On March 20th, 2004 in Columbia Missouri, I attended a peace march. About 700 attended. Each with their own message for peace. Myself, I wanted to honor a soldier who died in Iraq on March 31st 2001. I carried the sign of a SPC -------------. What was his name? More on that later…. Five hundred plus individuals carried signs of those Americans who have so far died in Iraq. This was a mournful event for me. I cried silently through out the march. I prayed for all those who have died. Both Americans and Iraqis. I did not think that I would have to go on any more marches since the last one, in 1991, the first Iraqi war. Likewise, on May 1st, 1975. in Lafayette Park, Washington D.C. I stood up for peace which I had hoped would be the last time after twenty years of war. Sadly, it was not.
What was the name of SPC -----------? His/her name was every soldier…. Those who nations ask to pay the ultimate price. They raised their hands to take the oath to protect their country, to offer their lives for a country, despite the risks, regardless of right or wrong. And I carried his sign. I cried. I mourned. And I prayed for peace. ''
This moved me to publish Covenent Betrayed.
I wrote this essay in
1985, after I finished Covenent Betrayed. Today, I think that it applies to
Iraq. All you have to do is to change the name fromVietnam to Iraq. We did not
learn from history.
This book is dedicated to those who suffered: The Americans wounded and killed in action, the Vietnamese, Laotians, Cambodians, the families that grieved those who protested an immoral war, all who suffered the raft of American policy.
The book was written with the available knowledge at the time. Subsequently more information is available, and here I will attempt to fill in the differences with what we knew, and what we now know. When I started this book, I wanted to determine if the antiwar movement was overly idealistic. Did we over react to what was happening? In conclusion, with this additional information, my overall conclusion was that what happened was worse than what we knew at the time. Primarily because, the government neglected to give Americans the full story, the history of Vietnam is replete with government distortions, and in some cases outright deceit. When I took on this project, I discovered that the depth of the betrayed covenant was worse than I had expected.
All the events in the book are historically accurate. The atrocities in Vietnam have been documented from word of month, and news articles. I should note that atrocities were on both sides, and I did not attempt to quantify which side was the worst offender. Any torture, physical or mental is unjustified. The only digression perhaps is that I do not know for sure that the POW's held by the VC participated in Volley ball games. But I should note that the POW's held by the VC, especially the ones in South Vietnam, in some instances developed some degree of rapport and respect with their guards. Soldiers, although enemies all have one thing in common, they understand each other since each have faced combat. Something non-soldiers can never truly understand. Generally, the treatment of the POW's was a mixed bag, and many perhaps most were treated brutally. With regard of American agents ordering the executions of Americans, is unfounded. The episode in the book is symbolic of the destruction of idealism by the government. Perhaps someone out there has information on this. I do know that "things" happened in Saigon and attempts to explore this met with stone walling, mostly out of what I perceived to be fear.
In addition, I should mention that some of the events depicted in the book represented a composite of political actions that took place at Columbia, Wisconsin, Berkley and other schools. No buildings were over taken at SIU, yet an arson fire of "Old Main" the flagship building at SIU did take place. In addition, there was rather benign action against the "Vietnam Research Center" but this primarily was rhetoric. Likewise, the racial turmoil depicted at SIU represented a montage of racial unrest on many other campuses; SIU, I feel had minimal unrest. However, we were all affected by what appeared to be a global unrest at this time.
Vietnam was a war the United States "lost." Nobody wins wars. Wars are only won when the enemy accepts defeat. Approximately 3.4 million Vietnamese died, 10 percent of the population. According to Robert McNamara 600,000 were VC's. 58,000 Americans were killed, 300,000 Americans were wounded, and 3 million served. In addition an estimate 2-5 million civilians were killed under Pol Pot regime, 1/4 to 1/2 of the population. 500,000 Cambodians were killed or wounded by the United States in its bombing raid from l970-l975. I don't have any figures on the wounded and killed in Laos, but I assumed that it was substantial. I should also mention Vietnam suffered two million deaths out of a population of ten million from starvation, because the Japanese neglected the repair of the dikes in the Red River Valley, and the Japanese forced a cash crop economy instead of growing rice. In addition, an estimated 500,000 Vietnamese died under the French, which by the time of Dien Bien Phu (DBP), was 80% financed by the United States.
After World War 2, the
West was obsessed with the perceived threat of worldwide Communist revolution.
