JOHNSON
PREPARES HIS ALIBI FOR A MILITARY DEFEAT
President Johnson has required each member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to sign a statement that he believes Khesanh can be successfully defended, according to the February 9 issue of Time magazine. Khesanh is the U.S. strongpoint in the northern part of South Vietnam which Westmoreland expects to be the main focus of the current situation in Vietnam.
"T don't want any damned Dienbienphu," the magazine quotes Johnson as telling his generals during a conference.
The Defense Department has confirmed that Johnson requested such a military evaluation. It admitted that Gen. Earle G. Wheeler submitted a memorandum in behalf of the staff assuring Johnson "that Khensanh could be and should be defended..."
The value of this guaranty is highly suspect, especially when it is remenbered that the Joint Chiefs also put their stamp of approval on the scheme for