Friday, October 04, 2019
All too familiar
Ran across this editorial in a May 1965 issue of 'Electronics' magazine. Bear in mind that the magazine was aimed at the contractor class, so their vested interest dominates. Bear also that contractors were not peaceniks by any means. Even so, the description is objective and horribly familiar.
When President Johnson went before Congress to ask for an additional $700 million appropriation to finance the fighting in Vietnam, he confirmed what almost all the experts in Washington have been saying. The exception has been Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara. Asked at a press conference on April 26 if more equipment would be bought for the stepped-up fighting in Vietnam, McNamara's answer was unequivocal. "We don't have plans to increase procurement above the previously established level," he said. Eight days later, the President asked for the additional $700 million "for this fiscal year" and laid out a program that indicated that the Pentagon had done considerable homework. Either the defense secretary was uninformed, or he was lying. In either case, the incident again raises a question that has bothered people in and out of government since McNamara was first sworn in: Is this pompous egomaniac qualified to be a cabinet officer? It is becoming increasingly obvious that our government has not been telling us everything. Less than two years ago, McNamara was issuing statements of confidence on Vietnam. He even predicted that our troops would be out of that jungle country in 18 months. These rosy statements don't mesh with the increased flow of troops into Vietnam these days or the losses of aircraft and life we keep reading about. McNamara has certainly been one of the most publicized defense secretaries, partly because he is a controversial figure and partly because he has the biggest staff of press agents. The difficult Vietnam war is complicated by political considerations. To bring the fighting to a satisfactory conclusion, the President needs the support of Congress, industry, and the taxpayers. We wonder if they can give their full support if their confidence in the secretary of defense is shaken. Certainly he has imposed his will on the Pentagon, picking projects that he wanted and contractors that he favored; but the jury is still out on how much he has saved or cost the taxpayers. Indications from Vietnam are that our troops there have had mediocre communications equipment and outmoded aircraft. The mounting casualty list is indeed a high price to pay for statistically controlled economy.In '65, well before the full escalation in '67, these folks recognized that the government was not fighting in good faith and not telling us everything. The real fight was between egomaniacs in DC seeking to maximize their personal power. Soldiers and taxpayers were Negative Externalities. Familiar. Later thought: One thing is wildly UNfamiliar. A professionally published magazine, normally non-political, was bashing a DEMOCRAT politician, using OBJECTIVE FACTS. This was still possible in '65. Watergate began the rapid slide toward absolute Deepstate and DNC control of ALL experts and publications and writers and thoughts.
Labels: Blinded by Stats, defensible times
¶ 5:58 AM