The Communists have taken over the Slavic countries, making revolution in
Turkey and Greece, and China. In South East Asia, the debate was whether the
U.S. should intervene to prevent an impending Communist takeover. Ho Chi
Minh,(HCM) a long time nationalist also, a communist, dreamed of a free
Vietnam. General George Marshall, the Secretary of State took the view, as well
as state department specialists that the United States should not get involved.
He took a similar view with regard to China, in l946. In l984 state department
specialists estimated that the Viet Cong (VC) and HCM, were not subservient to
Russian or Chinese 'influence. I mention this to say that those and others in
our government had strong reservations from the beginning about involvement in
Vietnam. Thus the voices of dissent were not just the young, the suspected
Communists, but respected and loyal member of our government.
The thinking at this
time was that if a strong deterrent were not made, another Hitler would evolve
and again threaten the world. The mistakes, I think made at this time was to
treat Russian Communism as monolithic and evil and expansionistic like Hitler.
Many at that time felt that WWII was the result of appeasement, their beliefs
based on Chamberlain's appeasement of Hitler at Munich; hence, appeasement of
the Communists would lead us into World War III.
In l948, the Chinese
Communists took over China, and this necessitated grave concern in the United
States, and resulted in support of the French in Southeast Asia. But by Nov.
l950, the French were bogged down in Vietnam, couldn't meet its NATO
commitments, and John Ohley, a senior defense department official questioned
whether the United States should pull out its supports, citing an increasing
conflict, and even the possibility of direct action in Vietnam. Dean Rusk and
Dean Acheson saw the French as a block to Soviet expansion, and reiterated the
appeasement argument, citing Hitler and the Japanese when they invaded
Manchuria, and subsequently Pearl Harbor. This initiated support to Vietnam
that continued, up to 80 % by the time of French involvement, who
underestimated the Viet Minh, and were defeated at DBP, and agreed to the Geneva
Accords, which provided partitioning and free elections.
At the battle of DBP,
the debate was whether the U.S. should directly intervene. Gen. Radford,
Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of staff proposed that 60 B-29's attack the
perimeter at DBP, however Gen. Matthew Ridgeway, Army Chief of Staff was
pessimistic, saying that at least 7 divisions were needed to save France,
twelve, if China intervened. John Foster Dulles, and Richard Nixon, even hinted
at using the Atomic bomb, but Eisenhower rejected direct U.S. intervention as
well as the bomb option.
After DBP, the country
was partitioned, and Premier Diem came to power with the support of the U.S.
Diem was a fervent nationalist, a Catholic, but never had the support of the
people. The CIA provided ample moneys, and advice. John F Kennedy (JFK)
increased involvement and for the first time the U.S., became directly involved
in Vietnam. JFK supported the funding of the French during the '50's, he
believed in the policy of containment, he supported Diem, he feared China's
expansion, and the Russians since both sponsored the "wars" of
National Liberation. JFK believed in the Domino theory, and felt Nixon's
criticism for being soft on Communism.
He also sulked in the failure of the Bay of Pigs, insuring now that Russia had
a base in the Western hemisphere. In addition, Khrushchev bullied him in
Geneva. Thus, he felt the pressures to stand firm in Vietnam. Hubris over ruled
sanity.
Chester Bowles, the
Under Sec. of State, recommended neutrality for all of South East Asia. For his
beliefs, JFK dumped him and all the advisors, which disagreed with him. This
was a common pattern, which, Lyndon Baines Johnson, (LBJ) and Richard Millhouse Nixon (RMN) also followed,
those who criticized, were left on the outside of policy decision meetings.
Early in office, JFK
read a report from Col Edwards G. Lansdale, special advisor to South Vietnam
and to Diem. This detailed the failures of the Diem regime, and recommended
increasing aid. This report shocked JFK, and he complied. George Ball, who at
this time predicted a need for 300,000 troops, but JFK laughed at him, thinking
that all that was necessary was increased aid. Dean Rusk, Walt Rostow, and
Robert McNamara supported JFK, who followed the advice of Maxwell Taylor's concept
of flexible response; a policy; both LBJ and Nixon would follow.
In April 1961, JFK
formed a task force to prepare social political economical and military
programs for South Vietnam. He also at this time sent in an extra hundred
troops. This was a violation of the Geneva accords, which specified only
foreign troop replacements, not additional troops.
In August Diem's war
degenerated, and he increased his army from 100,000 to 270,000, still not
enough to perform the needed job, mostly because he always lacked the support
to the people. In addition, Maxell Taylor recommended 8,000 Special Force
troops disguised as logistical persons, again, a deception on the American
people.
