Blue Skies in Camelot: An Alternate 60's and Beyond
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Chapter 15
Chapter 15: Eve of Destruction - July through December 1965
Above: An American military adviser meets with South Vietnamese soldiers in the wake of artillery strikes from the North on American air bases.
Of all the many changes First Secretary Khrushchev sought to make to the Soviet Union before he retired, perhaps the most prominent was the warming of relations with the United States. From the flash point that had been the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviets learned that more productive relations with the Americans would lead to more favorable outcomes. Maintaining this new detente however, would prove difficult. Left wing revolutionary movements the world over looked to the Soviet Union, the home of the revolution, for help: logistical support, guns, bombs, financial backing and supplies. How could the proletariat of the world unite and overthrow the bourgeoisie without Communism's most powerful practitioner leading the way? For years, Khrushchev had backed such revolutions and done all he could to reverse Stalin’s policy of “socialism in one country”. He’d crushed the Hungarian uprising in ‘57 and considered Fidel Castro a personal friend. But such moves came at the cost of alienating and arousing the anger of the west. The Americans would never come to the table, never cooperate, if the Soviets were engaged in ideological warfare with them all over the globe. Thus, Vietnam, and the rapidly escalating conflict there caught Khrushchev’s attention in the early months of 1965.
The Nikita Khrushchev that emerged from the vacuum left by Stalin’s death to seize sole control of the USSR more than a decade ago likely would have continued his nation’s policy there. Artillery shells, medical supplies, cash infusions, and more would be shipped to Ho Chi Minh’s government, anything to score a victory against the capitalists and their backward beliefs. The Nikita Khrushchev of 1965 however, was a changed man. Tired, wizened, and more experienced, the First Secretary knew that there were other issues staring down his nation besides the war in Vietnam. Domestically, the Soviet Union suffered from a sluggish economy and widespread shortages. Wages were high but there was nothing for the Soviet people to spend them on as production quotas fell years behind schedule. Premier Alexei Kosygin, Khrushchev’s heir apparent and right hand man had developed economic reforms which would introduce profitability and sales as the two key measures of enterprise success. These and other changes, designed to decentralize and stimulate the Soviet Economy as well as reward and incentivize workers, were well received but bogged down in the Supreme Soviet, facing stiff opposition from Hardliners within the party. These more conservative communists insisted that the USSR did not currently have the resources to focus both on internal reform and external ideological expansion. It became clear to Khrushchev that as the Red Square thawed and spring began, he would need to pull back resources from foreign intervention and focus for a time on the economy. With a call to his foreign minister, the First Secretary made his decision on Southeast Asia final: there would be no additional aid sent to North Vietnam. “Let the Viet-Cong do what they must to oppose the South.” He said to Kosygin, during a private meeting at the Kremlin. “The Americans are pulling out, and so are we.” Looking out the window at the city around him, the beating heart of the World Revolution, Khrushchev cleared his throat. “How confident are we that the reforms can be pushed through before the end of the year?”
“Without a war to worry about?” Kosygin grinned. “Absolutely certain.”
The Nikita Khrushchev that emerged from the vacuum left by Stalin’s death to seize sole control of the USSR more than a decade ago likely would have continued his nation’s policy there. Artillery shells, medical supplies, cash infusions, and more would be shipped to Ho Chi Minh’s government, anything to score a victory against the capitalists and their backward beliefs. The Nikita Khrushchev of 1965 however, was a changed man. Tired, wizened, and more experienced, the First Secretary knew that there were other issues staring down his nation besides the war in Vietnam. Domestically, the Soviet Union suffered from a sluggish economy and widespread shortages. Wages were high but there was nothing for the Soviet people to spend them on as production quotas fell years behind schedule. Premier Alexei Kosygin, Khrushchev’s heir apparent and right hand man had developed economic reforms which would introduce profitability and sales as the two key measures of enterprise success. These and other changes, designed to decentralize and stimulate the Soviet Economy as well as reward and incentivize workers, were well received but bogged down in the Supreme Soviet, facing stiff opposition from Hardliners within the party. These more conservative communists insisted that the USSR did not currently have the resources to focus both on internal reform and external ideological expansion. It became clear to Khrushchev that as the Red Square thawed and spring began, he would need to pull back resources from foreign intervention and focus for a time on the economy. With a call to his foreign minister, the First Secretary made his decision on Southeast Asia final: there would be no additional aid sent to North Vietnam. “Let the Viet-Cong do what they must to oppose the South.” He said to Kosygin, during a private meeting at the Kremlin. “The Americans are pulling out, and so are we.” Looking out the window at the city around him, the beating heart of the World Revolution, Khrushchev cleared his throat. “How confident are we that the reforms can be pushed through before the end of the year?”
