0 - The Black Vault

S THE BM CORPORATION
6 it made Selective Service (the Draft) the vehicle for acquiring
manpower to handle the Vietnam buildup, This move proved unpopular
with both the Congress and the public; it contributed to-
- deferrments based on pr,ysic31, marital or education status,
unfairly drafting poor, lesser educated individuals,
toth increased dissent, antiwa, 1 demonstrations, draft card burnings,
efforts to avoid military service,
a poover quality soldier (under-educa~ed and in need of more
military training) when compared to a Reserve soldier.
6., Mini-Mobilization• The Pueblo Incident ana Tet 1968
The communist oftensi',e during Tet in early 1968 came as a shock
to the USG. The desperate comimunist attack proved to be flawed and ended
"p a decisive battlefield victory for US/RVNAF forces. In contrasc, however
it was a psychological defeat or the home front in tne US.33/
dent Johnson, recalling the impact of Tet, wrcte the following-
Presi-
I was prepared for the events of Tet, though thE scale
of the attacks and the size of the Communist force was
greater than I had anticipated. I did not expect the
enemy effort to have the impact on American thinking
that it achieved. I was not surprised that elements of
the press, the academic community, and the Congress
reacted as they did. I was surprised and disappointed
that the enemy's efforts produced such a dismal effect
on various people inside government and others outside
whom I had always regarded as staunch and unflappable.
Hanoi must have been delighted; it was exactly the
reaction they sought.34/
a. Rationale for the Pueblo Mini-Mobilization
The first three months of 1968 brought with them incense
international pressure on the United States. As a prelude to the Tet
attacks, the following crisis situations developed:
* the North Koreans seized a US intelligence ship, the USS Pueblo,
and imprisoned its crew.
* an assassination squad of North Koreans made an unsuccessful
attempt on the life of South Korea's President Park.
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