Interesting points Tracy. I enjoy discussing these issues with people such as yourself who are well-spoken and not prone to making personal attacks when their point of view is taken into question. It would be nice if more individuals here took your lead.


>No, I agree with you there. However, my point was not so much the comparison of the presidencies, but of the public viewpoint on them during the time when they each made very difficult military intervention decisions. Both made difficult decisions that were intended to interfer (if not destroy) the internal operations of a country and both could be proven wrong by history. However, the 1st has enough positive to outweigh anything else and also his term was short and given his means of exiting office little if anything negative will ever be said about him.
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>>Hi Tracy,
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>>I was aware of most of what you mention below (but not the Ngo Dinh Diem issue).
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>>My point was that it appeared you were trying to compare Bush and his actions (or at least, actions of the government under his command) in a positive light with those of JFK - which to me would be like comparing night and day.
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>>>John F Kennedy sent military aid and Special forces troops to Thailand as well as air power. He promised more money for defense spending and accused Eisenhower of allowing a missile gap to develop between the Soviets and the U.S. It was John Kennedy's Secretary of Defense Bob McNamara who created the Mutual Assured Destruction principle that was dependent entirely on the maintenance of a sizable nuclear arsenal. It was JFK who increased America's troop number from 500 to 16,000 in Vietnam and he totally disagreed with those who were suggesting the idea of a pullout. My father-in-law was one of the early special forces 'advisors' to go. It was kennedy that authorized the coup that later on resulted in South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem's overthrow and he Kennedy sent a band of Cuban exiles with the support of the CIA, already armed and trained, to invade Cuba with the hope of overthrowing Fidel Castro.
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>>>>Many despise President Bush but believe that President John F Kennedy was a man of peace. President Kennedy did not stop Soviet ships from unloading nuclear missiles in Cuba with peace promises or UN sanctions.
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>>>>True, but keep in mind that Kennedy did not invade Russia as a result of the missle crisis ... so, while Kennedy may not have been, as you say, "a man of peace", he was able to solve the problem without declaring war. A huge difference I would say.
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>>>>I don't ever recall seeing newsclips of Kennedy uttering the phrase "I'm a war president". If he ever did, then I stand corrected.

Al Williams

Anola MB, CANADA