Washington as a One Crisis Town

Abstract

In 1964, American policy makers studied their options in Vietnam; in 1965, they reached decisions; by 1966, they began confronting the domestic and global ramifications of those decisions and Washington became a “one crisis town”. In 1964, administration analysts had predicted that “the US would probably find itself progressively isolated in the event that US sanctions did not soon achieve either a Communist reduction of pressure on South Vietnam or some progress toward meaningful negotiations.”¹ By 1966, it became clear that the sanctions had not worked, there were no negotiations, and American allies and clients were distancing themselves from Washington in general and the Vietnam War in particular. This distancing helped harden Hanoi’s heart, radicalize the Soviet position, and undermine public support for the War.