THE VIETNAM CONFLICT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000800160010-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 15, 1998
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: January 14, 1966
• Content Type: OPEN

0
THE VIETNAM CONFLICT
Mr. YOUNG of Ohio. Mr. President,
the most pressing problem facing our
Nation and the world today is the war in
Vietnam. I hope our President will con-
tinue to strike out boldly for a peaceful
settlement of this bitter conflict. Bona-
l message, the President set forth our
goals in Vietnam when he said:
We seek neither territory nor bases, eco-
non?-Ic domination or military alliance in
Vietnam. We fight for the principle of self-
determination that the people of South Viet-
nam should be able to choose their own
course, choose It In free elections without
violence, without terror, and without fear.
The people of all Vietnam should make a
free decision on the great question of reuni-
fication.
New York that there are no arbitrary limits
to our search for pence. We stand by the
Geneva agreements of 1954 and 1062. We
will meet at any conference table. We will
,.a v,., c awiucuu iuvvea ueuia.veiy lur
r, such peace our people will support him.
If instead, he approves steadily:,eXpand-
ing military involvement, he will please
our militarists, and warhawks In Con-
gress. Then in the 1966 congressional
election by the people of Vietnam of their y os
own Government, their own leaders, and Asians. It would be a legacy of III will
which we should not leave to future fren-
their own destiny. I know our __C~II ofti erations of Americans. Until As1f tics
cials-in Vietnam and Prime MinTser Ky, show more interest in defending them-
of the Saigon government oppose an selves, then unilateral American invclve-
armistice at this time. Our President ? ment in Asia is doomed to. failure: The
,should overrule their views along with. ugly reality is that for the most part it is
not In any way he considered as consti-, . elsewhere in the world as to the wisdom
tuting a political or territorial bound- 'of our policy. Attacks with sophisticated
ary." Historically, there Is no North. weapons on unsophisticated and lllitcrate
and South Vietnam. Asians are building a vast reservoir of
We should indicate explicitly our read- anti-Americanism and misunderstanjing
iness to participate in negotiations with of our country among the masses of the
n, all parties involved-I mean with dele- people in Asia.
P' gates of the Vietcong, or National Liber- A military surrender 'to the United
( ation Front, so-called. We should agree States will never produce acceptance of
to abide by the results of a peaceful, free . American presence in Al, b rn t
discuss any proposals-4 points or 14 or 40--
and we will consider the views of any group.
We will work for a ceasefire now, or once
discusalons have begun.
I wholeheartedly agree with the goals
set by our President. However, because
in the past there have been conflicting
statements by our- officials on our sup-
'port for the Geneva accords, on nego-
tiations with the Vietcong, and on free
elections, we must further clarify our
war aims and negotiating position..
We should clearly announce our
will- ingness to seek a settlement based on the
1954 Geneva accords providing neutral-
I' ity, self-determination, and free elections
i?, for Vietnam. The Geneva accords which
we agreed to hut did not sign state that
"the pillitary demarcation line at the
17th parallel is provisional and should
elections and in 1968, as'casualty lists
mount, some Republican politicians, now
urging acceleration of the war by bomb-
ing Hanoi and Haiphong and even Red
China, will be the first to denounce this
as "Lyndon's ear."
Were we to bomb Hanoi and Haiphong,
thousands of Vietnamese civilians In-
cluding women and children would h-
May. Let us hope President Johison
rejects these proposals.. Bombing Hanoi
would be compared with the Nazi be rob-
Ing of Guernica in the Spaulsh Civil War.
Furthermore, no one can accurately J ore-
cast just how damaging the reaction
would be. It would certainly at :east
outweigh any possible military ga?n.
From September 28 to last October 20
I was in southeast Asia most of the time.
I went, looked, and listened. Very soon
_1 learned we are involved in a civil war
over there. In South Vietnam I wrt.s at
every airbase except ' one-traveling
through the entire area by helicopter,
airplane, and jeep. It is'my considered
judgment that South Vietnam is of no
strategic importance whatever to the de-
fense of the United States. Further-
more, the fact is that the conflict raging
in Vietnam is a civil war. General
Westmoreland stated to me that the bulk
of the Vietcong fighting in South Viet-
nam were born and reared in South Viet-
nam. General Stilwell, in Thailand,
went further. He stated that 80 per-
cent of the Vietcong fighting in the Me-
kong Delta area south of Saigon, were
born and reared in that area. They -were
not infiltrators or Communists from the
North.