McNamara and the Joint
Chiefs of Staff recommended 200,000 troops to show that the U.S. meant
business, and since JFK could not back down, for lose of prestige, he
acquiesced to the 8,000, but by the time of his death, he had increased the
commitment to 16,000.All this was done under secrecy to deceived the American
people. In addition, this was a violation of the Geneva Accords.
Diem was killed in
early November 1963, in a coup that although not ordered by the United States,
occurred with its blessings. JFK was assassinated at this time, LBJ became
President and gave Gen. Khanh, the new leader of SVN secret permission to cross
the Demilitarized Zone DMZ) to conduct
raids. The administration debated what action should be taken. William Bundy,
an LBJ advisor, recommended blockading Haiphong Harbor, and to bomb the
railroads and industrial complexes.
In March 1964, Maxwell
Taylor and McNamara made another trip to South Vietnam (SVN). Throughout
January and February, the VC made greater gains, Terrorist attacks increased,
three U.S. service men were killed in a movie theater, and the SVN would
encircle the VC in the Mekong delta but refused to fight. The assessment at
this time was that 40 % of SVN was under VC control, 90 % in some provinces.
South Vietnamese army desertion rate was high, apathy rampant, and there was fear
of another coup
The debate at this time
was how much could the president do without Congressional approval. Thomas
Jefferson put in the Constitution the provision that the one who pays not the
ones who spends declares war. This was the Congress. The early presidents
obeyed this provision, receiving permission to engage in naval skirmishes with
France and pursuit of Barbary pirates. However, Ulysses Grant acted on his own
in his attempt to annex the Dominican Republic. McKinley increased presidential
power when he ordered 5,000 troops to quell the Boxer rebellion; Wilson sent
forces to the Caribbean and Mexico to occupy foreign soil. In addition, FDR
helped in the sea war with against the Germans. Truman went into Korea without
approval, which resulted in 38,000 American deaths.
The thinking was that
the increased presidential power was that it was necessary to stop the spread
of communism. This is based on the idea that if Europe acted quickly against
Germany, WWII might not have avoided.
By June 1964, increased
involvement was known and needed. However, LBJ wanted bipartisan support
similar to what Eisenhower got in l955 when he sent troops to protect Taiwan,
and the nearby islands Quemoy and Matsu. William Bundy wanted a resolution to
increase involvement. This resolution was ready by June 1964. The air force had
pinpointed 94 targets during the spring of l964. It is important to understand
that as soon as LBJ took office, he and government looked for the opportunities
to increase the war and the Gulf of Tonkin was the excuse to do this. Nicholas
Katzenbach, the acting Attorney. General, called this resolution the
'functional equivalent of declaration of War"
The administration decided to wait until after the November elections to
put this into effect.
Throughout JFK's term,
McNamara ran the war on statistics and claimed that we were winning. He
emphasized the quantitative, rather than the qualitative. During this time, the
administration operated on a policy of positivism. Those who presented positive
reports were praised and promoted, those critical, were labeled defeatist, and
their careers drifted. A situation developed where as if one was critical, he
did not advance and vice versa. Thus, it became obvious that to survive you
followed the direction of the wind, the same thing that happened with LBJ and
Nixon and within the government of Vietnam. Those that supported the policy
were rewarded, those opposed, ostracized.
U.S. involvement did occur before. Since l964
agents have helped SVN on raids into NVN as well as missions to abduct,
assassinate, spy and disrupt. Major Lucien Conein headed these raids. In addition, Air America, the CIA's air
force flew a number of missions. Premier Ky in 7/19 /64 boasted he made many
secret trips. These raids were in violation of the Geneva Accords. Eighty
groups were sent in 1963 and were a failure; few survived the raids, indicating
the lack of popular support in November. In January l964 operation OPLAN 34-A
was planned for more systematic and ambitious forays into North Vietnam, which
even included plans for a joint U.S. - SVN invasion. The plans put into effect
included leaflet drops, larger SV interventions, and interdiction of communist
ships delivering arms, and kidnapping fishermen. These raids used SVN boats
equipped with machine guns and cannons. All these raids were kept secret to the
American people.
On August 2, 1964, the
U.S. ship Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin was attacked for twenty minutes, and hit
with one bullet. Two NVN patrol boats were crippled and one was sunk. LBJ order
the Maddox and Turner Joy returned to the Gulf of Tonkin, and a supposed second
attack never took place. That night thunderstorms and lighting played havoc
with radar, rain and high waves were present, but eight jets sent overhead saw
nothing. An hour later, the crew of the U.S.Turner Joy opened up with wild
blind firing.On repeated attempts to question the crew, all reported no actual
sightings, nor heard any gun fire. The Commander of the Turner Joy voiced his
doubts to Admiral Sharp who relayed the message to Johnson who was preparing to
go before the public to announce the second attack. Johnson lambasted on
TV NVN (North Vietnam) for the attacks
on the two ships, all the time knowing that the second attack did not take place.
