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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LCH-01
In this interview Heinz discusses how he came to work in the Office of International Security Affairs [ISA] in the Department of Defense [DOD]; the changeover in the DOD between the Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy Administrations; Heinz’s view of the Bay of Pigs; the regular operations and organization within ISA, including the different regional desks’ responsibilities; relationships between the ISA and other agencies; ISA as “the little State Department”; differences of opinion between DOD and the State Department, the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the debate over whether to put troops in Laos; Robert S. McNamara and Roswell L. Gilpatric; the status of Okinawa; the question of U.S. defense perimeters; and W. Averell Harriman’s trip to Geneva and the neutralization solution for Laos, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-08
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] Cabinet and appointing the various secretaries; problems in and JFK’s wariness of the Department of State; the ideal State Department organization; problems with Dean Rusk; Maxwell D. Taylor’s Cuba investigation; the Bay of Pigs and its effect on U.S. action in Laos; John McCone’s prediction of missiles in Cuba; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson and foreign policy; JFK’s vice-presidential choice at the 1960 Democratic National Convention; Johnson’s hesitant acceptance of the vice-presidential slot; RFK’s appointment as Attorney General; RFK’s involvement in staffing the White House for JFK and other presidential appointments; Lord Harlech (William David Ormsby-Gore); and State Department staff, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-03
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses the 1962 steel crisis; some major issues and accomplishments of John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] presidency; choosing the U.S. Ambassador to Russia; foreign aid and treaties; the military coup in Peru; the space race during the Kennedy Administration; the 1962 congressional and gubernatorial campaigns; JFK’s dinner for the Nobel Prize winners; the Polaris submarines; problems with the New York Herald Tribune; New York politics; various pieces of federal legislation, 1961–1963; the Dominican Republic; Department of Justice investigations under RFK; the difficulties of being Attorney General; congressional issues in early 1963; the Vietnam War escalation in 1963; American support of the coup in Vietnam; Henry Cabot Lodge as the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam; the prisoners from the Bay of Pigs invasion; American actions in Cuba; unemployment and civil rights; RFK’s meeting with James Baldwin; JFK’s trips to the South and speeches on civil rights; the nuclear test ban treaty; and JFK’s trip to Ireland and Rome, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-02
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses the 1961 Berlin crisis; American forces, military and diplomatic, in Germany; John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] recommendation for Americans to have fallout shelters; nuclear testing; problems with the Department of State; the start of the conflict in Vietnam, 1961; the Department of Justice under RFK and organized crime; RFK’s difficult relationship with J. Edgar Hoover; the wiretapping bill; new federal judgeships in 1961 and other presidential appointments; the Alliance for Progress; Red China; crises during JFK’s presidency and how he was an optimist; RFK’s move for an income tax increase during the Berlin crisis; RFK’s disagreements with President JFK; indecisiveness over picking JFK’s running mate, 1960; the missile gap; fighting and UN operations in the Congo; Nikita S. Khrushchev’s speeches; RFK’s 1962 trip to Japan, Indonesia, Germany, and other countries; the release of Allen L. Pope; Dutch disputes in Southeast Asia; the 1961 crisis in the Dominican Republic and the assassination of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina; the 1962 disarmament conference in Geneva; Edward M. Kennedy’s 1962 campaign for U.S. Senate; the Kennedy family national and political reputation; the Justice Department under RFK and civil rights; and the 1962 steel crisis, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-01
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses beginning John F. Kennedy's [JFK] presidential Administration with no political obligations; carefully picking Cabinet members, specifically Secretaries of State, Defense, and Treasury; RFK’s decision on what role to play in JFK’s Administration; JFK’s unhappiness with Dean Rusk as Secretary of State; JFK’s advisers and other presidential appointments; Cabinet meetings; Department of Justice organization under RFK; the first 100 days of the Kennedy Administration; the role of the Vice President, according to RFK; JFK’s relationship with Lyndon B. Johnson and why JFK put Johnson on the ticket in 1960; what JFK was most concerned with as President; domestic programs versus foreign affairs in the Kennedy Administration; Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.’s role during JFK’s presidency; the Bay of Pigs, the aftermath, and its effect on JFK; how JFK approached problems as President; dealing with Georgi Bolshakov; negotiating with the Soviet Union in Vienna, over Laos and Cuba, etc.; JFK’s relationship with foreign heads of state; State Department staff and U.S. Ambassadors; the military coup in Vietnam; the Berlin crisis of the summer of 1961 and the Berlin Wall; RFK’s 1961 trip to the Ivory Coast; and Soviet and American nuclear testing, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ACE-01
Enthoven discusses his impressions of Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara and his work applying systems analysis to Defense Department problems, among other issues.