“Without a war to worry about?” Kosygin grinned. “Absolutely certain.”
...
Despite the end of Soviet supply shipments, the North Vietnamese soldiered on with their plans of national reunification. Still bolstered by thousands of tons of Chinese equipment pouring across their shared border with the People’s Republic, Ho Chi Minh’s army began work on a new series of offensives which shared one target between them: American Air Force Bases. From these bases in Saigon and other strategic locations across South Vietnam, the Americans could launch B-57’s and rain death and destruction on the North with practical impunity. Vo Nguyen Giap, the supreme commander of much of North Vietnam’s forces, saw the capture or sabotage of these bases as paramount to a Communist victory. On March 8th, 1965, three bases, all near the border between North and South Vietnam were attacked by divisions of the People’s Army at 0600 hours local time. Unfortunately for the Vietnamese, the Americans were ready for such a move.
As soon as he took over at the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Robert Kennedy proved to be a very “hands on” sort of manager. Janitors and staffers would often find the light on at his office into the wee hours of the morning, maps of South Vietnam and the surrounding waters spilled out across his desk. The Secretary himself would be sunken into his padded chair, his sleeves rolled up and a look of steely determination on his face. If his brother insisted on withdrawal, then Bobby was going to make sure it was a successful, calculated one. Under Kennedy’s recommendation, United States Army Chief of Staff Harold Keith Johnson ordered General William Westmoreland, the commander of all American forces in Vietnam, to defend these air bases with everything he had. Fighters were to be scrambled and bombers given the go ahead to launch on Northern forces to diminish the strength of the attacks. Meanwhile, Secretary of State McNamara and Ambassador Lodge pressured President Nguyen Khanh, who had just won South Vietnam’s first election under its newly written constitution, to send what help he could in the form of infantry divisions and artillery support. Though the defense was initially somewhat disorganized, the outnumbered Americans and South Vietnamese held out against the Communists, who ran out of artillery shells and ammunition three days into the offensive. As Giap gave the order to retreat, a celebration was held in the Oval Office between the President, his brother, and other members of the Foreign Policy team. Not only had the Kennedys proven the brass wrong, that South Vietnam could be held primarily by the South Vietnamese, they had also projected strength without confronting the Soviets in any way. As CBS and other networks beamed home images of the Stars and Stripes flying defiantly over the bases, and news that the Soviets were pulling support from the North, public support for the administration swelled. By August, President Kennedy had a 75% approval rating.
This public support proved a godsend to the President’s agenda. In the late summer months of 1965, the war on poverty went into full swing and Kennedy’s relationship with Congress became one of success after success. First came the Housing and Urban Development Act; which created the cabinet level department of the same name, increased federal funding for existing housing programs, and created new grants for the elderly and disabled. Next, the Public Works and Economic Development Act. This provided grants for economically distressed communities, and helped revitalize rural areas of the nation, which the President felt had been ignored somewhat during the Eisenhower years. After this came the Immigration and Nationality Act, spearheaded by Ted in the Senate, this bill ended the nationality quotas and requirements laid out for immigration to the United States and marked an important turn in American immigration policy. Finally, the Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act; the Highway Beautification Act; the Vocational Rehabilitation Act; and the Higher Education Act, providing millions in Federal scholarships and aid to students across the country so that they could go to college.