As a result of the Maddox's was being hit with one bullet, Johnson got his
Congressional bipartisan approval. He had the excuse he was looking for, the
result, the escalation of the war for the next nine years.
Nevertheless, Congress
was not entirely to blame; a pentagon worker alerted Sen. Wayne Morse that the
attack was unprovoked since the SVN had been making numerous patrol boat raids
along the coast of North Vietnam. McNamara lied to Congress at a joint
committee meeting and thus denied this. In early l968 McNamara also stated that
he had seen four interrupted radio messages that NVN was preparing for an
attack at this time; however, in reality, they were not attack orders, but
instructions to prepare to defend against SVN commando raids. Eighty five
percent of the public supported LBJ based on his lies and distortions to the
Americans people. Only two senators voted against the Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution, Ernest Gruening and Wayne Morse.
During the election
campaign LBJ emphasized the war would be fought by Asian boys instead of
Americans boys. At the same time, William Bundy prepared plans for direct U.S.
intervention…. by American boys. In late August, LBJ planned to gradually
increase tougher action. He resumed the SVN commando raids, gave the SVN air
force permission to bomb the Ho Chi Minh trail. The Joints Chief of Staff
argued for immediate air strikes, despite a government report that concluded
that no amount of American pressure could stop the Communists and an air war
would fail, because NVN was a rural society, had no valuable targets and an
inexhaustible supply of people who would fight on forever. The report also
cited the inability of Germany to bomb England into surrender. As well as the
air war against Germany was not successful in halting Germany production, nor
did bombing stop the North Koreans from supplying its troops. By December l964,
Operation Barrel Roll began, the secret bombing of the Ho Chi Minh trail. The
VC also launched several attacks causing great defeats for the SVN.
In September 1964, before the election, the
push was on for increased troop deployment. The Joints Chiefs estimated that at
least 500,000 troops would be needed. Despite this, the government continued
its plan on, even though Ambassador Maxwell Taylor had grave doubts about
committing American troops to SVN.
. LBJ won the election
by 16 million votes, and in January, l965 ordered U.S. bombing of bridges,
railroads, oil depots.
On December l9, l964
McNamara on his return from South Vietnam, told the American people," I am
optimistic as to the progress that can be made in the coming year."
Privately he reported to Johnson, that the situation was grave. He said that if
the situation was not reversed in the next two to three months, neutralization
of South Vietnam or a VC take over was a real possibility. The VC controlled
more territory, the strategic hamlets program, a U.S. defense strategy, has
been destroyed, and failed to protect the people. South Vietnam lost more and
more weapons to the VC, and causalities increased, and desertions, were much
higher than the statistics they were receiving in Washington. This is related
to the belief that to survive is to give the governments information it wanted
to hear.
LBJ realized in early
l965 that direct action was necessary and in March, 3500 marines landed. LBJ
said the marines were sent at the request of the SNV government. This was a
lie; they were neither consulted nor informed. Later on 4/1/1965, 20,000 more
troops were sent. LBJ asked for and got a second bipartisan approval from the
Congress when they approved a 700 million funding for the war.
Westmoreland told the
American people that the marines were needed protect logistic supplies, but in
reality, he ordered them to patrol the countryside, and by June, the marines
took the offensive. At this time Sen. McGovern, and Frank Church became
critical. Moreover, Sen. Fulbright began to change his attitude.
By July, a full-scale
escalation was occurring. Senators Mike Mansfield of Montana and Richard
Russell, of Georgia on 7/27/65 urged LBJ to find a way out. Mansfield suggested
Deale's neutrality plan, because he as well as other feared China's
involvement. The next day, LBJ ordered another 44 combat Battalions to Vietnam.
Westmoreland wanted 100,000 troops in South Vietnam (SVN) by the end of the
year and he argued for 184 000 more troops. Fulbright by this time recommended
negotiations.
