THE VIETNAM DILEMMA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000800160008-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 15, 1998
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: April 13, 1966
• Content Type: OPEN

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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD
Pfif
Sanitized - Approved Foiga,
lA-RDP7
to follow the best advice of the wisest
generals and of our most knowledgeable
civilian leaders against bombing North
Vietnam, particularly the principal port,.
Haiphong, and densely populated Hanoi.
The facts are that nearly $1 billion worth
or possibly more, of our best aircraft have
already been destroyed in bombing runs
over North Vietnam. In addition, pre-
cious lives of many of our pilots and air-
men have been snuffed out. One reason
for the bombing pause ordered by our
President was the view that the destrue- .
In seeing it through we would do well cally stated that separating Vietnam at
lin f
o
r
tive effects of our bombing did not justify
the huge cost in money and in lives of
very fine young Americans.
Were we to bomb Haiphong we would
be placed in the same despicable cate-
gory as the French colonialists who for
years oppressed the people of Indochina.
In their final effort to save their vast
Indochina empire in late 1953, the
French admiral commanding the fleet
off Haiphong harbor saw thousands of
people on the main highway leaving the
city for the interior. He ordered a can-
nonade from his warships, hurling shells
along the highway, killing 7,000 civil-
ians-men, women, and children-and
not killing or wounding any soldiers.
Asiatics have not forgotten this, nor have.
they forgotten that the United States
did not use the atom bomb against the
Germans but used it against the yellow
race.
Recent demonstrations and rioting
against the military regime of General
Ky Indicate a vicious anti-American re-
volt in addition to a coalition against the
military warlords in power in Saigon, In
power because our CIA and Armed Forces
uphold this puppet regime. In fact,
there is an insurrection waging within a
civil war. Prime Minister Ky, installed
by the military last June, never proposed
any program of social and agrarian re-
form until President Johnson at Hono-
l t ated him as a leader of all South
r
l
y e
the 17th parallel was a tempora
demarcation until the elections pre-
scribed In the agreement took place.
Then, later, the proposed election was'
called off, not by leaders In Hanoi, but
by our puppet leader in Saigon. Diem
Historically, there is no North and no
South Vietnam. There is no aggression
from any foreign government boirderirg
on Vietnam. There?has been infiltration
from north of the 17th parallel. Such
Communist infiltration naturally in-
creases as the numbers of American GI's
committed to combat in South Vietnam
increases. Our escalation brings out
Vietnamese escalation from the north.
Each is self-defeating.
Secretary Rusk and other adm nlstra-
tion officials say we are defendiri: free-
dom In Vietnam. But the fact is that
there has never been a democratically
elected government in Saigon and Ky
himself was installed as Prime Minister
by a group of 10 generals who overthrew
the civilian government last June Al.,(),
the fact Is that if the Hanoi regime were
anything but Communist it could be fully
as dictatorial as it is and fully as ruthless
in pursuit of Its present goals and we
would never have dreamt of intervening
in internal Vietnamese politics.
We have seen a succession oi South
Vietnamese leaders-the latest being
Ky-all ruthlessly dictatorial and having
no wide support from the people of South
Vietnam.
In spite of this, our involvement has
continued to grow-snore men, more
.money, and more weapons. All this is'.
given in the cause of preserving democ-
racy In Vietnam and resisting agf ressors
from the north.
Even now, experts on Vietnamese af-
fairs maintain that if popular elections
were held that they would heavi y favor
the Communists.
As a matter of fact, former P:resident
EisenhoAder stated that had elections
been held in 1956 as stipulated In the
Geneva accords, Ho Chi Minh would have
received 80 percent of the vote of the i
Vietnamese people living to the south
e
u
DILEMMA u
Vietnam. Inspired by publicity and flat-
Mr. YOUNG of Ohio. Madam Presi- tery, and those President Johnson-Ky
dent, I ask unanimous consent that I , photographs, Ky started to prove that
may proceed for 10 minutes. he had control over the whole country.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without President Johnson knew Ky coptrolled
objection, It is so ordered. only a small part of the area of South
t-
fl
Mr. YOUNG of Ohio. Madam Presi
dent, Congress has been kept off balance
by our preoccupation with the dilemma
of the Vietnam conflict. How can we
solve our predicament in South Vietnam?
