HIS377H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Mcgeorge Bundy, Dean Rusk, Michael Latham
Document Summary
Quest for victory : john f. kennedy, lyndon b. Campaigned on idea that us had grown soft. Robert mcnamara (secretary of defense, harvard business school, ford) Mcgeorge bundy (nsc advisor, harvard school of government) Attempt to reverse poverty (which could lead to communist interference) Us didn"t actually enforce reforms & elites didn"t want to do them. Very little money actually made it to the poor. Jfk wants status quo, also worried about us credibility / public opinion. "a wall is a lot better than a war" Jfk didn"t actually care that much, more about credibility. "sons of bitches, but our sons of bitches" Backing certain governments that were in their interests. Castro friends with guevara - learns important lessons from. Make it look like it came from the cuban people. Jfk: "how could i have been so stupid" Ussr had few icbms that could reach the us.