On July 16 McNamara
went to SNV and reported of the successes, again he distorted and lied to the
American people. He told reporters that U.S. forces were inflicting heavy loses
on the Vietcong (VC) but he informed LBJ that conditions were worse than a year
ago. He said that by January l966, many more troops would be needed, perhaps as
many as 600,000
At this time, NVN
turned to both Russia and China for help. Ho Chi Minh played one against the
other. China was critical of Khrushchev for the failure of the Cuban missile
crisis, signing the nuclear test and the policy of peaceful coexistent, thus
China forced the Russians to prove its solidarity provide support, training and
supplies to NVN. China has also provided arms and supplies, with their goal at
this time to tie up the U.S. in a long drawn out war. In South East Asia, thus
would not be vulnerable to U.S. action against China. This policy changed in
l972 when Nixon recognized China. China temporarily ceased supplying NVN but
later resumed its aid. Likewise, Nixon's diplomacy with Russia resulted in the
same temporary concession.
On Christmas Eve, 1964,
the officer's billet at the Brinks hotel was bombed, with 2 killed and 58
wounded. In Jan 65, Maxwell Taylor still questioned a U.S. troop commitment,
thinking that the SVN would not fight as hard; however, he still encouraged the
bombings. Sen. Richard Russell, voiced concerned and thought that it was time
to reevaluate the policy. In addition, Walter Lippman wrote that the U.S. was
stretching its power. Moreover, at this time, Mansfield and Vice President
Humphrey had a meeting with LBJ. Humphrey expressed concerns, thus he was
banished from meetings with Johnson for the years to come.
On 3/2 65 Operation
Rolling Thunder began, a daily air offensive aimed at interdiction of supplies
on the Ho Chi Minh trail and in North Vietnam. This lasted until l968 and amounted
to three times the total bombs dropped during World War II being dropped on
NVN, SVN, and the sanctuaries, the size of Texas.
One big debate at this
time was NVN involvement in the war. They at this time emphasized that the VC
were an independent movement in the South. What we now know is that as early as
3/65, before LBJ sent in the marines, NVN sent in troops and supplies, although
at this time the VC were still the predominate forces in SVN. Also, since JFK's
involvement,16,000 U.S. troops, as well as supplies and personnel support had
benefited SVN. Generally, the U.S. always had by far proportionally more troops
in SVN than the NVN whose response was more of a reaction than initiation of
action. This; however, is debatable by many; but it is not my purpose to tell
who broke what agreement first and so forth.
During the buildup,
America might was put to use. The U.S. built roads, airfields, bridges, fuel
depots, warehouses, hundreds of helicopter pads and airfields, as well a
complex communication system. One could call directly to the White House from
the U.S. embassy. In l967 a million tons a month was shipped to VN, amounting
to l00 pounds per man per day. The U.S. used every available weapon and advance
technology, Air traffic in SVN was the busiest in the world. Thailand and Guam
also saw marked increased activity.
In addition, a lively
narcotic traffic flourished, as well as overall corruption in the SVN
government and army. American Agents attempted to stop the smuggling networks,
but U.S. superior stopped it, because it would expose many prominent member of
the Saigon regime. Black-marketing and selling of stolen goods was rampant and
uncontrollable. American supplies black-marketers sold to the VC were killing
Americans. All this was more evidence that many Vietnamese did not support the
Saigon government or appreciated the American’s presence.
The situation in the
Saigon government was pitiful. Again the officers and member of the government
that resisted the U.S. were bypassed in the planning the war, thus to survive,
one acquiesced to the U.S., bowing to their whims.
In l966, the VC matched
American escalation and they began a conventional war to win a decisive
victory.
Operation Rolling
Thunder continued until November 1968. The goal was to impede the flow of good
and crack morale. They bombed road vehicles, railroads, and Railroad yards, but
saw no improvement. By the summer of 1967, McNamara concluded the air war was a
failure. NVN needed very little to continue the effort. The VC needed l5 tons a
day, and the North Vietnamese and Chinese furnished 6000 tons a day. The
bombing did not stop infiltration. In l965 infiltration increased form 35,000
to 150,000 in l967, after l966 greater then l00, 000 infiltrated into South
Vietnam.
Malaria and dysentery killed more VC than the bombing. More Imports to
NVN from China and Russia increased to over 1.4 million tons.
The reasons for the
failures were that NVN was an agrarian society, essentially, they had no
targets by mid l967, 85 % of the electricity was cut off, but it was simple to
switch to 2000 diesel generators. Besides, NVN needed only one fifth of the
power needed by the Potomac Electric Power Co, branch in Alexandria VA.
The NVN defenses
consisted of 8000 antiaircraft positions, greater then 200 SAM missile sites, a
complex radar system, and civil defense. NVN also decentralized it
administrations...All the bombing did was to increase the national desire to
continued the struggle against the U.S.
