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SAIGON, March 17:
I
T'S ABOUT TIME YOU UNDERSTOOD
the real reasons WHY 55,000 Ameri–
can youth have sacrificed their lives
- WHY the U. S. has suffered 350,000
casualties - WHY the United States has
spent over 125 BILLIONS of dollars in
the Vietnam war.
Never before has America been in
this lcind of war.
It
is, as Ambassador
Ellswor th Bunker pointed out to me
today in Saigon, the first war ever
fought On TELEVJSION, right in the liv–
ing rooms of the American people.
Most of the people of the United States
DO NOT UNDERSTAND:
1)
WHY
we are in it
2)
HOW
and
WHEN
it started
3)
WHAT
U. S. objectives are - or
whether there are any
4)
WHAT KIND
of war it is, and
HOW
it is different.
Most Americans hear the news of
today's battles - but they know only
that increasing thousands are protesting,
demonstrating, rioting
agaimt
U. S.
involvement - that this protest against
involvement includes senators and
congressmen and sorne governrnent
officials - that increasing thousands
are shouting: "Get our boys out of
there."
WHY Don't Government
Heads EXPLAIN?
Ever since
I
was five years old - or
younger,
I
have always wanted to
UNDERSTAND!
I
have always wanted to
know the "WHY" of things. Ever since
I
entered the profession of journalism
and advertising, 60 years ago,
I
have
been engaged in the mission of giving
UNDERSTANDING - of making facts
and truth PLAIN.
That's why it has been so hard for
me to understand why U. S. government
leaders have failed to get over the mes–
sage - WHY they have not come out
and explained clearly to the people
WHY the United States is fighting this
war.
This is much more than a military
war. Among many other things, it is a
psychological
war - a war of reaching
and changing the MINOS and the
THINKJNG of people.
Communist propaganda is an impor–
tant
part
of their method of warfare.
WHY are American leaders so woefully
inept in their ability to reach the MINOS
of the American people - to explain the
REASONS for the war - to clearly
inform and lead popular opinion?
The Communists are fighting
this
phase of the war both in South Vietnam
(where they have won over so many
Viet-Cong) and in America (where
they have stirred up protest, demonstra–
tions, riots, violence). The Communists
are past-masters in the art of mis–
leading, confusing, deceiving the minds
of enemy populations. WHY cannot
American leaders LEAD - to offset
Communist propaganda which is mis–
leading - make the facts CLEAR to
counteract Communist propaganda which
confuses - make plain the TRUTH, to
fight off Communist deceptions?
When an American Secretary of State
made an effort to explain WHY Ameri–
ca is in the war, he said: "What are our
world security interests involved in Viet–
nam? They cannot be seen clearly in
terms of Southeast Asia only, or merely
in terms of the events of the past few
months. We must view the problem in
perspective. We must recogníze that
what we are seeking to achieve in South
Vietnam is part of a pcocess that has
continued for a long time...."
Would not that explanation make the
REASON for the war about as clear as
mud to the public as a whole? Of
course this speech was delivered under
official circumstances demanding the
digni1ied and scholarly approach.
But what about the effect on boys
coming into draft age? When they hear,
or read: "What we are seeking to