US Presidency
1966

The Vietnamese, American, and allied troops that are engaged in South Vietnam, with increasing strength and increasing success, want peace, I am sure, as much as any of us here at home. But while there is no peace, those men are entitled to the full support of American strength and American determination- and we will give them both. As constitutional Commander in Chief, I have, as I must, given proper weight to the judgment of those, all of those, who have any responsibility for counseling with me or sharing with me the burdensome decisions that I am called upon to make: the distinguished Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, my National Security Adviser, and America's professional military men, represented by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. These advisers tell me that if continued immunity is given to all that support North Vietnam aggression, the cost in lives -Vietnamese lives and American lives and allied lives -will only be greatly increased.