No matter how often we profess our
intention to defend freedom In Vietnam,
ing in Vietnam for the alleged defence of
freedom in Asia. Do we Americans have
a mandate from Almighty Clod to police 1
the entire world? -
President John F. Kennedy said on
September 3, 1963, shortly before his
assassination: ?
I don't think that unless ;ti greater effort
is made by the Government to win popular
support that the war can be won out there.
In the final analysis, it Is their war. They
are the ones who have to win it or lose It.
We can help them, we can glre them equip-
went, we can send our men out there as ad-
visers, but they have to win It-the people
of Vietnam-against the Communists. We
are prepared to continue to assist them, but
I don't think that the war can be won un-
less the people support the effort, and, In my -
opinion, In the last 2 months the Govern-
ment has gotten out of touch With the i Ie
fide peace negotiations mean concessions , killed and wounded. If we failed to de-
by us, concessions by the Vietcong and a' stroy all the. war planes of North Viet-.
cease fire with no one an abject loser and nam some might bomb Saigon, and ele-
no one an arrogant winner. Unless ments of 'the North Vietnamese army;
t41__-
1
a
ti
ted
rme- _
th
r
s
nego
a
se
nt
e
e
.cuts u1 ss are likely to be fighting and
dying in Vietnam until 1980.
demilitarized zone and invade South &_p
Vietnam. Mr. GRUENING. Mr. President, will
President Johnson is to be commended Pentagon gossip reports plans to bomb' the Senator yield?
for directing a pause In the bombing of Haiphong and Hanoi followed by an am.., Mr. YOUNG of Ohio. '-I am riaci to
North Vietnam. But standing atone, phibious landing at Haiphong and then yield to the distinguished Senator from
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0 .
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Mr. GRUENING. Is it not a fact that before it will have the know-how to de- that civilian authority must remain su-
when President Kennedy made that liver any nuclear warheads. on targets.' preme over military authority. The men
statement in September of 1963, we had its air force is inferior. It has no surface who wrote the Constitution of the United
been In Vietnam for practically a decade? navy except a few torpedo boats land States provided that civilian authority in
s oes not ose face by p
withdrawing from a miserable war. We make Vietnam a pro-American and an
have lost face by messing around with it anti-Chinese state. More than anything
in the first place. else, we are fighting to avoid admitting
coups were out of touch with t'Ite needs the eagle nor the whale. As General of Eden converted into a hell on earth
eprrect. Ing except thousands of Junks. It is an the military. We should adhere to that.
Mr. GRUENING. Yet, at the end of agrarian nation, with 85-percent of its Any forces we have in Vietnam should
10 years of assistance of all kinds, in- population engaged in agriculture. On be only part of the forces of nuiny na-
cluding vast sums of money, we had a the Pacific, under the Pacific, and in the tions under the United Nations and for
situation that was deteriorating; and it air, we have a more powerful Navy, sub- peacekeeping and not warmakang pur-
was clear then, was it not, that the gov- marine fleet, and Air Force than all the poses.
ernment of South Vietnam, either the nations of the world combined. Vietnam is a land of breathtaking sea-
puppet government that we had installed Red China does have a huge land coasts, green jungles, fertile rice paddies,
there, or its successors after various army. The elephant can fight neither picturesque mountains-a lovely Garden
f
r e au a ose ace or prestige
on our initial commitment to South Viet- when he surrendered Algeria, that vast The primary reason for our being is
Liam made by President Eisenhower in domain larger than France? A great' Vietnam today is our stubborn refusal
1954 in a letter to the President of South nation like ou d I to admit a mistake in our attem t to
r
of the people, were uninterested In.those MacArthur in his "Reminiscences" by man's inhumanity to man.
needs, and were doing little or nothing stated: I have just quoted the distinguished
to bring about the reforms which Presl-. Anyone in favor of ::ending American senior Senator from Maryland [Mr.
dent Eisenhower had made conditional ground troops to fight on Chinese soil should BREWSTER] who revisited the scene of his
upon our giving them aid for 10 years have his head examined. youth in the early part of World War II
previously? Is that not a fact? Can anvorc claim that we would lose when he served as a marine in Vietnam,
Mr. YOUNG of Ohio. That is true, face and !het. our prestige in Asia would Let it not be written by future his-
of course. be damated were we to withdraw from torians that American boys died need-
Mr. GRUENING. Is that not a dem- ;this conflict? France was bled white lessly in far distant Jungles because of
onstration of the folly of our policies during the 8-year struggle to save her weakness of diplomats and indifference
there? vast colonial empire in Indo-China, of politicians. I wish I had as much
Mr. YOUNG of Ohio. I agree with the France became a greater and more pow- confidence In the skill and intelligence
Senator from Alaska. erful nation following her withdrawal of our diplomats in trying to settle this
Mr. GRUENING. I thank the Sen- from what is now North and South Viet- war as I do in the bravery and high
ator. nam, Cambodia, and Laos. Further- competence of our soldiers fighting the
Mr. YOUNG of Ohio. Mr. President, more did D G 11 1
war
Vietnam stated:
I am instructing the American Ambassa-
dor to examine with you how an Intelligent
program of American aid can servo. to assist
Vietnam In its
t L...
