policy - The Black Vault

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could no longer be counted as a supporter of his policies, other major news
organizations, including major newspapers,
CBS and NBC continued to support Johnson.
In late 1967,
Life, Look, Time, and Newsweek,
Johnson acted to strengthen his media support and
to reverse the decline in public support for his war policies, support
which had fallen below the 50 per cent mark.?5/ Johnson responded with a
torrent of aaministration pronouncements designed to show the American
people that the Johnson policies were slowly leading to a successful conclusion
of US involvement in Vietnam. There was "progress" until the 1968
Tet offensive, -as reported, showed that the stregngth and w;ll of the communists
had not been broken and that the optimistic official reassurances
of late 1967 were at best ill-founded and at worst lies.
In November 196"7, Johnson had called a meeting of the Wise Men,
the administrators for his Vietnam policies. Repeatedly, they stressed the
solid progress that was being achieved in Vietnam.
Bunker stated:
Ambassador Ellsworth
A year ago, [the population in South Vietnam] was about
55 percent under government control. N.'w the Vietnamese
figure is 79 percent. Ours is a little more
conservative. We say 67 p=rcent. About 17 percent
according to our figures is under VC control, and the
rest is in contested areas. 36/
Ambassador Robert Komer and Vice President Hubert Humphrey also contributed
to the media campaign. 37!
One of the most influential voices Johnson added to tnose who
emphasized the successes was General William Westmoreland who was called to
Washington to provide reassurance of the administration:s policies. In
response to questions after his speech at the National Press Club in
Washington, Westmoreland declared:
... it is conceivable to me that within two years or
less, it will be possible fo,' us to phase down our
level of commitment and turn more of the burden of tne
war over to the Vietnamese armed forces, who are
"improving, and who, I believe, will he prepared to
assume this greater burden. 38/
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