Most of President Johnson’s advisers pushed to expand America’s military presence in Vietnam. A small number dissented. Under Secretary of State George Ball presented this argument for negotiating an end to the war.
He stated: “No one can assure you that we can beat the Viet Cong or even force them to the conference table on our terms, no matter how many hundred thousand white, foreign troops we deploy.”
That same day, the “Viet Cong” attacked the U.S. air base at Da Nang. Within weeks, Johnson had more than quadrupled the size of the force.