f t
i
l
prey n
ur o
r
a
He added: throughout the world in a manner and The' late President John F. Kennedy
"
Transforming Vietnam into a
The purpose of this offer Is to assist the to an extent almost beyond belief. said,
Government of Vietnam In developing and Surely we should not respond with our Western redoubt is ridiculous."
maintaining a strong, viable state capable Armed Forces whenever the winds of Sallust, the Roman historian. about
of rcaisting attempted subversion or aggres- change strike a country in southeast Asia' 40 years before. the birth of Our Savior
Rion through military means. The U.B. Gov- or in Africa or elsewhere outside our' wrote:
rrnrient hopes that such aid, combined with It is always easy to begin a war, but ve
your own continuing efforts, will contribute hemisphere and sphere of influence. 'In ry
rlrccttvely toward an independent Vietnam 'Vietnam the security of the United States difficult to stop one, since its beginning and
endowed with a strong government. Is not the issue. Saigon is not and never end are not under the control of the same
an
That was a very "iffy". commitment
made by President Eisenhower. ?
Can anyone claim that Prime Minister
Ky, of South Vietnam, who himself was
born and reared in Hanoi, heads a
strong, viable state? He could not re-
main in power 1 week except for the op-
erations of our Central Intelligence
Agency and the support of our Armed
Forces.
To justify sending a military advisory
group to Vietnam and increasing its. size
from 327 in 1953 to 685 in 1961, President
Eisenhower ,on April 7, 1954, said:
the loss of Indochina will cause the fall
of southeast Asia like a set of dominoes.
That was in the Stalin era. Today,
there is no bitter cold war between the
Soviet Union and the Trni+prl ere+- ne
panded ifid esc
l
t
d
p
e
on
mistakes..then the conflict will be ex-
g
ton. If mistakes are com
ound
d
the propaganda coming from Washin
-
.
In my judgment, our national interest volvement there is folly and reprtsenLq are now in bitter conflict. trag c
and
Peiping
requires a redirection of our policy In tragic mistake, perhaps the most traffic
This domino theory.has been completely Asia. We should not be the sole defend- ever made by this country. As pointed-
....discredited.- era of freedom as we define freedom in out in the report of our distinguished
Red China Is a paper dragon. it is Asia. The Joint Chiefs of Staff and our' majority leader. an expert on southeast
overrated as a great power.. It has crude 2a should take a back seat when it Asia, and our colleagues who went to
nuclear capabilit
th
t i
t
y,
a
s
rue. How- ogles to formulating foreign policy. I South Vietnam and other parts of the
seer. It will take at least d or 10 years hope that President Johnson will reassert world, that unless we can bring the war-
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ti t
win be an outpost defending Seattle.'
Vietnam very definitely is of no strategic That is true now as it was then
importance to the defense of the United President Johnson deserves praise for
States. ordering a holiday In bombing; North
We should have long since learned that _ Vietnam while his executive department
the outcome of a guerrilla war In the officials are seeking to secure an armistice
swamps, jungles, and highlands of south- and cease-fire at the eonferen?--e table
east Asia does not threaten the security with representatives of the Vietcong or
of the United States. We should, if we National Liberation Front, so-called, and
wish, give money, food, or guns, giving Hanoi.
this aid from afar. We should withdraw We Americans should not be i:o muchi,,
from implicating ourselves so deeply into Interested in saving, face as in saving
this conflict converting it into an Ameri- lives.
can war. Mr. President, I yield the floor.
This steaming Jungle where thousands Mr. GRUENING. Mr. President, I
of American GI's have already been congratulate. the Senator from Dhio on
afflicted with malaria and other jungle his forthright, penetrating speech. I
diseases is the worst place in the world think it is one of the most iirportant
for us to wage a ground war. statements that have been made in Con-
A
i
h
l
d not blindly accept
mer
cans s
ou
a
a
e
 San iti'zgc1i e4 kt4?evAqteFe9rcF&@WgM :IQI i,ql?ptU eQnli9j T%40pd160010-9
appeal's no prospect except more and
more destruction and killing. I think
we should get out in the best way pos-
sible and admit that we made a mistake.
