[lbo-talk] Cold War Liberalism and Vietnam

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Mon Jan 25 07:23:56 PST 2016


I'm reading Halberstam's Best & Brightest now and yes, a bunch of them really believed this shit - and refused to believe reports from the field that it was all a wreck.


> On Jan 24, 2016, at 9:02 PM, Nick Manley <chessanarch at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I've been reading a collection of speeches and whatnot on the Vietnam War
> as it relates to American foreign policy. I was especially struck by the
> speeches of Kennedy esque Cold War liberals. They give the impression of
> really believing American power was successfully remaking South Vietnam
> into some liberal democratic paradise. They even cite figures which if true
> show greater economic progress and whatnot in the South than the North. I
> am not saying I think they are true. I've no idea due to no sources
> provided.
>
> So my question is: do people think these "best and brightest" types really
> thought American power was salvaging liberty in Vietnam and elsewhere? This
> book has me wonder about that.



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