwater has again sided with the forces of white supremacy and has endorsed a regime that practices the very worst form of racism in the world today. He shakes hands with John Vorster, a self-admitted admirer and ally of the Nazi regime during the Second World War.”
Inside South Africa, anti-apartheid activists such as Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Tutu, Steve Biko, Harry Schwarz, and many others criticised the new closeness between the Afrikaner regime and the Goldwater administration.
Goldwater returned to the United States facing a new wave of pro-civil rights, anti-apartheid protests.
Former American Ambassador to the UN, Bobby Kennedy, made a series of public appearance to claim that Goldwater had “undermined America’s moral authority and international reputation” and “undid the hard work of millions of people who oppose the shameful practice of apartheid”.
Goldwater returned to the United States from South Africa facing a whole new set of criticisms around both his foreign policy, and his beliefs on civil rights. In classic Goldwater, he made a clumsy effort to divorce himself from the implications of friendship with Afrikaner regime at a speech to the media on the flight home aboard Air Force One:
“Of course, we in the United States – and myself personally – oppose many practices of the incumbent government in South Africa, including apartheid. But we are both nations that oppose communism – now, more than ever, we must put aside our differences to stand firm against this global menace. The Soviet Union is the principal disturber of peace in the world today, and we must welcome all who stand against it.”
This did little to disturb the criticisms against President Goldwater, however.
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“93 KHJ Radio with you this morning, bringing you news of what can only to be described as a crime scene at a house in the Beverly Crest neighbourhood. We’ve gotten reports of gunshots heard in the early hours of the morning, and that the street of Cielo Drive has been completely cordoned off by police at this time. We will come to you with more information as we find it…”
Los Angeles residents awoke on August 9th, 1969, to curious reports of a crime scene in the Hollywood Hills that saw several gunshots. There was immediate intrigue – was a major Hollywood star involved?
LA residents remained glued to their television sets and radios as more information was provided to the public.
Eventually, the public learned of more about the details - 10500 Cielo Drive, the house being rented by Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate – had been victim to some sort of home invasion or attack by persons unknown.
Those present in the house at the time of the attack included an 8 and a half months pregnant Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Steven Parent, and Steve McQueen.
Three home invaders – a man armed with a revolver, and two young women armed with knives, broke into the Cielo Drive home and attempted to attack and bind the occupants with rope.
McQueen, a former US marine, fought back and was able to wrestle the gun away from the male attacker – later identified as Tex Watson – and shoot him twice in the chest.
McQueen, brandishing Watson’s 22. caliber revolver, fired at the other two unidentified women but his remaining shots missed, and they escaped into the early morning darkness.
The event would claim two lives – the perpetrator Watson, and 18-year-old Steven Parent, who was murdered outside in the driveway.
In the aftermath of the event, the main media focus of the event was that Steve McQueen, Hollywood’s bad boy, had personally killed a crazed, drugged up hippie. Far less was made of the surviving perpetrators, or the young victim Parent.
For most of the rest of his life, McQueen would refuse to answer questions on the event, and his few public statements on the matter would bring attention to the life of Steven Parent and the pain of his family following his murder.
The newly elected Mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley, commented on the “horrific crime which was thankfully averted by a brave citizen.”
But the lack of follow up to go after the other attackers or do more than a cursory investigation into the crime, would prove to be a mistake that would haunt the city of Los Angeles for years to come.
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In late August 1969, the United States had finally amassed enough troops and equipment to begin Operation Rushing Wind, a massive joint American/ARVN invasion of North Vietnam.
American marines conducted an amphibious invasion of the port city of Haiphong while American and ARVN troops moved into the DMZ, crossing the 17th Parallel and touching North Vietnamese soil for the first time.
News of American boots on the ground in North Vietnam sent the already energized anti-war movement into a frenzy, and urban protests and rioting began again, as calls of “bring the war home” drove more and more radicalized young people to commit acts of vandalism and violence against figures of authority – namely, police and politicians.
Pro-war politicians were egged and jeered in public, while police stations were firebombed and ransacked.
