%0 PDF %T Dissent and Decision-Making: A Study of George Ball's and John McNaughton's Opposition to the Vietnam War %A Kennedy, Ross A. %8 2005-06-20 %I Tufts Archival Research Center %R http://localhost/files/ng451t35z %X Volume 9, Issue 1. Winter During the Vietnam War, public condemnation of continued U.S. involvement in Vietnam reached proportions unequaled during any previous war. Inside the government as well, there were voices which spoke, albeit carefully, against the continuing escalation of U.S. troops in Indochina. In this article, Ross A. Kennedy examines the processes of dissent and their influence on decision-making within the government. He discusses in detail the differing tactics of Under Secretary of State George Ball and Assistant Secretary of Defense John McNaughton in their attempts to alter governmental policy towards the war. After reviewing the efforts and tactics of these men with regard to their different positions within the government, Mr. Kennedy explores in detail their successes and failures. The author concludes by assessing legitimate channels for dissent within the government and the inherent failure of those channels to allow both Ball and McNaughton to speak against governmental policies with members of the administration. %[ 2018-10-04 %9 Text %~ Tufts Digital Library %W Institution