I can't finish it. One supposed conspiracy involved Earle G. Wheeler, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who tried to maneuver LBJ into increasing troop commitments. When Robert McNamara resigned as Defense secretary, his successor, Clark Clifford, and other advisers joined a second conspiracy to work on Johnson to give up the fight in Vietnam. These efforts climaxed in Johnson's speech of March 31, 1968. In this address, LBJ announced a reduction in the bombing of North Vietnam and his decision to retire from the presidency.
Conspiracy is defined as a usually secret effort to accomplish evil or illegal goals.
Two days before LBJ went home to Texas for good, arrangements were being made for a round of peace talks. Nixon, who claimed to have a secret plan to end the war, would discover that the road to peace in Vietnam was neither short nor easy. Lynwood Abram is a free-lance writer and reviewer. He lives in Danville, Ky.