Melvin Laird in War, Peace, and Politics
After his election in 1968, President-Elect Nixon asked Wisconsin Congressman Melvin Laird to find him a secretary of defense. However, with the country at the peak of its involvement in Vietnam, no one wanted the job. After a long and frustrating process, Laird took the job himself, and during his term, deftly navigated the politics and peril attached to the war, overseeing Vietnamization, ending the draft, initiating troop withdrawals, and crafting an exit strategy.
Dale van Atta is the author of With Honor: Melvin Laird in War, Peace, and Politics, published by the University of Wisconsin Press.
The panel talked about the life and career of Melvin Laird. After his election in 1968, President-Elect Nixon asked Wisconsin Congressman… read more
The panel talked about the life and career of Melvin Laird.
After his election in 1968, President-Elect Nixon asked Wisconsin Congressman Melvin Laird to find him a secretary of defense. However, with the country at the peak of its involvement in Vietnam, no one wanted the job. After a long and frustrating process, Laird took the job himself, and during his term, deftly navigated the politics and peril attached to the war, overseeing Vietnamization, ending the draft, initiating troop withdrawals, and crafting an exit strategy.
Dale van Atta is the author of With Honor: Melvin Laird in War, Peace, and Politics, published by the University of Wisconsin Press. close
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