Is Many Americans have lost confidence in what their government has told them about our policy. The American People cannot and should not be asked to support a policy which involves the overall writing issues of war and peace, unless they know the truth about that policy. Tonight, therefore, i would like to answer some of the questions i know are on the minds of many of you listening to me. How and why did america get involved in vietnam in the first place . How has this administration changed the policy of the Previous Administration . What really happened in the negotiations in paris, on the battlefront, in vietnam. What choices do we have if we were to end the war. What are the prospects for peace . Let me begin by describing the situation i have found when i was inaugurated on january 20. The war had been going on for four years, 31,000 americans had been killed in action. The Training Program for the South Vietnamese was beyond schedule. 540,000 americans were in vietnam with no p
Were elected through back channels, small party conventions. In 1968, 73 of democratic delegates through the convention had been elected this way. Less than 25 were elected in the way we normally do it. President Lyndon Johnson took himself out of the race. He was not up for reelection in 1968. This initiated a freefall in the Democratic Party between a number of candidates. One of which who was very popular was unfortunately dead by august of 1968. That was robert kennedy. He was a peace candidate. He had been a unifying candidate for many people in the party. He was assassinated in june of 1968. That is one thing lying behind the convention in august of 1968. The kennedy delegates who had been elected, pledged to kennedy. Hubert humphrey, Lyndon Johnsons Vice President had become the nominee by august. There was another peace candidate, mccarthy who had delegates like kennedy who showed up in chicago in august. It is something of a freeforall where the delegates are concerned. It is
Supported by the u. S. Government and resulted in the capture or death of more than 1000 men. This was recorded in florida in 2011. It is about one hour. This evening, books and books is pleased to welcome mr. Jim ratzenberger and his new book brilliant disaster jfk, castro, and americas doomed invasion of cubas bay of pigs. He has written for the New York Times, vanity fair, smithsonian, and the wilson quarterly, among others. His most recent book was american 1908, and he is also the author of high steel. He examines the u. S. Backed military invasion of cuba in 1961 in this book, one of the most ill fated blunders in american history. He draws on long hidden cia documents, and delivers, as never before, the truth and consequences of those five pivotal days in april of 1961. Here to tell us more, give a warm welcome to mr. Jim ratzenberger. [applause] jim perfect. Thank you. Thank you for that introduction. Thank you to books and books for having me. This is a wonderful bookstore. I
Evening, my fellow americans. I want to talk to you about a subjective deep concern to fellow americans and people in the world. The war in vietnam. The deep division of vietnam as im Many Americans have lost confidence in what their government has told them about our policy. The American People cannot or should not support a policy overriding issues of war and peace, unless they know the truth about that policy. Tonight, i would like to answer some of the questions are on the minds of many of you listening to me. How and why did america get involved in vietnam in the first place . How is this administration change a policy of the Previous Administration . What really happened in the negotiation of paris and the battlegrounds of vietnam . Which voices do we have if we were to end the war . Where do the prospects for peace . Let me begin by describing the situation i found when i was inaugurated on january 20. The war had been going on for four years, 31,000 americans had been killed in
Thai im Judy Woodruff im thrilled to be joining these three amazing others today. You see them on the screen. They are George Packer whose latest book our man Richard Holbrooke and the end of the American Century and Susan Glasser and peter baker his book is out this fall the man who ran washington the life and times of james a. Baker to third. Two brilliant books about too complicated and fascinating men. They were born a decade apart baker in houston in 1930 and holbrooke in manhattan in 1941. Baker a republican trained as a lawyer holbrooke a democrat a Foreign Service officer a student of foreign policy. Their lives took very different trajectories but they both ended up in washington where they became major power players. Picking up on that this is a man with great vision and it was there before he came to washington. It was. He was a family feud aristocracy. He was expected to great things. He had a very dominating father who imparted on him the legacy of his family or the bakers