Ferguson, Kennedy, Kissinger, and Vietnam: A Fresh Look | Chapter 9 | Selected Topics in Humanities and Social Sciences Vol. 6
Ferguson's in-depth biography gives insight into the policies and personalities that led to the United States' full-fledged involvement in Vietnam. He shows that Kissinger was not the one-dimensional realist some have assumed based on his early academic papers combining Kantian philosophy and nineteenth-century diplomacy, but that this was not the case. Kissinger supported idealist principles, believed Prince Metternich was backward-looking, and had significant doubts about Bismarck's power tactics, according to Ferguson... Ferguson's examination of Kissinger's Vietnam record throughout the Kennedy and Johnson administrations reveals that, while he criticised the general war strategy's implementation, he never opposed it. Both Ferguson and Kissinger dismiss evidence that Kennedy was changing his mind about Vietnam and that major intra-Vietnam peace discussions were taking place in 1963. Such omissions provide the impression of historical alternatives that aren...