MANSFIELD SAYS U.S. AID TO SOUTH VIETNAM HAS BEEN WASTED
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On December 2, 1962, Senator Mike Mansfield* (D-Montana) said that United States aid to South Vietnam has been wasted. Since 1954, our government has sent more than $2,000,000,000 to South Vietnam.
The Majority Leader's statement came after a trip to Southeast Asia. Mansfield reported to President John F. Kennedy that the Ngo Dinh Diem regime has failed to win support of the people, a necessary component to success against the communists.
*Michael Joseph Mansfield (1903-2001) was born in New York City, served in the US Navy in WWI & was a professor of history & political science at the University of Montana.
MJM served as Majority Leader in the U.S. Senate 1961-1977. He was the first government official to publicly criticize US policy in South Vietnam.
