ABSTRACT
Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara’s memo of 20 July 1965 recommended military escalation in Vietnam.
4. Options open to us. We must choose among three courses of action with respect to Vietnam all of which involve different probabilities, outcomes and costs:
(a) Cut our losses and withdraw under the best conditions that can be arranged – almost certainly conditions humiliating the United States and very damaging to our future effectiveness on the world scene.
