US President Lyndon Johnson's speech on his decision to increase US forces in Vie...HD Stock Footage — Transcript

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1. 0:04[Music]
2. 0:09arriving to make known his new decisions
3. 0:11on Vietnam to a highly tensed Washington
4. 0:14press conference which is attended by
5. 0:16his family President Johnson explains
6. 0:18the reasons for his actions in these
7. 0:21historic
8. 0:22words we intend to convince the
9. 0:26Communists that we cannot be defeated by
10. 0:30Force of Arms or by Superior
11. 0:35power they're not easily
12. 0:39convinced in recent months they have
13. 0:41greatly increased their fighting
14. 0:44forces and their attacks and the numbers
15. 0:48of
16. 0:49incidents I have asked the Commanding
17. 0:53General General West
18. 0:54Morland what more he needs to meet this
19. 0:58mounting aggression
20. 1:01he has told
21. 1:03me and we will meet his
22. 1:08needs I have today ordered to Vietnam
23. 1:10the air mobile
24. 1:12Division and certain other forces which
25. 1:14will raise our fighting strength from
26. 1:1675,000 to
27. 1:19125,000 men almost
28. 1:22immediately additional forces will be
29. 1:25needed later and they will be sent as
30. 1:28requested
31. 1:30this will make it necessary to increase
32. 1:32our active fighting forces by raising
33. 1:34the monthly draft call from 177,000 over
34. 1:38a period of time to
35. 1:4135,000 per month and for us to step up
36. 1:44our campaign for voluntary enlistments
37. 1:48once the Communists know as we
38. 1:51know that a violent solution is
39. 1:55impossible then a peaceful solution is
40. 1:59inev
41. 2:00aable I've spoken many times of our
42. 2:03objectives in
43. 2:05Vietnam so has the government of South
44. 2:08Vietnam Hanoi has set forth its own
45. 2:12proposals we are ready to discuss their
46. 2:16proposals and our
47. 2:18proposals and any proposals of any
48. 2:21government whose people may be
49. 2:25affected for We Fear the meeting room no
50. 2:28more than we fear the
51. 2:32battlefield and in this Pursuit we
52. 2:35welcome and we ask for the concern and
53. 2:39the
54. 2:40assistance of Any Nation and All Nations