Choosing War: The Lost Chance for Peace and the Escalation of War in Vietnam

by Fredrik Logevall

Critical to understanding the advocacy of a wider war in the face of general pessimism is the growing attachment among key officials to the theory of the “good doctor,” first articulated by John McNaughton in a memo back in September in connection with the need to put the best possible face on what might be an unavoidable defeat. In this scenario, the United States should strive to project the image of a patient (South Vietnam) who died despite the heroic efforts of the good doctor (the United States). Even if bombing North Vietnam were expected to fail, it could serve an important purpose, which McNaughton phrased as follows in one of the early Working Group memoranda: “Even if Option C failed, it would, by demonstrating U.S. willingness to go to the mat, tend to bolster allied confidence in the U.S. as an ally.”