Another problem with
the U.S. presence was that it could not hold territory. The U.S. operated on
the policy of attrition, to wear down the enemy. Westmoreland emphasized the
kill ratios, but neglected to qualify the will of the Vietnamese to fight a
holy war, a war against the foreign invaders.
During l966 and 1967,
continued protests against the U.S. occurred in SVN, the solution was to have
free elections. However, the candidates were screened, and the winners Thieu
and Ky received only 35 % of the vote. Dzu, who urged negotiations got l7 %.
Clearly, the SVN did not have the support of the people, even though the U.S.
government continually claimed that they did.
By the end of l966, the
government planed for 300,000 troops and 600,000 by the end of l968. McNamara
grew critical and urged negotiation because the situation in SVN was a
standoff, and the war could not be won. At the end of l966, 6000 Americans were
killed, at the end of l967 15,000 killed. McN argued for a bombing halt, but
forces in the administration felt that this would be perceived as a sign of
weakness. So, the bombing continued.
By early l966 Sen.
Mansfield and Richard Russell realized that the Congress gave to much power to the President, but now it was
too late, the feeling now was that once were in the war, we got to stick it
out, no matter what. Wayne Morse drafted a resolution to repeal the Gulf of
Tonkin Resolution, only five other Senators voted with him.
The solution now was
for more bombing and more troops. The Joints Chief in mid 1966 wanted 500,000
troops and to call up the reserves and McNamara in February 1966 again stated
that the bombing was not successful and could not end the war, but LBJ opted
for bombs instead of agreeing for more troops and calling up the reserves. LBJ
feared that too much escalation would bring in the Chinese into he war, and
worse yet the Russians if we accidentally bombed one of their ships.
In the summer of l966
the Jason Study, also concluded that the bombings had no effect and only
increased morale, and the Russians replaced what was destroyed.
In October 1966,
McNamara proclaimed to the press", progress has exceeded our
expectations." However, privately he knew the NVA could more than replace
their loses, the pacification program was backward and failing, the Communist
thrived in most of SVN and the SVN leaders and population were apathetic
McNamara urged negotiation, and to give the VC a political voice. The Joint
Chiefs reacted angrily.
In early l967, the CIA
reported that hundreds of bridges have been destroyed, but rebuilt. Thousands
of frights cars destroyed, but traffic still moved freely. 3/4 of the oil
depots destroyed but there is no shortage. The estimated cost 10 dollars for
each dollar destroyed. And the moral was not weakened. Again, in another report
that we were not told which showed that the bombings were ineffective. Again,
the government’s response was to increase the bombing, to include power
transformers and Ammo dumps. These were ineffective and the Joints Chiefs
encouraged Johnson to bomb even more.
Earl Wheeler
manipulated the news media, Congress, and the President in his push to get
approval for more troops. Wheeler of course was motivated by Generals'
motivation to protect his troops. And everybody complied. The problem is that
no one thought this process out and asked the most important question. Is it
worth it?
All this time Johnson,
and Westmoreland stated to the American public that the bombings were highly
effective, and great progress was being made. Americans felt that we were
winning the war. However, privately, Westmoreland told LBJ that the war could
go on indefinitely and that he needed more men. He needed 470,000 by the end of
l967 and then that would only be enough to hold our own and not progress, more
were needed to change the course of the war.
At the beginning of
l967 George Ball, McGeorge Bundy and Bill Moyer resigned. Each showed some
degree of disagreement with Johnson’s policy. Yet, they refused to tell the
American people. Maybe if they did, the war would have ended sooner, and more
lives saved. Because of McNamara criticism, the Joint Chiefs in May of l967
conspired to get rid of him. In essence, the military subordinates planned to
get rid of civilian control of the military. They complained to Senator John Stennis
and to members of the armed service committee, claiming that unskilled
civilians were shackling the military experts.
The Armed service
committee encouraged LBJ to increase the bombing as well as increase troops. In
Aug, l967, 75 billion dollars were needed, and 800,000 troops were needed, just
to hold the ground.... All this time the American people were led to believe
that we were winning in Vietnam. However, in reality, the war was going badly.
The Committee's summary of the closed hearings was to put the military in
charge and get on with wining the war or to get out.
McNamara continues to
argue that the bombings were not effective. Because the NVN needed only 15 tons
a day, just a few trucks were needed, and morale was not broken. Bombings had
not damaged the economy and that you cannot bomb them to the conference tables.
Because of the
increased pressure from the military and the Armed Service committee, LBJ
approved 57 new targets, 50% in population centers.
In the Fall of 67
McNamara resigned to become resident of the World Bank, Actually LBJ fired him.
