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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2019
At the start of 1965, the Johnson administration was primed to act militarily in Vietnam. On the economic front, Secretary of the Treasury Dillon left and Johnson chose his Great Society over fiscal discipline. McNamara began to manipulate the budget to hide the true costs of military escalation. Initially, he staked his hopes on a bombing program: it would ensure civilian control, be cost-effective and quick. When political overtures failed to materialize, however, he became frustrated. In July, McNamara recommended a wholescale escalation with a tax increase and reserve call-up. Johnson chose escalation without aligning the resources to his new commitments. As a result, a rift emerged between the President and his Secretary of Defense. As the year went on, the rift widened and McNamara considered leaving. He grew impatient with the White House and State Department’s inflexibility over negotiations with North Vietnam and threw his weight behind a bombing pause.
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