The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 107, July 2003 - April, 2004 Page: 73
660 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Four Years and a World of Difference
lack of imagination," and made "almost no effort to change America's
direction in international affairs, even when change was necessary."11
The criticisms of LBJ's diplomacy vary greatly, of course, but a few
themes tie them together. Perhaps most prominent is a more sophisticat-
ed version of the earlier contention that a backward Lyndon Johnson was
uninterested in the outside world. In this criticism, LBJ is faulted not for
ignoring foreign policy but for consistently tying it to his political agenda;
that is, that the president always made his foreign policy decisions with
one eye (and sometimes two) focused on domestic politics. Wrote politi-
cal scientist Larry Berman, "The President was involved in a delicate exer-
cise of political juggling. ... He chose to avoid a national debate on the
[Vietnam] war, to keep the reserves home, and to buy time for a domes-
tic record meriting nothing less than Mount Rushmore."'2 Richard
Immerman echoed the same themes, writing of LBJ's response to
General Westmoreland's 1965 request for a troop increase that, "To
refuse would risk domestic turmoil reminiscent of the Joseph McCarthy
era, turmoil inimical to Johnson's legislative agenda.... Indeed, politics
weighed as heavily on policymaking as did military exigencies.""
A second, and closely related, criticism is the claim that Johnson's for-
eign policy was always severely hindered by the Vietnam War. LBJ's near-
obsession, runs this argument, distracted both resources and attention
from other international hotbeds, leading to problems for the United
States that need not have existed. "If fear of communist aggression was the
common concern motivating Johnson and his advisors," wrote Tucker,
"Vietnam proved to be their joint obsession."14 Accordingly, the president is
alleged to have embraced Southeast Asian myopia that not only distracted
him from the rest of the world but also shaped the way that he understood
it. "Johnson's preoccupation with Vietnam," wrote one study of LBJ's poli-
cies toward Africa, "limited his options and slanted his perceptions regard-
ing Africa."1" Warren Cohen brought these two themes together in writing
about LBJ's Middle East policies, concluding that the president "was imme-
diately preoccupied with domestic reform, the election campaign of 1964,
and Vietnam. He had little time or inclination to dabble in the area."16
" H. W. Brands, Wages of Globalzsm- Lyndon Johnson and the Limts of Amencan Power (New York:
Oxford University Press, 1995), 28-29.
" Berman, Planning a Tragedy, 146-149.
'~ Richard Immerman, "A Time in the Tide of Men's Affairs," in Tucker and Cohen (eds.),
Lyndon Johnson Confronts the World, 62-66.
" Tucker, "A Final Reckoning," 314.
15 Terrence Lyons, "Keeping Africa off the Agenda," in Tucker and Cohen (eds.), Lyndon
Johnson Confronts the World, 248.
16 Warren Cohen, Balancing American Interests in the Middle East," in Tucker and Cohen
(eds.), Lyndon Johnson Confronts the World, 281.2003
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 107, July 2003 - April, 2004, periodical, 2004; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101224/m1/91/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.