Posted on Nov 2, 2017
Johnson meets with “the Wise Men” - Nov 02, 1967 - HISTORY.com
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President Johnson holds a secret meeting with some of the nation’s most prestigious leaders, who were collectively called “the Wise Men.” This group included former Secretary of State Dean Acheson, General of the Army Omar Bradley, Ambassador-at-Large Averell Harriman, and former Ambassador to South Vietnam Henry Cabot Lodge.
Johnson asked them for advice on how to unite the U.S. in the Vietnam War effort. They reached the conclusion that the administration needed to offer “ways of guiding the press to show the light at the end of the tunnel.” In effect, they decided that the American people should be given more optimistic reports. When Johnson agreed, the administration, which included senior U.S. military commander in Saigon Gen. William Westmoreland, began to paint a more positive picture of the situation in South Vietnam. In early 1968, this decision came back to haunt Johnson and Westmoreland when the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese launched a major surprise attack on January 30, the start of the Tet New Year holiday. Stunned by the scope of the Communist attack after the administration had painted such an upbeat picture of Allied progress in the war, many Americans began to question the credibility of the president and antiwar sentiment increased significantly.
Johnson asked them for advice on how to unite the U.S. in the Vietnam War effort. They reached the conclusion that the administration needed to offer “ways of guiding the press to show the light at the end of the tunnel.” In effect, they decided that the American people should be given more optimistic reports. When Johnson agreed, the administration, which included senior U.S. military commander in Saigon Gen. William Westmoreland, began to paint a more positive picture of the situation in South Vietnam. In early 1968, this decision came back to haunt Johnson and Westmoreland when the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese launched a major surprise attack on January 30, the start of the Tet New Year holiday. Stunned by the scope of the Communist attack after the administration had painted such an upbeat picture of Allied progress in the war, many Americans began to question the credibility of the president and antiwar sentiment increased significantly.
Johnson meets with “the Wise Men” - Nov 02, 1967 - HISTORY.com
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Office of the President (POTUS)
Vietnam War American History Military History Office of the President (POTUS)
Posted 7 y ago
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Thanks SP5 Mark Kuzinski for reminding us that President Lyndon Baines Johnson met with what was referred to as “the Wise Men” consisting of Dean Acheson, George Ball, General Omar Bradley, McGeorge Bundy, Clark Clifford, Arthur Dean, Douglas Dillon, Justice Abe Fortas, Averell Harriman, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., Robert Murphy and General Maxwell Taylor to discuss Vietnam and how to unite the U.S.A. in the Vietnam War effort.
The NVA had a robust propaganda arm which they used to deceive the American people into believing that TET was a victory.
Images: Dean Acheson; McGeorge Bundy; Clark Clifford; Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
Background on the Wise Men
"The Wise Men were a group of government officials and members of the East Coast foreign policy establishment who, beginning in the 1940s, developed the containment policy of dealing with the Communist bloc and crafted institutions and initiatives such as NATO, the World Bank, and the Marshall Plan. They came to personify an ideal of statesmanship that was putatively marked by non-partisanship, pragmatic internationalism, and aversion to ideological fervor.
The Wise Men The Wise Men were chronicled in a book by that title written by Walter Isaacson and Evan Thomas, published in 1986. The principal men featured in the book were:
Dean Acheson
Charles E. Bohlen
W. Averell Harriman
George F. Kennan
Robert A. Lovett
John J. McCloy
These six friends -—two lawyers, two bankers, two diplomats—- came together when Harry Truman became President of the United States in 1945 and helped create a bipartisan foreign policy based on resistance to the expansion of Soviet power.
They were exemplars of the American foreign policy establishment, and as such tended to be practical, realistic, and non-ideological. They had generally known each other since their days at prep school or college, and on Wall Street.
After they had retired, they and a group of like-minded establishment elders were dubbed The Wise Men and summoned back by President Lyndon Johnson. At first they supported the Vietnam War, but in a pivotal meeting in March 1968 they expressed the conviction that the war could not be won and American troops should be withdrawn.
First meeting
On November 1 and 2, 1967, President Johnson brought together: Dean Acheson, George Ball, General Omar Bradley, McGeorge Bundy, Clark Clifford, Arthur Dean, Douglas Dillon, Justice Abe Fortas, Averell Harriman, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., Robert Murphy and General Maxwell Taylor.
They were briefed by General Wheeler and George Carver on Vietnam. Carver and Wheeler reported that great progress was being made in Vietnam. As a group they were unanimous in opposing the United States departure from Vietnam. They did however recognize that battlefield casualties were eroding support and recommend that General William Westmoreland and Ellsworth Bunker should emphasize the idea that "the light at the end of the tunnel" was in sight.
Bundy reported to the President that "public discontent with the war is now wide and deep" but that Johnson should "stay the course".
