 In June 1965, when General William Westmoreland requested of Johnson 180, 000 troops to Vietnam, Rusk argued to Johnson that the United States had to fight in Vietnam to maintain "the integrity of the U.S. commitment" throughout the world, but also wondered aloud if Westermoreland was exaggerating the extent of the problems in South Vietnam in order to have more troops under his command.Rusk came into conflict with his undersecretary of state, George Ball, about Vietnam.When Ball argued the governing duumvirate of Thieu and Ky in South South were "clowns" unworthy of American support, Rusk replied