Strong environmental protection, a better immigration system, and a significant boost to funding for education. All of these new policies were progressive milestones in their own right, and fulfilled many of the President’s promises laid out in his New Frontier. But there was one final initiative that JFK wanted to accomplish in the spring and summer of 1965: medical insurance for the needy and aged. Initially conceived of as far back as Theodore Roosevelt’s 1912 platform for his Bull Moose Party, a single payer system of health insurance for Americans over the age of 65, with disabilities, or those too poor to afford private coverage, was seen as a must for completing the nation’s social safety net. The President wanted to succeed where previous Democratic Presidents Roosevelt and Truman had failed. He tasked Ted, along with Senate Majority Leader Hubert Humphrey with seeing these two programs, called “Medicare” and “Medicaid” through Congress. Despite support from such powerful organizations as the AFL-CIO, and the American Nurses Association, the bill was opposed by the AMA and nearly never made it through the Senate. Because the proposal was limited in the amount of coverage it provided, many liberal Democrats threatened to kill the bill unless amendments were added to expand its scope. Simultaneously budget hawks in the GOP became concerned that the proposed amendments would make the bill cost more than the proposed payroll tax to cover it anticipated. Republicans, led by Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen, were already lukewarm on the idea of public health care of any kind, for anybody, and threatened to abandon the act completely if Humphrey and Kennedy didn’t work to make it cheaper. Thankfully for the administration, the amendments added by the liberal Senators were defeated in the conference committee with the House. Vice President Sanford and Humphrey worked around the clock to make deals and secure liberal support. They vowed that even if the scope of the bill was limited somewhat, future pushes for expansion could be secured when the opportunity arose. With these promises and their arms sufficiently twisted, the liberals fell in line and helped pass the bill through the Senate 70 - 30.
Called the Social Security Amendments of 1965, these acts would become the twin pillars of the modern American healthcare system, and earned Kennedy the moniker “The New FDR” in the minds of millions across the country. The President signed the act into law in Independence, Missouri, with former President and First Lady Truman alongside him. “Today we mark a turning point for health care in this country.” The President said as he lifted his pen for the television cameras. “With the signing of these acts into law, millions of seniors and the less fortunate in the United States will now be able to afford health care coverage, and not have to worry over injury or falling ill.” Conservatives lambasted the law, but the majority of Americans joined former President Truman in congratulating the young President. He had won a great victory in his ongoing war on poverty.
Perhaps it was the unshakable feelings of optimism and triumph permeating the White House in August of 1965 that caused the administration to forget the power of the forces they grappled with. Maybe it was the natural consequence of a string of hard earned, meaningful victories. It could have been the fact that First Lady Jackie Kennedy announced on August 5th, that she was once again pregnant at the age of 36. The nation and the President were overjoyed at the news. Whatever the case, darker tidings hit the nation like a ton of bricks on the 11th, when a string of violent riots broke out in Los Angeles’ Watts neighborhood.
Earlier that day, an African-American motorist was pulled over on suspicion of reckless driving. A minor roadside argument broke out between the driver and the cop, and then escalated into a fight between family members and police. The community reacted in outrage to allegations of police brutality that soon spread, and six days of looting and arson followed. Los Angeles police required the support of nearly 4,000 California Army National Guardsmen to quell the riots, which resulted in 34 deaths and over $40 million in property damage. Despite the best efforts of the nation to heal its wounds and create positive progress for race relations, it seemed that old scars were the hardest to seal away completely. Governor Pat Brown condemned the violence, but also spoke sympathetically of those who participated. He wrote a sweeping legislative slate for the State Senate to consider, which included bettering conditions in education and employment for Los Angeles’ less well off neighborhoods. Most of these reforms however were dismissed as too expensive or irrelevant. A poll conducted by Gallup shortly after the riot showed that as many Americans believed Communism was behind the violence as believed it was motivated by inequality and mistreatment.
For his part, the President watched the images of the riot beamed back over the television in abject horror. Kennedy had known that the struggle for Civil Rights would not end with the passage of two laws through Congress, but he had not expected the violence to resume so swiftly. He turned to Jackie, who sat beside him on the sofa, her left hand on their unborn child and her right clasping her husband’s. “God help us.” Kennedy shook his head. “There’s still so much we need to make right.”
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Far more important ; have the changes to history altered Doctor Who?
I'll have to do some research so I can add it to a future pop culture update!
It definitely still exists.
I'm surprised that the USSR leaving and stopping their support of the Northern Vietnamese is by itself not mentioned as a huge public support victory for JFK. Even if he has nothing to do with it, as far as it looks to the American public, he convinced the USSR to leave. That by itself is a huge foreign policy victory, even if Kennedy really wasn't directly involved with it.
Anyways, great to see Jackie is pregnant again, and that JFK managed to pass Medicare. That said, the 1965 LA Riot is only going to help Reagan win California in 1966, just like it helped to do in our timeline.
Anyways, great to see Jackie is pregnant again, and that JFK managed to pass Medicare. That said, the 1965 LA Riot is only going to help Reagan win California in 1966, just like it helped to do in our timeline.
