OPLAN 34A BEGAN 51 YEARS AGO TODAY
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On the first day of February 1964, Operation Plan 34A, a.k.a. OPLAN 34A, was initiated by the combined efforts of the United States and South Vietnamese navies.
Jack H. Jennings and Tran Do Cam tell us that the idea was originally approved by President John F. Kennedy but they also say that clandestine operations against the North had begun almost immediately after the Geneva Accords of 1954. At the time, the operations were directed by the CIA under Allen Dulles and USAF under Colonel Edward Landsdale.
"In July 1962, the CIA and Department of Defense determined the CIA did not have the operational capability...to effectively carry out the mission."
So Admiral Harry Flelt, Commander-in-Chief in the Pacific, recommended PT boats and naval frogmen be employed. JFK, a former PT boat captain himself, approved the recommendation and OPLAN 34A was established.
After the assassination of JFK, President Lyndon B. Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, set the plan into action in order to "combine the attacks...with diplomatic pressure to warn the North to cease their infiltration in Laos and the Republic of (South) Vietnam."
McNamara and Westmoreland
SOURCES
"Operation Plan 34A," by Cecil B. Currey, www.the-puzzle-palace.com/oplan34a.html/
"Operation 34A and the Nasty Class PT Boats," by Jack H. Jennings and Tran Do Cam, www.mrfa.org/Operation34a.htm/
NIXON ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY
Former Vice-President Richard M. Nixon officially announced his candidacy for the 1968 Republican nomination for President of the United States 47 years ago today, February 1, 1968.
In 1962, after Mr. Nixon had been defeated by Edmund G. "Pat" Brown for the governorship of California, he announced to the press:
"Gentlemen, this is my last press conference. Just think, you won't have Nixon to kick around anymore."
Six years later, Nixon was once again on the campaign trail and went on to win the 1968 Republican nomination and defeat Senator Hubert Humphrey in the general election.
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On the first day of February 1964, Operation Plan 34A, a.k.a. OPLAN 34A, was initiated by the combined efforts of the United States and South Vietnamese navies.
Jack H. Jennings and Tran Do Cam tell us that the idea was originally approved by President John F. Kennedy but they also say that clandestine operations against the North had begun almost immediately after the Geneva Accords of 1954. At the time, the operations were directed by the CIA under Allen Dulles and USAF under Colonel Edward Landsdale.
"In July 1962, the CIA and Department of Defense determined the CIA did not have the operational capability...to effectively carry out the mission."
So Admiral Harry Flelt, Commander-in-Chief in the Pacific, recommended PT boats and naval frogmen be employed. JFK, a former PT boat captain himself, approved the recommendation and OPLAN 34A was established.
After the assassination of JFK, President Lyndon B. Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, set the plan into action in order to "combine the attacks...with diplomatic pressure to warn the North to cease their infiltration in Laos and the Republic of (South) Vietnam."
McNamara and Westmoreland
South Vietnam (1965)
Photo by J. F. Fraley
Dept of Defense, US Navy Image
SOURCES
"Operation Plan 34A," by Cecil B. Currey, www.the-puzzle-palace.com/oplan34a.html/
"Operation 34A and the Nasty Class PT Boats," by Jack H. Jennings and Tran Do Cam, www.mrfa.org/Operation34a.htm/
NIXON ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY
Former Vice-President Richard M. Nixon officially announced his candidacy for the 1968 Republican nomination for President of the United States 47 years ago today, February 1, 1968.
In 1962, after Mr. Nixon had been defeated by Edmund G. "Pat" Brown for the governorship of California, he announced to the press:
"Gentlemen, this is my last press conference. Just think, you won't have Nixon to kick around anymore."
Six years later, Nixon was once again on the campaign trail and went on to win the 1968 Republican nomination and defeat Senator Hubert Humphrey in the general election.
