Ball, George
Ball, George (1909–1994), undersecretary of state.As undersecretary of state (1961–66) under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, George W. Ball achieved his greatest prominence as the highest‐ranking U.S. official to oppose, consistently but unsuccessfully, the decisions to increase the American military role during the Vietnam War.
President Kennedy appointed him assistant secretary of state for economic affairs in 1961. After the Bay of Pigs disaster, Ball was promoted to undersecretary of state. He took issue with the Taylor‐Rostow mission in 1961, which advocated the introduction of U.S. combat troops into Vietnam. Ball saw the United States becoming involved in a revolutionary war with little hope of eventual success; he argued that U.S. military resources were better deployed in Europe.
Ball's opposition to American involvement in the war continued throughout the Johnson administration, but this opposition proved futile, and he left the administration in 1966 to return to his law practice. He remained personally and publicly loyal to the president, and his determined opposition to American involvement in the war became widely known only after the publication of the Pentagon Papers in 1971. He later served as U.S. delegate to the United Nations and as an adviser on Iran to President Jimmy Carter.
President Kennedy appointed him assistant secretary of state for economic affairs in 1961. After the Bay of Pigs disaster, Ball was promoted to undersecretary of state. He took issue with the Taylor‐Rostow mission in 1961, which advocated the introduction of U.S. combat troops into Vietnam. Ball saw the United States becoming involved in a revolutionary war with little hope of eventual success; he argued that U.S. military resources were better deployed in Europe.
Ball's opposition to American involvement in the war continued throughout the Johnson administration, but this opposition proved futile, and he left the administration in 1966 to return to his law practice. He remained personally and publicly loyal to the president, and his determined opposition to American involvement in the war became widely known only after the publication of the Pentagon Papers in 1971. He later served as U.S. delegate to the United Nations and as an adviser on Iran to President Jimmy Carter.
Bibliography
Lyndon B. Johnson , The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency, 1963–1969, 1971.
George W. Ball , The Past Has Another Pattern: Memoirs, 1982.
Herbert Y. Schandler
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Ball, George