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That's an excellent point, and I hadn't thought of it quite that way before! I'll make sure to mention it as a victory in future updates, to show JFK as a strong foreign policy President.
You're also right that the riots will help Reagan. The race in California will be the focus of a future update.
Glad to see another update! With Khrushchev spending a greater focus on the Soviet economy, could the Soviet Union be able to survive longer? Of course, there must be taken into account other factors, but considering the Soviet leader is more open, we could see new reforms that can be able to change the future of the USSR.
Personally, I'm rooting for Reagan to win again like in the OTL, even if he only does so by a much smaller margin. It would create some interesting tension with JFK's presidency as I imagine Reagan being one of his biggest critics. What's the next update going to be about by the way, and are we going to get a NASA related update, in light of the joint American-USSR space mission?That's an excellent point, and I hadn't thought of it quite that way before! I'll make sure to mention it as a victory in future updates, to show JFK as a strong foreign policy President.
You're also right that the riots will help Reagan. The race in California will be the focus of a future update.
Reagan winning would certainly set him up to be a major critic of the Kennedy administration! I forgot to add the "Next Time" bit at the end of this update, but can confirm that the next chapter will focus on the Space Race, as requested.
It's a strong possibility!
The reforms of '65, and Khrushchev and Kosygin's leadership are certainly turns in the right direction from the stagnation rampant under Brezhnev IOTL. The primary issue facing this new Soviet Union will be political infighting, and an increasingly angry group of hardliners, who don't like the sudden detente being pursued with the west.I'm curious how this will affect the Warshaw Pact and the future OTL fall of Berlin Wall and Reunification of Germany. Will those be wiped away or happened under different means?It's a strong possibility!
Only time will tell, of course. One thing I can expect will be different is how the Soviets react to unrest such as the Prague Spring. If the hardliners aren't getting their way in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, they're more likely to throw their weight around on Eastern Europe.
On the title based off a 60s song, Eve of Destruction was recorded by Barry McGuire on July 15th, 1965, and released in August of 1965, so you've done it again...
Like the better Vietnam and some of the laws passed. On a side note, without Vietnam to protest, expect the counterculture (it's still going to be there, Vietnam or no Vietnam; the PoDs for this were in the 1950s) to go off in some...interesting directions...
Like the JFK/Jackie relationship (IOTL, between Patrick's death and his own, Kennedy really did try to avoid cheating on Jackie, and its interesting to see how that develops) here...
The riots occurring are as OTL (again, the PoDs for avoiding this would be earlier than the PoD of TTL); wonder how Kennedy will respond...
Reagan likely wins the governorship in 1966, IMO, since the Watts Riots really sunk Brown's popularity (and would have done the same for Nixon had he been in office, I suspect)...
Like the better Vietnam and some of the laws passed. On a side note, without Vietnam to protest, expect the counterculture (it's still going to be there, Vietnam or no Vietnam; the PoDs for this were in the 1950s) to go off in some...interesting directions...
Like the JFK/Jackie relationship (IOTL, between Patrick's death and his own, Kennedy really did try to avoid cheating on Jackie, and its interesting to see how that develops) here...
The riots occurring are as OTL (again, the PoDs for avoiding this would be earlier than the PoD of TTL); wonder how Kennedy will respond...
Reagan likely wins the governorship in 1966, IMO, since the Watts Riots really sunk Brown's popularity (and would have done the same for Nixon had he been in office, I suspect)...
Thank you!
I think I may have mentioned this in a previous comment, but it bares repeating, I really love exploring Kennedy's relationship with Jackie. They're both such fascinating historical characters. The counter culture is definitely a major trend, it's not going anywhere. But you're right that they won't have Vietnam to protest about.
Greetings and salutations my dedicated readers!
Due to some personal issues and circumstances, I probably won't have the Space Race update up this Friday.
I hope to have everything sorted out soon so I can get back to exploring the fabulous sixties with you all!
In the meantime, take it easy and see you soon.
Sincerely,
President_Lincoln
Due to some personal issues and circumstances, I probably won't have the Space Race update up this Friday.
I hope to have everything sorted out soon so I can get back to exploring the fabulous sixties with you all!
In the meantime, take it easy and see you soon.
Sincerely,
President_Lincoln
Thank you! I should be back in business by Monday. At least, that's the hope.