Page 197 - Stand Down Vietnam

Dean Rusk
54 Secretary of State
th

As Secretary of State in the Kennedy administration, he
believed in the use of military action to contest
communism.

He had major doubts about US intervention in Vietnam,

but his strong public defense of U.S. actions in the
Vietnam War made him a frequent target of anti-war
protests.

Shortly after Kennedy was assassinated, Rusk offered
his resignation to the new president.

Johnson refused Rusk's resignation and retained him as
the Secretary of State throughout his administration.