The Speech JFK Never Made & Commentary on His Vietnam Policy

My father sent this to me yesterday. I had never really asked the question: what was Kennedy going to say when he was assassinated? So I read through the speech with some interest. Full Text From the Kennedy Library Archives

A fairly standard speech by a President. Most of it concerned military assistance and spending, with some boasting of increased economic output at the end.

Then I did some digging on what Kennedy's plans for Vietnam were... and contrary to what Johnson did after his assassination, Kennedy was actually planning to withdraw US troops and generally leave South Vietnam to its own devices after the assassination of Diem.

Good article from the Boston Review from years ago It's an extremely long article, so I'll post the most relevant excerpt:

quote:

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After much debate, the president endorsed our recommendation to withdraw 1,000 men by December 31, 1963. He did so, I recall, without indicating his reasoning. In any event, because objections had been so intense and because I suspected others might try to get him to reverse the decision, I urged him to announce it publicly. That would set it in concrete. . . . The president finally agreed, and the announcement was released by Pierre Salinger after the meeting.

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The Vietnam War and Southeast Asian generally was used as the CIA's playground for DECADES, much like the Middle East and Eastern Europe is now...

There should be absolutely zero doubt in any one's mind at this point that the CIA/early Deep State was responsible for Kennedy's murder, and I have no doubt LBJ was either directly involved or tacitly approved, as well.