"The year is 1968. 500 000 American soldiers are situated in Vietnam. More bombs are falling over the country than over Germany in World War II. Thousands of American soldiers die, hundreds of thousand Vietnamese. The war is drowning in an ocean of suffering and death. The civilians are dragged more and more into the actions of war. Thousands of women and children die. Who is responsible?"

After World War II, the area known as French Indochina became the focus of independence movements. French Indochina included the countries that today are called Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Fighting in Indochina lasted for nearly 30 years and had world-wide consequences.

In 1951 Kennedy visited French Indochina. The United State's policy was to give full support to the French in their struggle against the communist rebellions in Vietnam. When Kennedy came back to Washington D.C., he proclaimed that weapons alone could not stop the communists from a full take over in Southeast Asia, but it was very necessary to give the people anti-communistic thoughts. Without the support from the native Vietnamese, there was no hope for success in Southeast Asia. In 1954 France surrendered Indochina, and Vietnam was divided into two parts, North Vietnam and South Vietnam. Laos and Cambodia were given full independence.

In December 1961, President Kennedy signed a declaration, in which he promised to help South Vietnam maintain its independence. The United States' effort in the war substantially increased. The same month the first American troops arrived in Saigon. 400 uniformed army personnel were sent to operate two helicopter units. The Kennedy Administration, however, said that the troops were not meant for combat. In December 1962, the United States had 11 200 troops in South Vietnam.

In the meanwhile, the Diem government was unable to defeat the communists. They were also unable to cope with the growing unrest of the South Vietnamese Buddhists, with many of them burning themselves to death in protest of the war. Lots were arrested and charged of undermining the government. The government claimed that the Buddhist groups had been infiltrated by communists and politically hostile persons.

On 1 November 1963 the Diem government was overthrown in a military coup and Diem was executed. A new government, headed by General Duong Van Minh, was established.

President Kennedy wanted to keep South Vietnam from having a communistic government and before his inauguration, he and President Eisenhower had several discussions about the Vietnam issue. Quite often Vietnam became centre of their discussion, and Kennedy felt great concern about Vietnam.

11 October 1963, McGeorge Bundy signed the National Security Action Memorandum No. 263. He wrote that President Kennedy had said no formal announcement should be made on the plans to withdraw 1 000 military personnel by the end of 1963. But when Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, returned from Saigon, he and Kennedy agreed that an announcement should be made on the subject.

President Kennedy was determined to let the public believe he had all intentions to carry on with the war in Vietnam. In 1963, Kennedy's special counsellor, Arthur M. Schlesinger said "Kennedy was still playing out his public hand while secretly wondering how to get out." This gives us a clear view that he in fact intended to withdraw regardless of victory, by mid-1965. President Kennedy supported a full military withdrawal from Vietnam, but he said "if he announced a withdrawal of American military personnel from Vietnam before the 1964 election, there would be a wild conservative outcry against returning him to the Presidency for a second term." Further he said in a private comment to the White House aide, Kenneth O'Donnell, "In 1965, I'll become one of the most unpopular Presidents in history. I'll be damned everywhere as a Communist appeaser. But I don't care. If I tried to pull out completely now from Vietnam, we would have another Joe McCarthy scare on our hands, but I can do it after I'm reelected. So we had better make damned sure that I am reelected." It was very important for President Kennedy not to let the public know his withdrawal plans. In a very confusing press conference on 14 November 1963, he said the Honolulu conference that was to come, would concentrate on "how we can intensify the struggle, how we can bring Americans out of there. Now that is our object, to bring Americans out of there."

In 1963, the American author and historian, John Newman, said "Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, was determined to execute the President's intent: A genuine withdrawal from Vietnam." He also mentions that McNamara gave instructions to General Harkins to come up with a plan to "wrap things up and come home."

In 1967, the Director of State Department Intelligence, Roger Hilsman, claimed President Kennedy intended to withdraw from Vietnam. He also said Kennedy before his death had begun to implement a plan to withdraw from Vietnam.

In a review of a biography about Robert McNamara in 1993, Robert Kuttner, a reporter in the Boston Globe, wrote "with Kennedy, Robert McNamara embraced a plan to increase assistance but turn the show over to the Vietnamese, win or lose, by 1965." Deborah Shapley, an American author, wrote in her book "Promise" that McNamara had told her he and Kennedy had agreed to withdraw from Vietnam without victory.

Considering that three of the most prominent associates of the President refute the existence of a withdrawal plan, questions if there ever was one. Among these are the President's own brother, Robert Francis Kennedy, the Attorney General. The other two is Kennedy's special counsellor and friend, Arthur M. Schlesinger, and Kennedy's first appointed official, Theodore Sorenson.

Schlesinger has different opinions of Kennedy's withdrawal plans. In his book, "A thousand days", he gives no indication of Kennedy even considering withdrawal. "A thousand days" gives a day by day review of the Kennedy Adminstration and the only indication of withdrawal the book gives is McNamara's statement on the withdrawal of troops by the end of 1963. Schlesinger claims Kennedy had a fear of upsetting the world balance if the United States were to withdraw. Further he writes that Kennedy in 1963 said there was a need to establish a stabile and "friendly" government in South Vietnam in order for the country to maintain its independence. For the United States to go back on their promise on this issue would mean a full collapse of South Vietnam, and even Southeast Asia. "So we are going to stay there," Kennedy stated in a press conference in spring of 1963.

Sorenson seems to be quite certain on the issue of withdrawal. There was no withdrawal plan. Sorenson claimed that Kennedy felt the free world security was severely threatened if South Vietnam was lost and Southeast Asia was to fall in the hands of the communistic China. According to Sorenson Kennedy's commitment to help South Vietnam was carried out to its fullest. Kennedy steadily increased the military strength from 2000 troops in 1961 to 15 500 at the end of 1963. Kennedy had said a withdrawal from Vietnam would just make it easier for the communists, leading Sorenson to believe there was no plan.

In 1962, President Kennedy's brother, Robert, made a statement on the Vietnam issue saying "the solution lies in our winning it. This is what the President intends to do. We will remain here until we do." The Attorney General's own understanding of his brother's policies, was to win the war. Therefore he fully supported President Johnson's escalation in 1965. Later on, Robert F. Kennedy changed his policies, turning to one of the most prominent critics towards Johnson's war policies.