He would never speak out to the American public about his disagreements with
the policies, nor inform the public about the truth in Vietnam. Although at his
going away luncheon in l968, he felt futility with American policy that was not
communicated to the press or the public. It appeared to me that many people in
Washington knew this, and that the press failed in reporting this much-needed
information to the people.
In mid November, Westmoreland
was summoned home, and again he praised the efforts of the war and that the VC
was on the run. In reality, the United States was caught in a quagmire, from
which it could not extricate itself. In addition, no end in the war was in
sight.
Throughout the fall of
l967, the VC launched numerous attacks, based on conventional war guidelines,
at Khe Sanh in the Central Highlands. This coincided with a strong Communist
buildup in the Central Highlands. The Military and Westmoreland felt that this
was in a preparation for a major VC-NVN offensive that would be in the North or
in the Central highlands. Khe Sanh was supposed to be the American DBP
However, it turned out
to be the province capitals and Saigon. TET, February 1968, as it is now know
was termed a success by the military in that an estimated 50,000 VC-NVN were
killed, yet, in reality, revealed to the American people that the surprise
attack and strength of the VC-NVN negated the "victory" over the
communists who supposedly were on the verge bankruptcy and losing the war.
The problem with TET
was that the military believed its own inflated reports that it was giving to
the American public. In reality, the communists suffered great losses at TET,
as well as lose from the subsequent Phoenix program, a CIA program to root out
and kill the VC infrastructure. After TET, the North Vietnamese were provided
the primary military action. The war now fought predominantly by the North
Vietnamese.
The goal of TET from
the VC point of view was to split the U.S. and SVN hoping to inspired rebellion
in the SVN people. This did not happen. Westmoreland interpolated TET as a last
ditch desperate effort of the VC. Finally, the government got it right. The VC
was really on the ropes, but no one listened or believed them. At this point,
the war was lost, primarily due to the Public's complete distrust of their own
government.
At Khe Sanh, the
military played up that the VC were making it another DBP, and they wanted to
show that it would be a failure. However, to the VC it was just another battle,
and after TET, pulled out of Khe Sanh. I seemed that the communists outsmarted
the military in that the battles in the central highlands and Khe Sanh diverted
attention from the actual attacks being the provinces capitals, which caught
both the U.S. and SNV off guard. One thing TET did show was that again the SVN
government did not have the support of the people. There were ample examples
detailed in the book indicating that many Vietnamese knew of the impending attacks,
but said absolutely nothing, Thieu in fact furloughed most of his troops for
the TET holiday.
Nevertheless, was TET a
victory as the military proclaim, yes and No. Although 50,000 VC-NVN were
killed, and in reality, the American never lost a battle, the defeat was the
moral defeat, the idea that the policy was inherently flawed. Interestingly,
one could argue that DBP was a French victory since 8,000 Viet Minh were killed
as opposed to 2,000 French. Nevertheless, we know that was not the case, DBP created
so much disorder at home that negotiation was paramount.
In early November 1967,
LBJ formed an advisor group of respected private citizens to advise him on
Vietnam. After TET, the "wise men" turned against LBJ and now favored
disengagement. Their concern was not humanitarian, but they felt that the
policy affected the Democratic Party and it looked like the Republicans would
win the upcoming 1968 elections, if the policy stayed the same. On 3/31/1968,
LBJ resigned and announced the plans for the Paris peace talks. Clark Clifford
now the Sec. of Defense, initially a hawk, evaluated the situation and
concluded that that U.S. must disengage in VN. He used his influence, which was
another reason why LBJ resigned. Winning the democratic election trumped the
grunts that fought and died in Vietnam. Imagine, giving you life for the
election of a democratic president. The motive was wrong, but at least an end
of the war was in site, on that, the "wise men" showed courage.
LBJ did maneuver behind
the scene and expressed a wiliness to be drafted. One thing, he was determined
was that the candidate would be one who would not transgress his policies. He
wanted the war to continue, as well as his bankrupt policy. He would have
preferred anybody, even a Republican if it meant maintaining present policy.
`
At the Chicago
convention the Army, Navy, Air force, intelligent agents infiltrated the
antiwar movement. In addition, they had teams disguised as television crews.
The CIA also spied on ''its own people, a violation of law. Chicago was
chaotic, the protests powerful, and the police violence polarized the country.
Hubert H. Humphrey,
(HHH) wanted a compromised peace platform, but LBJ put a stop to it, and HHH
acquiesced, and in doing so, probable lost the election, which he lost by less
then 500,000 votes. It was not until late September that he finally broke away
from LBJ, but by this time, it was too late. On Oct 31, before the elections,
LBJ announced a complete bombing halt of North Vietnam. Even this was not enough
to help HHH.