Sound recording
Edward M. Kennedy Senate Files
EMKSEN-AU0008-005-006
Sound recording of the radio program "Face Off." Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Alan K. "Al" Simpson of Wyoming debate Department of Defense spending plans for the B-2 Bomber aircraft. The episode aired on Monday, July 24, 1989, on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Sound recording
Edward M. Kennedy Senate Files
EMKSEN-AU0008-005-005
Sound recording of the radio program "Face Off." Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Alan K. "Al" Simpson of Wyoming debate Secretary of Defense Richard B. "Dick" Cheney's efforts to eliminate waste, mismanagement, and fraud in the Pentagon's weapons procurement systems. The episode aired on Friday, July 21, 1989, on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-EMZ-02
Zuckert discusses the impact Robert S. McNamara made as the Secretary of Defense through his military planning and reorganization of the Department of Defense. Zuckert also discusses the type of person McNamara wanted to see dealing with defense planning, and he briefly discusses McNamara’s working relationship with John F. Kennedy [JFK], among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RSM-01
McNamara discusses the defense budget and military strategy during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, the recruitment of Defense Department staff, his appointment as Secretary of Defense, the Bay of Pigs, and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-CPR-01
This interview focuses on the 1960 Democratic primary in Wisconsin, the internal operations of the Defense Department under Robert S. McNamara, and the relations between the military and the Defense Department, among other topics.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JKR-02
In this interview Ruina discusses the background of the nuclear test ban treaty, including the research and development to improve nuclear test detection capabilities; congressional hearings on the test ban and the nuclear detection technology; different political interests in the test ban debate; and some issues in getting the test ban signed, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JKR-01
In this interview Ruina discusses the Nike-Zeus antiballistic-missile-missiles; briefing President John F. Kennedy [JFK] on the Nike-Zeus missiles; JFK’s comprehension of the briefing material and the type of questions he asked; Project Defender; the background and organization of the Advanced Research Projects Agency; the leadership and organization of the Department of Defense; interactions with Robert S. McNamara; competition between the military and the Defense Department on research and development and for resources and congressional funds; the period of new, advanced—but not always useful—technology; and Project AGILE and counterinsurgency efforts in Vietnam, among other issues.
Sound recording
Edward M. Kennedy Senate Files
EMKSEN-AU0008-024-014
Sound recording of the radio program "Face Off." Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Alan K. "Al" Simpson of Wyoming debate Secretary of Defense Richard B. "Dick" Cheney's plans to cut U.S. defense spending in spite of the recent buildup of military forces in the Middle East. The episode aired on Thursday, October 4, 1990, on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Sound recording
Edward M. Kennedy Senate Files
EMKSEN-AU0008-024-013
Sound recording of the radio program "Face Off." Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Alan K. "Al" Simpson of Wyoming debate the appropriateness of a fund proposed by the U.S. Department of Defense to manage money contributed by foreign governments toward U.S. operations in the Persian Gulf. They debate whether the Pentagon set up the fund as a "slush fund" to avoid oversight. The episode aired on Wednesday, October 3, 1990, on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Sound recording
Edward M. Kennedy Senate Files
EMKSEN-AU0008-014-007
Sound recording of the radio program "Face Off." Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Alan K. "Al" Simpson of Wyoming debate the plans of Secretary of Defense Richard B. "Dick" Cheney to cut the U.S. defense budget. The episode aired on Monday, February 12, 1990, on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Sound recording
Edward M. Kennedy Senate Files
EMKSEN-AU0008-013-004
Sound recording of the radio program "Face Off." Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Alan K. "Al" Simpson of Wyoming debate defense budget cuts proposed by Secretary of Defense Richard B. "Dick" Cheney and comment on a "peace dividend" because of developments in Eastern Europe. The episode aired on Monday, January 15, 1990, on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Sound recording
Edward M. Kennedy Senate Files
EMKSEN-AU0008-011-009
Sound recording of the radio program "Face Off." Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Alan K. "Al" Simpson of Wyoming debate defense spending cuts recommended by U.S. Secretary of Defense Richard B. "Dick" Cheney. The episode aired on Wednesday, December 6, 1989, on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Sound recording
Edward M. Kennedy Senate Files
EMKSEN-AU0009-013-004
Sound recording of the radio program "Face Off." Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Alan K. "Al" Simpson of Wyoming debate how many of the Seawolf submarines planned for construction should be canceled as part of defense spending cuts following the end of the Cold War. The episode aired on Thursday, May 14, 1992, on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Sound recording
Edward M. Kennedy Senate Files
EMKSEN-AU0009-012-014
Sound recording of the radio program "Face Off." Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Alan K. "Al" Simpson of Wyoming debate the decision by the Bush administration and the Department of Defense to build 20 B-2 bombers following the end of the Cold War. The episode aired on Monday, May 4, 1992, on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Sound recording
Edward M. Kennedy Senate Files
EMKSEN-AU0009-030-003
Sound recording of the radio program "Face Off." Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Alan K. "Al" Simpson of Wyoming debate whether plans to close U.S. military bases should include closures of facilities for training the military reserve forces. The episode aired on Friday, June 25, 1993, on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Sound recording
Edward M. Kennedy Senate Files
EMKSEN-AU0009-010-011
Sound recording of the radio program "Face Off." Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Alan K. "Al" Simpson of Wyoming debate reductions in defense spending and investment in domestic programs while transitioning to a peace-time economy following the end of the Cold War. The episode aired on Wednesday, March 11, 1992, on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Sound recording
Edward M. Kennedy Senate Files
EMKSEN-AU0009-010-008
Sound recording of the radio program "Face Off." Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Alan K. "Al" Simpson of Wyoming debate how deeply to reduce spending on defense following the end of the Cold War. The episode aired on Friday, March 6, 1992, on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Sound recording
Edward M. Kennedy Senate Files
EMKSEN-AU0009-010-005
Sound recording of the radio program "Face Off." Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Alan K. "Al" Simpson of Wyoming debate President Bush's plans for cuts in defense spending, and the case for deeper cuts to the defense budget following the end of the Cold War. The episode aired on Tuesday, March 3, 1992, on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Sound recording
Edward M. Kennedy Senate Files
EMKSEN-AU0009-007-006
Sound recording of the radio program "Face Off." Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Alan K. "Al" Simpson of Wyoming debate federal grant funding in the Department of Defense budget to support scientific research at universities. The episode aired on Monday, December 23, 1991, on the Mutual Broadcasting System.