In opposition, Harold Wilson spoke out against American involvement in Vietnam. In May 1954, during his Bevanite phase, he declared that 'not a man, not a gun, must be sent from this country to defend French colonisation in Indo-China . . . we must not join or in any way encourage an anti-Communist crusade in Asia under the leadership of the Americans or anyone else.' Later the same day, in a speech in Manchester, he had gone even further, proclaiming that 'at the moment the danger to a negotiated settlement in Asia is provided by a lunatic fringe in the American Senate.' After he became leader of the Labour Party in 1963, Wilson placed much emphasis on close Anglo-American co-operation, going against his earlier position. He continued, however, to voice his opposition to any extension of the Vietnam conflict and in March 1964, and again in June, pressed the Conservative prime minister, Alec Douglas-Home, to advise President Johnson against extending the war into the North.

LRB 20 November 2008 | PDF Download