Pre-Truman we were involved in that whole area...it was called WWII. Our involvement in $ was inevitable, as it was in Korea, China, and the Philippians. We were trying to help rebuild the whole Pacific rim.
I apologize for suggesting that you were throwing the Republicans under the bus, but your quote focused on the Republican Whip who had little or no power at the time, so I made an assumption.
Also, realize that there was a real and present danger of Communist influence dominating the area. Just as we were trying to apply influence, so were the Soviets. This was a game no one new how to play and ended badly for far too many innocent civilians around the world because we both chose to back leaders who weren't very benevolent.
One last thought, the real culprit was LBJ for sending so many of our young men to Vietnam. All the $ sent there was not even close to the atrocity of sending that many young men to deal with that war.