POD 1960, make it happen. Bonus if the POD is after 1963, Double Bonus if he's LBJ's running mate in 1964.
Easy for you to say. You'll be safely on the other side of the 3,000 mile wall he'll build to keep draft dodgers from escaping to your country and stealing jobs from hard workingWhat's so bad about a Rocky Republican like McNamara, at least on domestic policy? Yes, he wasn't the best SecDef (to say the least), but without a substantial Vietnam commitment before 1965 I don't see the problem.
RogueBeaver
President McNamara. Speaking as an American, RogueBeaver, WHAT HAVE YOU GOT AGAINST US, ANYWAY?!![]()
POD 1960, make it happen. Bonus if the POD is after 1963, Double Bonus if he's LBJ's running mate in 1964.
Can someone please explain what is so bad about POTUS McNamara without a Vietnam war?
This. I found the tapes regarding this very note. Anyway, McNamara actually wanted to pursue Vietnamization rather than continue escalation, but LBJ would have none of it. Other proposals included building a line of fortifications from the coast of Vietnam along the de-militarized zone and through Laos to Thailand in order to cut off the Ho-Chi Minh trail.That is ASB on a few levels, if original. The only way I see it is if LBJ picks him in 1964 (IOTL the offer was made) and Johnson dies in office.
A line of fortifications? How exactly does that work?IMO the only way to tackle the Trail is for the ARVN and USAF to cut it by turning it into a massacre zone ala the Somme, except this time with 1960s tech. But yes, LBJ didn't listen regarding Vietnamization, with fatal political consequences to come. Keep in mind that after 1966 LBJ was very suspicious (correctly) of McNamara's loyalties and disregarded much of his advice in fear he was 'going soft'. If he'd known that PDB-level Vietnam documents were ending up in unauthorized hands, grab your earmuffs.