This paper is based upon an exercise to play the role of a Presidential advisor, synthesizing all available information at the time in order to pose a plausible strategy directive. It contains an overview of the issues facing US government policy makers in the build up to the Vietnam War, including detailed points to build a case for possible engagement in the region.
Excerpt:
In the matter regarding current instability within Southeast Asia, it is recommended that the United States immediately bring all ideological, psychological, diplomatic and economic powers and means to bear on the Southeast Asia theatre, particularly in the Associated States of Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and the peripheral nations adjacent to the South China Sea. Given the new consensus that the Soviet Union is the principal source behind the clandestine spread of Communism within the region, it is imperative that we move to quickly avert further shifts in influence.
