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WHITE HOUSE FILE
Anna Chennault hobnobbed with the rich and powerful. |
IF NOT FOR an Asian American businesswoman, dubbed by some as the Steel Butterfly or the Dragon Lady, Richard Nixon would never have become president -- and hundreds of thousands of lives, including the lives of 20,000 American soldiers -- would have been spared.
The role of Anna Chennault, widow of a WWII hero, in Nixon's 1968 campaign has almost been forgotten, thanks to President Lyndon Johnson's deep patriotism of putting country over partisanship, according to a recent television special Betrayal: The Plot That Won the White House, hosted by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow.
Maddow painted Chennault as a behind the scenes political wheeler-dealer and noted Washington socialite, who used her sex appeal and government connections to become the key figure in scuttling the peace talks between North and South Vietnam, thus continuing the Vietnam War for another six years.
Chennault, also known as Chen Xiangmei who came from a wealthy Chinese family, in 1947 married American war hero Gen. Claire Chennault, the dynamic and charismatic leader of the Flying Tigers, famous for its raids against the Japanese in Southeast Asia and China wuring WWII.
After the death of Gen. Chennault, she settled in Washington, D.C., where she became prominent among elite social circles, hosting lavish parties in her Watergate penthouse attended by “cabinet members, congressmen, diplomats, foreign dignitaries and journalists.” She was named vice president of the Flying Tigers, an air cargo company rumored to have dies with the CIA.
Long-time readers of Views From the Edge, have known about Chennault's infamous role from a two-part posting way back in 2014: Part 1: Nixon was worst that I thought and Part 2: Nixon - The Traitor.
Nixon knew that if Johnson was able to broker peace, the Democrat nominee Hubert Humphrey would win the election. After losing the Presidency twice in 1960 and 1964, Nixon was determined to win this time and he would do anything to win the White House.
That was when he decided to use his nuclear option: Anna Chennault. He asked Chennault's widow, who headed anan airline, to use her contacts in the South Vietnam government. The message she delivered was, don't take part in the peae talks and when Nixon wins, he would give South Vietnam more favorable terms.
But it was not until this year, 50 years after Nixon's 1968 campaign, that Johnson's personal notes on his conversations with Nixon and his knowledge of Chennault's role have become public. Johnson's handwritten notes have been locked away in President Johnson's Library. On the file was a note not to open for 50 years.
Hoping to fend off Nixon's interference in the peace process, Johnson talked to Sen. Everett Dirksen, who led the Republicans and described what Chennault had done under orders of Nixon. "It's treason," said Johnson.
Johnson knew of Nixon's and Chennault's role in sabotaging the peace talks and threatened Nixon that he would go to the press with his knowledge days before the election.
On Meet The Press, Nixon denied the rumors of his interference -- an out-and-out lie.
Upon the advice of his close associates and his own belief that if he went public with the subterfuge, it would send the country into a downward spiral it might not be able to recover from. For the sake of the overall well-being of the country, Johnson chose to not reveal what he knew. A few days later, Nixon was elected president
A few years later in in the midst of Nixon's re-election campaign, the Nixon's win-at-any-cost outlook resulted in the Watergate scandal and ultimately, his resignation. The Presidency was toppled off its pedestal and ever since then, government has never regained the respect and trust of the people.
Betrayal: The Plot that Won the White House special is available online here.
EDITOR'S NOTE: U[dated Nov. 25 to clarify that Chennault was born in China.
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