As many of America’s reserve forces were deployed in Vietnam, this prevented the National Guard from being present to quell domestic unrest in many areas. Thus, many riots went on for days at a time before fizzling out, as many local police forces lacked the necessary manpower and equipment for urban pacification.
It was not only America’s citizens who were bitterly against an escalation of the Vietnam War. Many politicians opposed it too. Only days after the start of Operation Rushing Wind, a bill once again came before the Senate, written by George McGovern, to pull all US forces out of Vietnam in 90 days, but this was easily defeated by the Republican majority.
With a whole new theater of war opened up, it looked like America would be in Vietnam for the long haul.
Well Mao, you rea-Ed what you sown there. That was a fairly limited Soviet response considering their stockpile. Beijing is still standing for example.
The Soviets now have to win the peace in the lands they have taken, which will be harder with rad zones.
I wonder if anyone went to Goldwater with a plan to attack the USSR while their nuclear stockpile was slightly depleted?
Did India ‘win’ its wars with China and Pakistan?
I can see Taiwan making lots of noise, but unless the mainland starts falling into warlordism I cannot see him launching an invasion without American support.
Qualye in ‘Nam? Ok. Well that will change the man.
South Africa? Over Britain? Or W. Germany? South Africa? Who the Heck is advising you Goldwater?
Steve McQueen is a hero here. Shame the investigation does not catch the invaders.
Operation Rushing Wind, I think N. Vietnam is either going to collapse like Iraq did or it will be a quagmire that makes WW1 look like a walk in the sunlit park. Is the invasion an international effort or just America?
What’s George Takei up to?
The Soviets now have to win the peace in the lands they have taken, which will be harder with rad zones.
I wonder if anyone went to Goldwater with a plan to attack the USSR while their nuclear stockpile was slightly depleted?
Did India ‘win’ its wars with China and Pakistan?
I can see Taiwan making lots of noise, but unless the mainland starts falling into warlordism I cannot see him launching an invasion without American support.
Qualye in ‘Nam? Ok. Well that will change the man.
South Africa? Over Britain? Or W. Germany? South Africa? Who the Heck is advising you Goldwater?
Steve McQueen is a hero here. Shame the investigation does not catch the invaders.
Operation Rushing Wind, I think N. Vietnam is either going to collapse like Iraq did or it will be a quagmire that makes WW1 look like a walk in the sunlit park. Is the invasion an international effort or just America?
What’s George Takei up to?
Reminds me of in the wikibox thread where Quayle joined in Leo Ryan on going to Jonestown.
Well, the Sino-Soviet war has ended and all I can think is that both sides of the Communist Coin may have just marred themselves spectacularly.
I'm trying real hard to feel sympathy for Goldwater here. And, er, nope. Not a bit of it. You wanted to the President, Barry, and now you are. This is what you get. I understand geopoltiical situations are all well and complicated but how that man managed to misread the situation in South Africa is beyond me. Vietnam looks like it's going to be going to hell in a hand-basket, and I think Dan Quayle may be living on some borrowed time.
This is great stuff, really terrific. I'm not sure if you've mentioned before but how far do you think you'll be going with this? I'd happily read all that you wrote, to be clear, but I don't want to pressure you.
I'm trying real hard to feel sympathy for Goldwater here. And, er, nope. Not a bit of it. You wanted to the President, Barry, and now you are. This is what you get. I understand geopoltiical situations are all well and complicated but how that man managed to misread the situation in South Africa is beyond me. Vietnam looks like it's going to be going to hell in a hand-basket, and I think Dan Quayle may be living on some borrowed time.
This is great stuff, really terrific. I'm not sure if you've mentioned before but how far do you think you'll be going with this? I'd happily read all that you wrote, to be clear, but I don't want to pressure you.
I intend to go until the end of Barry’s presidency, then cover his successor in a sequel
I'd gamble Barry's presidency ends sooner rather than later based on how its going so far.
That'd be a fun reversal of fortunes though with the Democrats being somewhat better positioned heading into 1972 here than they were IOTL (at least as of late 1969) I could see some more formidable primary opponents emerging than those who McGovern was able to outhustle
Damn what a chapter! Mao and the Soviets have certainly opened Pandora's box now. I agree with everything else Goldwater has definitely misread the situation. I predict Vietnam will continue to be a quagmire. Was not expecting Dan Qualye of all people to show up!