Individuals who do this are honored.
Great nations find it harder to do.
I applaud President Johnson for the
efforts he is making for peace, but I feel
he is handicapped by some needlessly
unqualified verbal commitments he has
made.
Three Presidents did not, a.> President
Johnson has indicated-I think he is
mistaken in this-promise military aid
and establish thereby a national pledge.
President Eisenhower offered only eco-
..nomic aid, provided certain reforms were
made. As the Senator from Ohio (Mr.
Yoin al pointed out, it was a very "iffy"
.offer, and was contingent upon improve-
anent and reforms In the then Diem gov-.
ernment-reforms which never took.
place.
During the 6 years of President Eisen-
hower in the White House. there was no
military involvement, that is, no.Ameri-
cans were sent into combat, only a mili-
tary mislon with an advisory role. Un-
der President Kennedy, we sent military
advisers, and President Kennedy con-
tinued to maintain that it was South
Vietnam's war-and that they had to
win it. It has been only in the past year
that we have become involved with our
troops in combat-a tragic mistake.
I hope the speech that the Senator
from Ohio has delivered will have wide
circulation. -
Mr. YOUNG of Ohio. Mr. President
I thank the distinguished junior Sen-
ator from Alaska. Contrary to what we
sometimes read in the press, the Viet-
nam issue was debated in the Bennie dur-
ing the past year; and as we settle down
to the final session of the 119th Congress
the debate is renewed. There is it great
difference of opinion among Senators.
It Is going to be a good thing that all
Senators debate this pressing problem,
the greatest problem before the country
at this time, and express their views.
Mr. President, supplementary to what,.
I have said, I have a letter.from a con-,
,stituent of.mine, Thomas A. Gianfagna,
of 841 Alhambra Road, Cleveland, a vali-
ant young constituent of mine. I do not ,
know him personally, but he wrote me
as follows:
DEAR SENATOR Yovxo: I have. followed with
great interest your views on the situation in
Vietnam. As an ex-GI just recently granted
,the blessing of rebirth into civilian We and
;Rs a veteran of'2 months.service in the con-
tral highlands of Vietnam with the lot Cav-
alry Division, I want you to know that I
agree with you 99 percent.
As you say, we are not the policeman of
~'. ;`,.the world. As you any, the situation in Viet--
sent to more a civil war than a war of aggree-
eion or subversion. Thank you for saying '
1t no loudly.
Thank you again.
Yours truly,
TXOMA6 A. OJANFAONA.
Mr. BREWSTER, Mr, President, will
-Mr. YOUNG of Ohio. I yield.
Mr- BREWSTER. I believe I heard
the distinguished Senator from Ohio, ,
.state that the aenlor,aenatog.from Morn-
Mr. YOUNG of Ohio. I did so-inad-
vertently. I meant Oldnawa.
Mr. BREWSTER. I thank the Sena-
tor, because I was in Vietnam only with
the Senator from Ohio and the Senator
from Nevada [Mr. CANNON], where the
three of us spent sometime. My world
war service took me to Espiritu Santos,
Guadalcanal, Ulithi, Eniwetok, Guam,
and Okinawa, but not until recently was
I in Vietnam.
My own observations are somewhat
different from those of the Senator from
Ohio, but I appreciate the deep sincerity
with which the Senator from Ohio has
expressed his point of view.
Mr. YOUNG of Ohio. t greatly re- -
spect the Senator. from Maryland who
is a great Senator. He is one of the he-
roes of World War II, and he has a fine
record in the Senate. It was a slip of
the tongue when I used the word "Viet-
nam" for "Okinawa," because I knew he
was with the Marines who conquered
Okinawa in World War It.
I 'had two sons, both of whom served
in the Pacific, and I know something
about the hardships of those fine young
men who, some 22 and 23 years ago,
fought for their country in the Pacific.
Whenever I see a marine like DAN
BREWSTER, of Maryland, who fought
there, I feel like taking off my hat to him.
Of course, I readily accept the fact that
both he and Senator CANNON have views
and conclusions somewhat different from
mine. I know both of them and many
other Senaotrs will express those views
later th s year.
It was not a correct statement for any-
one to assert that the Vietnam situation
.and the. conflict there had not been de-,
bated in the last Congress; and It is fair
.to assume that It will be fully debated In
the final session .of this Congress; It
deserves to receive more attention and no
Iyyield the floor.
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