Second meeting
On March 25, 1968 the same group that had met in November with the addition of General Matthew Ridgway and Cyrus Vance They were briefed by The State Department, the CIA and the Department of Defense on William Westmoreland request for additional troops for Vietnam in the wake of the Tet Offensive. With the exception of Robert Murphy, General Taylor and Abe Fortas the group's recommendations, summed up by Dean Acheson were "we can no longer do the job we set out to do in the time we have left and we must begin to take steps to disengage".
https://www.geni.com/projects/The-Wise-Men/10384
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx Maj Marty Hogan PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SPC Margaret Higgins MSgt Jason McClish AN Christopher Crayne LTC Bill Koski SPC Tom DeSmet SGT Charles H. Hawes LTC Wayne Brandon SGT (Join to see) SGT Michael Thorin
The NVA had a robust propaganda arm which they used to deceive the American people into believing that TET was a victory.
Images: Dean Acheson; McGeorge Bundy; Clark Clifford; Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
Background on the Wise Men
"The Wise Men were a group of government officials and members of the East Coast foreign policy establishment who, beginning in the 1940s, developed the containment policy of dealing with the Communist bloc and crafted institutions and initiatives such as NATO, the World Bank, and the Marshall Plan. They came to personify an ideal of statesmanship that was putatively marked by non-partisanship, pragmatic internationalism, and aversion to ideological fervor.
The Wise Men The Wise Men were chronicled in a book by that title written by Walter Isaacson and Evan Thomas, published in 1986. The principal men featured in the book were:
Dean Acheson
Charles E. Bohlen
W. Averell Harriman
George F. Kennan
Robert A. Lovett
John J. McCloy
These six friends -—two lawyers, two bankers, two diplomats—- came together when Harry Truman became President of the United States in 1945 and helped create a bipartisan foreign policy based on resistance to the expansion of Soviet power.
They were exemplars of the American foreign policy establishment, and as such tended to be practical, realistic, and non-ideological. They had generally known each other since their days at prep school or college, and on Wall Street.
After they had retired, they and a group of like-minded establishment elders were dubbed The Wise Men and summoned back by President Lyndon Johnson. At first they supported the Vietnam War, but in a pivotal meeting in March 1968 they expressed the conviction that the war could not be won and American troops should be withdrawn.
First meeting
On November 1 and 2, 1967, President Johnson brought together: Dean Acheson, George Ball, General Omar Bradley, McGeorge Bundy, Clark Clifford, Arthur Dean, Douglas Dillon, Justice Abe Fortas, Averell Harriman, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., Robert Murphy and General Maxwell Taylor.
They were briefed by General Wheeler and George Carver on Vietnam. Carver and Wheeler reported that great progress was being made in Vietnam. As a group they were unanimous in opposing the United States departure from Vietnam. They did however recognize that battlefield casualties were eroding support and recommend that General William Westmoreland and Ellsworth Bunker should emphasize the idea that "the light at the end of the tunnel" was in sight.
Bundy reported to the President that "public discontent with the war is now wide and deep" but that Johnson should "stay the course".
Second meeting
On March 25, 1968 the same group that had met in November with the addition of General Matthew Ridgway and Cyrus Vance They were briefed by The State Department, the CIA and the Department of Defense on William Westmoreland request for additional troops for Vietnam in the wake of the Tet Offensive. With the exception of Robert Murphy, General Taylor and Abe Fortas the group's recommendations, summed up by Dean Acheson were "we can no longer do the job we set out to do in the time we have left and we must begin to take steps to disengage".
https://www.geni.com/projects/The-Wise-Men/10384
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx Maj Marty Hogan PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SPC Margaret Higgins MSgt Jason McClish AN Christopher Crayne LTC Bill Koski SPC Tom DeSmet SGT Charles H. Hawes LTC Wayne Brandon SGT (Join to see) SGT Michael Thorin
The Wise Men genealogy project
A collection of genealogical profiles related to The Wise Men
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More optimistic reports- early fake news. Great history share SP5 Mark Kuzinski
SMSgt Lawrence McCarter Maj William W. "Bill" Price SrA Christopher Wright MSG Andrew White SFC Stephen King MCPO Roger Collins Sgt Martin Querin SGT Gregory Lawritson Cpl (Join to see) Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth LTC (Join to see) MSG Frederick Otero Sgt Deborah Cornatzer Sgt Steven Thomas SPC Douglas Bolton LCDR (Join to see) SFC Dave Beran SCPO Morris Ramsey PO2 Peter Klein
SMSgt Lawrence McCarter Maj William W. "Bill" Price SrA Christopher Wright MSG Andrew White SFC Stephen King MCPO Roger Collins Sgt Martin Querin SGT Gregory Lawritson Cpl (Join to see) Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth LTC (Join to see) MSG Frederick Otero Sgt Deborah Cornatzer Sgt Steven Thomas SPC Douglas Bolton LCDR (Join to see) SFC Dave Beran SCPO Morris Ramsey PO2 Peter Klein
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