Wilson determined that he had to fly to Washington at once, to try to dissuade Johnson from going forward with escalation and, equally important, to show nervous Labour back-benchers and the British public that he was doing something to head off a major war. At 1:00 A.M. London time on 11 February, Wilson called Lord Harlech in Washington, and the ambassador agreed to call the White House to request authorization for a Wilson visit. An hour later, Harlech called back. He had spoken to McGeorge Bundy, who told him the president was strongly against a visit on the grounds that it would smack too
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