Was Kennedy killed to keep the Vietnam War going?

On 23 September 1963, before Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and General Maxwell Taylor left for Saigon, Kennedy discussed telling South Vietnam’s president, Ngo Dinh Diem, of plans to withdraw U.S. troops. On the recording, McNamara hoped to begin withdrawing “if the military situation improves”; Kennedy thought it better to use the depth of U.S. support as leverage on Diem. [1]

On 2 October the White House said, on McNamara and Taylor’s return, that the major part of the U.S. military task could be completed by the end of 1965. [2]

On 11 October Kennedy signed National Security Action Memorandum 263. It approved the military recommendations, including withdrawing 1,000 U.S. military personnel by the end of 1963, but directed that there be “no formal announcement” of the plans. [3]

Johnson signed NSAM 273 on 26 November 1963. It said the objectives for withdrawing U.S. military personnel “remain as stated” in the 2 October statement. It also said aid to South Vietnam should be kept no lower than under Diem, and ordered planning for stepped-up action against North Vietnam, judged by the damage it could do and the “plausibility of denial.” It allowed plans for operations up to 50 kilometers inside Laos. [1]

For the war to be a motive, someone would have had to believe in November 1963 that Kennedy was getting out regardless, and act on it. NSAM 263 was not publicly announced. [1] NSAM 273 shows the planning for more pressure on the North began with Johnson’s first week, but it also kept the withdrawal goal. [2]

No investigation, including the House committee, found evidence connecting Vietnam policy to the assassination. [3]