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June the Senate repealed the Gulf of
Tonkin resolution. The U. S. concen–
trated all its B-52 raids on Laos, hitting
mainly the H o Chi Minh trail.
Step 18:
To date, parts of the Ho
Chi Minh trail (North Vietnamese sup–
ply routes) have been cut. All U. S. sol–
diers are OUT of Cambodia and Laos
according to Ambassador Bunker. He
feels we have about reached the time
whcn the South Vietnamese can go it
alone - probably with U. S. air sup–
port. He told us that in his opinion, all
U. S. troops will be out of Vietnam by
mid-year 1972, according to President
Nixon's aims. Asked if the protests,
demonstrations and riots against the
war - and the coming presidential elec–
tion of 1972 had influenced a quicker
withdrawal than otherwise would have
occurred, he said that in his opioion
they had not - that since 1968 sucb
progress had been made that we were
getting out as conditions themselves, in
Vietnam, made possible.
We had a meeting with President
Thieu scheduled for Thursday morning,
March 18th. But on Thursday morning,
newsmen and photographers were rac–
ing out of our hotel in Saigon - there
was a news blackout - no newspapers
arrived, President Thieu evidently had
left Saigon suddenly, and we ourselves
hurried to the airport and flew out of
Saigon. The South Vietnamese, in Laos,
had abandoned anothcr post, and many
of their men were air-lifted by helicop–
ter after five days fighting without
sleep.
Sttmmary:
The war to date has cost
the U. S. over $125 billion.
U. S. losses: 54,000 killed from aH
causes, (over 44,500
balite
deaths).
Total casualties around 350,000.
Over 7400 aircraft, jet planes and
helicopters lost through battle, accidents
oc
wear.
Over 720,000 Communist forces
estimated killed.
Over 120,000 South Vietnamese
forces killed - plus about 325,000
South Vietnamese civilians have died.
Now finally, MEANWHILE!
When the United States first became
involved, it appeared that Malaysia,
Singapore, and Indonesia (with 125
million population) were on the brink
of going Communist.
At that time, it appcared that if
South Vietnam fell to the Communists,
those other countries would fall one by
one. Australia would have been next.
AND THE WAY WOULD BE PAVED
WHERE COMMUNIST INVASION OF THE
UNtTED STATES -
AND ALL-OUT
NUCLEAR WAR
DESTROYING OUR
CITIES AND AT LEAST ONE THJRD OF
ALL OUR PEOPLE - SOME SEVENTY
MILLION OF UN!TED $TATES CITIZBNS
- WOULD HAVE BECOME AN JMMI–
NENT THREAT!
And THAT was the real REASON for
United $tates involvement!
Better to have
to
lose 54 thousand
U. S. soldiers' lives than 70 MILLION
livcs of civilians, women and children as
well as soldiers - and probably end up
SLAVES to the Communists?
WHicH?
THAT was the real CAUSE behind the
COMMITMENTS the United $tates made
to the South Vietnamese.
WHY this has not been made CLEAR
AND PLAIN to the American public, 1
cannot understand! WHY most official
explanations talk of KEEPlNG OUR COM–
MITMENTS - making our word good
-
leading people to suppose we
are merely doing the South Vietna–
mese sorne kind of a favor, I cannot
understand.
WHY officials of so MANY adminis–
trations - both Democrat and Republi–
can - have not made this whole thiog
CLEAR to the public, I am utterly
unable to understand
!
But Now we are able to get out, as
Ambassador Bunker said, WITH HONOR
- having KEPT the commitments -
leaving the South Vietnamese able to
keep back the Red drive to the south.
The United States is now in the pro–
cess of
getting
011t -
but it is NOT a
war we have won - it was never
intcnded to be. It was a war to STOP
Communists from taking over more
countries to thc south. And as of now,
that
has been accomplished.
And MEANWHJLE - Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore has driven
out the Communist danger of a takeover
there.
And MEANWHILE - the military
government of President Suharto in
Indonesia has ended the imminency of
any Communist takeover in that thi rd
most populous country in the free
world.
And THAT is the Vietnam story.
lt's h igh time it should be told
to give the WHOLE WORLD
UNDER–
STANDING.'
O
lnterview Witb
Ellsworth C. Bunker
(Contintted from page
8}
will be capable of resisting ruthless and
relentless eoemies with every intent to
acquire control of the land and its
people. The Ambassador was confident
that our entire effort in South Vietnam
has been effective in helping the Viet–
namese people to develop capabilities to
manage their own affairs and to become
militarily, politically and economically
stable and socially just.
American Presence
Removed - 1972?
At that point, 1 asked the Ambassa–
dor whether, in his opinion, there
would be such a redeployment of Amer–
ican Armed Forces - scheduled in June
1972 - if there were no powerful anti–
Vietnam war interests in the United
States and if there were not an election
forthcoming in November 1972.
The Ambassador assured us that in
his opinion the redeployment of Ameri–
can Forces was a timely program. That
is, the American presence would be
removed at
oc
about that time under any
circumstances because of the success of
the prior American efforts and the
success of the entire Vietnamization
program. He was also convinced that
the President's planning was not
affected by either the election in 1972 or
by the rather vocal dissent against the
war.
The Ambassador conduded by stating
that he was confident that should we
continue to pursue our policies with con–
fidence and detcrmination and couragc,
we shall achieve our objectives: a free
choice for the people of South Vietnam
and eventually a just peace.
Again he emphasized the importance
of our demonstrating the credibility of
our commitments and our willingness to
accept responsibilities of power. O