How can we disengage from fighting in
a grim civil war to which we should'
never have been committed in the first
instance? Before the birth of our Savior,
Sallust the great historian wrote:
It is always easy to begin a war but very
difficult to stop one, since its beginning and
end are not under the control of the same
man.
a
Vietnam outside Saigon. When Ky,
The tragedy of Vietnam lies in our
ment, by the President Johnson treat- '`massive involvement-virtually without
t. tried to eliminate General T
allies What began Pa a little war is
ll
e
on his face. Even though we furnished
American planes to transport Ky's sol-
diers to Da Nang, they were pinned down
in the airbase and then returned to
Saigon.
Fifty thousand U.S. soldiers in Da
Nang were directed to keep off the streets
and American lives and property were en-
dangered there and in the rioting at
Saigon. The Saigon government may be '
If Ky is overthrown by
overthrown
.
This is precisely the situation with
which we are now confronted. civilians in revolt and the new prime
minister of the Saigon government de-
Our distinguished colleague Chairman It h .#-I, +I v
a ea es
now a major conflict.
For several years we have listened to
fatuous prediction from Defense Secre-
tary McNamara, Gen. Maxwell Taylor.
and Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge.
In 1963 President Keamedy was told by
McNamara and Taylor that "thy major
part of the U.S. military task can be
completed by the end of 1965."
And in June of 1964, Cabot Lodge
asserted :
I don't see the need for more troops In
Vietnam.
In March 1965, Secretary McNamara
RICHARD RUSSELL, of the Senate Commit- mands. Americans go ome,
tee on Armed Services, has said: Secretary of State Dean Rusk high and told the Appropriations Committee of the
dry. He claims we are in Saigon to sup-; House of Representatives:
Vietnam is of no strategic importance to port a government and a nation against
the defense of the United States and we external aggression, knowing such claim. I think It is also clear that we. cannot
should never have committed troops to com- is false and knowing also that Ky'e SaN substitute US. troops for Vietnamese troops
bat there, but now that we have done that to carry out counterguerrilla operations
we must see It through to gain an honorable gon government does not govern. against subversion directed against the peo-
settlement. The Geneva agreement of 1954 specifl pie of South Vietnam by North Vietnam.
I continued
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APR 1 9 1966
In 1964 he testified before the House
Armed Services Committee:
I don't believe that pouring in hundreds
of thousands of troops is the solution to the
problem In Vietnam.
In October 1963, the Wlilte House is-
sued the following statement based on
the predictions of Secretary McNamara
and General Taylor:
Major U.B. assistance In support of this
military effort Is needed only until the Insur-
gency has been suppressed or until the na-
tional security forces of the Government of
South Vietnam are capable of suppressing It.
Secretary McNmmara and General Taylor re-
ported their judgment that the major part
of the U.S. military trek can be completed
by the end of 1965, although there may be
a continuing requirement for a limited num-
ber of U.S. training personnel. They reported
that by the end of that year-1964-the U.B.
program for training Vietnamese should have'
progressed to the point where 1,000 military.,
personnel assigned to South Vietnam can be'
Withdrawn.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
time of the Senator from Ohio has ex-
pired.
Mr. YOUNG of Ohio. I ask unani-
mous consent to proceed for 2 additional
minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. With-
out objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. YOUNG of Ohio. Certainly,
these statements indicates that many
administration leaders have consistently
underestimated the strength and stay-
ing power of the Vietnamese who con-
sider they are fighting for national
liberation, and have time and time again
been wrong regarding our involvement
in the Vietnam war.
A major obstacle to bringing about an.
armistice and ceasefire has been the re-
fusal of some shortsighted, stubborn
administration officials and unduly in=
' fluential military leaders to express will-
ingness to negotiate directly. with the
..National Liberation Front which is and
has been for years the political arm of .
the Vietcong..
The Vietcong forces are the major ad-
versary against which our forces are
fighting. Of course, Vietcong delegates
must participate in any conference if a
ceasefire and peace is to be restored to
Vietnam.
Vietnam is one country, artificially di-
vided at the demarcation line fixed at
Geneva. There is no south Vietnamese
nation in our understanding of the
word. If the Saigon military junta is
overthrown, and the new regime- says .
"Americans go home," there is no alter-
native. Otherwise, it would be evident
before the world that our Armed Forces
have supplanted the French colonial
power as aggressors. The claim of.
Rusk, McNamara, and others that we
are there on invitation of the govern-
ment would be rejected. We should
then get out on their invitation; There
would be no alternative for a self-re-
specting nation regardless of whether it
is or is not the most powerful nation
that has ever been 'known under the
bending sky of God, and that is the'
United States of Amerlcltt.
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