Chapters 25-26 Summary and Analysis

March, 1965 saw a struggle over whether or not to send more troops to Vietnam. There was also the question of strategy, the number of troops and how they would be used. By June there was a Westmoreland search-and-destroy strategy. Each step led to deeper involvement. President Johnson sent General Harold K. Johnson to Vietnam to investigate the situation. All he was hearing from the military was to bomb instead of giving him answers and solutions.

Westmoreland wanted more combat troops than the more conservative Taylor did. There was the issue of the troops' exit from any confrontation. Westmoreland was convinced that the troop reserves of the North had not even been tapped into yet. The situation in the South was changing as the military became more active and the civilians became more passive.

By the end of March, Rolling...