policy - The Black Vault

THE BDM CORPORATION
During the 1950's US
policy toward Vietnam was not really a domestic
issue, and there was widespread support for the general policy of '-,tainment
of communism. In the decade and a half from 1960 to 1975, the US
domestic
political environment underwent transformation of far-reaching
consequences for US foreign policy. Of particular importance during that
time was the breakdown of the bipartisan support for the foreign policy
developed by the executive branch.
The consensus that had developed during
the 1950s, the Cold War era, had begun to fragment in the mid and late
1960s. At the same time, the American left which had disappeared in the
early part of that decade as a force shaping foreign policy reemerged.
These events were accompanied by a substantial lessening of the political
power of the American right, especially after the 1964 defeat of Senator
Barry Goldwater. These shifting tides of American politics directly
affected both the presidential and congressional responses to the Southeast
Asian situation. Thus, US Vietnam policies were formulated to meet
perceived international requirements, and, at the same time, were shaped by
domestic political forces.
B. PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS
wr Ivictory.
1. Kennedy Administration
a. Domestic Politics - Overview
political challenge ahead.
The Kennedy administration entered office with a serious
On the one hand President Kennedy had won the
1960 presidential elections or a platform that promised both broad domestic
reform and a stronger dS presence in international affairs. On the other
hand the admilistration came to power with a very narrow margin of only
100,000 popular votes. A small number of votes in key states like Illinois
would have produced an electoral college victory for Richard Nixon.
political dilemma was to fulfill the broad campaign promises without the
"political base that would have been established in a powerful election
The
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