Butterflies keep him out of the path of James Earl Ray, who never escapes from prison IOTL
Goldwater’s view was similar to Reagan’s: https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/25/...th-africa-s-leaders-were-pro-nazi-146159.html
Events in 1969 (PART V) - The Year That Was
1969 PART V: The Year That Was
1969 would continue to be dominated by the Vietnam War through the rest of the year, and the ongoing situation in China.
In early September, on the backdrop of an American and ARVN assault on the North, it was announced that Ho Chi Mihn, the figurehead of the Communist Revolution in Vietnam, had died. He was immediately martyred by the North Vietnamese government, and citizens were encouraged to take up arms in his memory.
This renewed the spirit of a demoralized Vietnamese People’s Army, and even encouraged regular citizens to form paramilitary groups to fight advancing American and ARVN forces. The paranoia around paramilitary forces and irregular armies in North Vietnam would produce one of the ugliest incidents of the war at Tuyên Hóa, but this would not be known to the public until the following year.
Reports of American/ARVN advances into North Vietnam were met with anti-war protests at home and international condemnation abroad. However, the White House was able to find an issue by which to rally the American people around – the liberation of American POWs from North Vietnamese prison camps.
Stories of American GIs saving POWs from camps at Noi Coc and Duong Ke thrilled the public and insulated the war from domestic criticisms. Commentators would note that mainstream discourse around the war was such that it seemed as though the North Vietnamese had kidnapped American troops, and the whole conflict was being fought to bring them back.
News of American/ARVN successes on the field, and the narrative around liberated POWs, inspired many young men to enlist to participate in what was shaping up to be a relatively successful campaign as far as the American public were concerned.
The truth was far less rosy. North Vietnamese paramilitary and regular armed forces engaged in a fierce guerrilla campaign that bedeviled American and ARVN forces. However, American forces had spent the better part of the last decade fighting guerrillas, and the tactics devised by General Emerson that worked for counter insurgency in South Vietnam worked similarly well in the North.
Using Laos as a staging area, American forces conducted an offensive to take the city of Dien Bien Phu. Meanwhile, ground forces to the South advanced quickly taking the city of Vihn in a matter of weeks.
It was clear that they were conducting a pincer movement to then take the capital of Hanoi.
Military planners styled the operation to take Hanoi after the Liberation of Paris during World War 2 – ARVN troops under the command of Ngô Quang Trưởng would lead the assault, while American troops would offer auxiliary support. Goldwater believed it was essential for ARVN troops to be the ones to raise for flag on Hanoi, to give legitimacy to a post-war pro-American government.
In spite of their seemingly untenable position, North Vietnamese forces fought bravely against impossible odds, making ARVN forces struggle for every inch of Hanoi. But they were running critically low on critical supplies and had already endured months of heavy bombing. Whatever moral boost the People’s Army got from the death of Ho Chi Mihn seemed to fade by November, and more and more troops abandoned their uniforms and melted into the civilian populace.
Conflicting orders from top NVA officials, lack of support from the People’s Republic of China or Soviet Union, and the superior firepower of the enemy meant that many towns and villages fell to ARVN/American control with increasingly less resistance.
By the end of November, Hanoi was under the firm control of the ARVN, and the flag of the Republic of Vietnam flew in the capital. First Secretary Lê Duẩn, President Tôn Đức Thắng and Phạm Văn Đồng all fled to the Soviet Union when it became clear that the war was unwinnable. They encouraged a campaign of massive resistance among Vietnam’s proletariat and promised to return one day to unite Vietnam under a communist government.
But it was clear that North Vietnamese state had fallen to the South, with the help of the United States.
The liberation of American POWs from the Hanoi Hilton and elsewhere was major news in the United States, and Goldwater had a ceremony in the White House for returning POWs on Christmas Day.
The war itself might have been over, but the occupation of North Vietnam and transition to full South Vietnamese control had only just begun.
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When Goldwater reflected on his domestic achievements in 1969, they were relatively modest compared to his grand expectations of rolling back the New Deal and returning America to a land where people relied on themselves, rather than the hand of big government.
