Virtual JFK: Vietnam If Kennedy Had Lived (NR)

synopsis

Investigates one of the most debated "what if" scenarios in the history of U.S. foreign policy: What would President John F. Kennedy have done in Vietnam if he had not been assassinated in 1963, and had he been re-elected in 1964? Employed is what Harvard historian Niall Ferguson calls "virtual history," assessing the plausibility of counterfactuals--"what ifs"--and the outcomes they might have produced. Using an array of resources including recently declassified and never-before-seen archival footage, documents, and audio tapes, and testimony from a critical oral history conference, including Kennedy and Johnson administration officials, the question is asked: Does it matter who is president on issues of war and peace?