Pages

0

Media Type

Moving Image

Physical Location

D023.4A

Copyright Statement

WGBH Educational Foundation

Number of Media

1

Language(s)

English

Format

VHS

Time - Hr:Min:Sec

60:00

Digitized in HD?

No

General Note

General William Westmoreland, U.S. Commander in Vietnam, sounded a note of optimism on November 231, 1967. ^D<'A new phase is now starting. We have reached an important point when the end begins to come into view.^D>' North Vietnam was also thinking about new beginnings. In late January, 1968-on the eve of Tet, the Vietnamese New Year-a coordinated, nationwide offensive of Viet Cong and Northern troops struck the major cities of South Vietnam, shocking the American public. The U.S. Embassy in Saigon was also a target of attack. Hue, the former capital city of South Vietnam was held for 25 days, and became the location of a counter-assault, leading to the heaviest fighting of the entire offensive. ^D<'Tet, 1968^D>' examines the offensive and its political consequences for President Lyndon Johnson. HarryMcPherson, then counsel to the President, recalls cable traffic from Saigon reporting a decisive Viet Cong defeat, yet domestic television reports showed desperate battles in the streets of Saigon and other cities. ^D<'There were awful contradictions^DELIt was very disturbing.^D>' Former Secretary of State Dean Rusk elaborates upon how a military defeat became ^D<'a brilliant political victory for them [the communists] here in the U.S^DEL ^D<' Clark Clifford, a staunch Johnson supporter and former Secretary of Defense, tells how he and other ^D<'secret doves^D>' collaborated, persuading the President to disengage U.S. forces from Southeast Asia. On March 31, 1698, Johnson delivered a conciliatory speech. He also announced he would not see re-election that year. Although Americans fought in Vietnam for five more years, Tet marked the end of the U.S. policy of military escalation in Vietnam.