Social security reform was dead in the water, as no Congressman or Senator wanted to answer for depriving their constituents of their pensions and any alternations to the Medicare program proved to be politically controversial.
What was supposed to be a “significant cutting of the federal aid budget” turned into modest trimmings and was offset by the amount of new money being given to allied nations in Asia such as South Korea, the Republic of China, and South Vietnam.
Goldwater did achieve a sizeable deduction in funding for NASA, which he believed to be a distraction from more pressing issues such as the economy and war in Vietnam. However, this was dwarfed by the increased defense budget.
Goldwater’s stated fiscal goal of his Presidency was to reduce income taxes by 25 per cent over a five‐year period and to stabilize Federal Government expenditures at roughly present levels.
In that task, he’d failed as far as his first year was concerned – federal spending was up.
However, the Tax Reform Act of 1969 was treated as something of a win for Goldwater – a controversial Alternative Minimum Tax was defeated by the Republican-controlled Congress, and the overall bill was revenue neutral.
When asked about the prospect of a growing budget deficit, Goldwater responded, “We’re on the path to fiscal responsibility, but we must first end the war in Vietnam. We’re very close to doing this, and will soon hand full control of a united Vietnam to the free government in that nation, safe in the knowledge they can care for their own defense.”
Still, Goldwater was not satisfied. He’d won an election promising to change the course of America, but so far, he’d only nibbled around the edges. He needed a fresh start in 1970, a mid-term election year.
So, Goldwater’s chief of staff Denison Kitchel reached out to a number of free market academics – namely, Milton Freidman, Friedrich Hayek, Oskar Morgenstern, as well as several others, to a summit to devise a whole new agenda to be unveiled at the next State of the Union Address in 1970, one to compete with and hopefully replace the New Deal and New Frontier in their entirety.
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1969 also saw an Australian federal election take place on October 25th. The aftermath of the Sino-Soviet War proved to be one of the central issues of the campaign, with the threat of atomic war and nuclear fallout being central to the minds of voters.
Whitlam had a strong anti-nuclear record, having ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968, something the Liberal Party opposition chastised him for as being “too restrictive” and “impeding on Australia’s sovereignty and long held international relationships”, obviously referring to the United States.
Whitlam’s commitment to Indigenous land rights also put him on the side of opposing expansive uranium mining, while Holt had for many years advocated for Australia to extensively mine and export uranium and develop nuclear power stations.
However, the use of atomic weapons in Asia had made nuclear power a politically toxic issue, and Holt’s attempts to distance himself from things was seen as a “backflip” that damaged him badly.
The incumbent government also benefited from being seen as effective in a crisis, procuring potassium iodide tablets for concerned citizens who wanted to take them.
Furthermore, the Vietnam War was beginning to lose support in Australia, as Goldwater’s expansion into North Vietnam was viewed by many as excessive and dangerous, especially given the nuclear exchange between the Soviet Union and China which proceeded it. The Labor Party under Calwell and Whitlam began to receive credit for keeping Australia out of the war, and even Holt distanced himself from his previous support for Vietnam.
With the albatross of Vietnam and nuclear power panic around his neck, Holt led his party to a disastrous defeat. The incumbent Labor Government picked up an additional 21 seats, widening their majority to 86.
The election victory also marked an endorsement of Whitlam’s reform agenda, which saw a dismantling of the White Australia Policy, tuition-free university, trade liberalisation, a Racial Discrimination Act, no fault divorce, various new government agencies (Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Law Reform Commission, the Australian Film Commission, the Australian Heritage Commission etc), equal pay for women in public services, a unified Department of Defence, a new national anthem to replace God Save the Queen, abolishing legal appeals to the Privy Council in England and replacing the Postmaster-General's Department with Telecom and Australia Post.
Following this landslide re-election, Labor held firm control of both the House and Senate, which insured that future reforms would continue.
Whitlam’s next goal would be reforms to Australia’s resources sector to ensure that the Australian public got a fair share of the profits.
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On the morning December 27th, the United Kingdom awoke to sad news – Prime Minister Hugh Gaitskell had died following a sudden heart attack in the early hours of the morning. He had suffered a flare up of lupus in late November and early December, which affected his heart and lungs, but was deemed healthy enough to continue in his role as Prime Minister.
However, an underlying heart condition he had developed since becoming Prime Minister, no doubt fueled in part by the stress of the job, took his life. Those who knew him noted he seemed very tired on Christmas but chalked it up to the difficulties of his job.
It was the first death of an incumbent British Prime Minister in over 100 years, and there was an immediate outpouring of grief from his parliamentary colleagues and the public. Opposition leader for virtually his entire tenure as PM, Edward Heath, led the tributes in the House of Commons.
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and First Secretary of State George Brown would act as a caretaker Prime Minister until a new leadership election could be held. Given his continuing private struggles with alcoholism, he definitively ruled himself out of the process of being considered to fully take the job. Though he had been sober for the better part of 2 years, he did not want to subject himself to the full rigors of the Prime Ministership moving forward. The stress, he feared, would drive him to drink and that was something the nation could ill afford.
But for now, it was time to mourn – Gaitskell’s funeral was scheduled for Sunday the 4th of January. The leadership election would occur sometime after that.
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The Goldwater’s spent New Years Eve at a unique location – Hyannis Port, at the invitation of former President John F. Kennedy.
The two had spoken regularly over the phone since Goldwater’s inauguration, or as regularly as could be expected of a President and a former President. While they were friends before, their shared membership in the most exclusive club on Earth, the President’s club, made their bond of friendship even stronger.
They sat outside, overlooking the sea. Jack sat, sipping a Bloody Mary. Meanwhile, Goldwater enjoyed a glass of Old Crow bourbon.
The two men first discussed business – the troubles of the job, the horrors of the Sino-Soviet War, Vietnam, the federal budget. Gone were the days of them at each other’s throats on the Senate floor, now they were two greying older men complaining about the state of things.
When they grew tired of business, Goldwater switched to a lighter topic.
“Congratulations on your new book deal, Jack.”
“Thank you,” Kennedy responded with a smirk, “I needed something else to write in between those memoir chapters.”
Kennedy continued, “Have you changed your mind about installing recording devices in the White House? Makes writing your memoir a breeze. Ted and I swear by them.”
By Ted, the former President of course meant Ted Sorensen, his chief speechwriter and key advisor who was now a silent writer of the first volume of Kennedy’s memoirs.
“I can’t be bothered with all that,” Goldwater responded, “Anyway, autobiographies are a bunch of hooey anyway. No one ever really writes it themselves and it’s biased in any case. I’ll let the historians write about me when I get out of here."
“You know,” Kennedy teased, “I’ve taken a shine to all this book writing. Once I’ve finished my own memoirs and this other project, I might get started on a tell-all book about you.”
Goldwater laughed.
Kennedy took out a cigarette case and took out what Goldwater first assumed to be a cigarette.
Then, Kennedy lit it and took a long drag. Goldwater was more familiar with that smell then he would publicly admit.
“Jack, is that what I think it is?” he asked.
“I know, I know,” Kennedy responded, “But it’s good for my back and goes down much smoother than tobacco. Takes the pain away.”
“Hm,” Goldwater said. Jack couldn’t figure out whether his old friend was disapproving or curious.
So being the brave man he was, he asked.
“Want one?” Kennedy said, extending his hand with the case open towards Goldwater.
“Fuck it, why the hell not?” the President responded.
Goldwater took one, lit it and took a drag.
“You know,” Goldwater began, “Arizona cowboys used to love this stuff.”
“They still do, apparently,” Jack shot back.
That gave Goldwater a hearty laugh.
“I might need it with a job like this,” he said.
Completely unprovoked, Kennedy expanded on one of his favorite topics.
“It’s a tough job, but you sure do get a lot of skirt.”
Goldwater looked over at his old friend and gave a knowing smile.
“You just want someone to talk to about this who isn’t Harry Truman,” Goldwater responded. The line got a chuckle from both men.
Presidents Barry Goldwater and John F. Kennedy drank long after midnight and toasted to the year that had been, and the year to come.