RMN entered office and
was determined not to be the first President to lose a war. His philosophy was
to use the might of the U.S. armed forces and foreign policy end the war. He
reasoned that the Russian aid was draining their economy. He believed in using
Atomic bombs in DBP and he admired Eisenhower's threat to use the atomic bomb
in Korea to force the North Koreans to the conference table. The North Koreans
reacted to that threat and showed up at the conference table at least that was
the argument. I don’t know. However, I doubt it. I do not think Eisenhower
would have ever used the atomic bomb. He just was not that type of person. He
saw war as a soldier, so he always was much more careful in his decisions.
Essentially RMN made the same mistake that past Presidents made, over reliance
on the U.S.military might.
The antiwar movement
ballooned after it recognized that Nixon did not intend to heal the split in
the country. We all hoped a saner policy would develop, but it just got worse.
The Congress had passed draft burning laws and this only stimulated more
protestors to challenge the government with increased public draft card
burnings. This only inflamed the supporters of the war and Nixon put Spiro
Agnew in charge of rallying the faithful. Just when one thought it could not
get worse, it did. The country's polarization accelerated and the Richter scale
passed ten and was heading for twelve.
The Nixon
administration wanted more bombings and a plan to Vietnamize the war. Again,
the bombing was ineffective, and although some progress was made with the SVN,
some fought bravely, but still the haunting corruption still plagued the SVN
government. The reason probably was that the SVN people never really believed
in the war, and were just surviving, repeated attempts to give the SVN army the
same confidence of the VC were unsuccessful, as well as numerous well thought
out programs to win the support of the people, and the pacification program...
were all failures? The McNamara's computer estimated it would take 8.3 to 13.4
years for the Saigon Government to win.
Richard Nixon appointed
Henry Kissinger (HK) to the National Security Council (NSC) and formed a closed
net secret organization. He distrusted the State department, and the CIA
staffed by Ivy League liberals. The peace talks continued, but the military
interfered with national policy. Admiral Chennault recommended to Thieu to
oppose LBJ bomb halt, and to procrastinate at the Paris peace talks. The plot
was to insure the election of RMN. Peace was denied, more soldiers died, so the Republicans could win the presidency.
Our sons of America died for the Republican Party. It was not until l/16/69
that he sent a man. His complaint was that he did not like the seating
arrangement.
In l968, LBJ got
permission from Prince Sihanouk for the US to cross into Cambodia on a
"Hot pursuit status”, as long as no Cambodians were harmed. However, LBJ
was reluctant to expand the war, so this action was limited. At the end of
January 1969 Earle Wheeler and Creighton Abrams, who replaced Westmoreland
claimed that 40,000 NVA were in Cambodia, and using the port of Sihanoukville
for supplies. Abrams recommended B-52 raids, which Nixon approved in March, and
these raids lasted for 14 months. These were secret bombings, although Williams
Beecher in the New York Times reported the bombings, they went unexamined by
the rest of the press and the public, except for the antiwar movement that
knew that they exceeded Nixon’s
constitutional mandate. Nevertheless, since LBJ got by with the Gulf of Tonkin
resolution Nixon was able to expand those increasing presidential powers to
include the bombing a neutral country.
The bombings failed and
probably one of the unfortunate aspects of the war was that it now expanded
into Cambodia. Because of the bombings, the NVA took a ragtag band of Communist
the Khmer Rouge, sent them to NVN to train them to be crack troops, thus they
were eventually able to eventually to take over Cambodia. Normally, this would
not have happened because the Vietnamese and Cambodian were traditional
enemies, but since Sihanouk turned to the U.S. and gave the U.S. permission to
bomb Cambodia, the North Vietnamese felt they had no choice. Thus, the bombings
assured a Communist takeover of Cambodia, and this resulted in the death of 2-5
million Cambodians in the killing fields. One cannot help but think that if the
bombing and invasion into Cambodia did not occur, today; those Cambodians would
be alive today. The Khmer Rouge Communists committed this horrible crime, but
perhaps it would never have happened if the United States were not involved in
SE Asia
In January l970, two
thirds of the Communists in Cambodia were North Vietnamese. General Lon Noh
overthrew Sihanouk and although the antiwar movement suspected CIA involvement,
no evidences up to now can be documented. Lon Nol appealed for US aid since now
the North Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge was approaching the capitall.
On April 26, 1970, the
U.S. invaded into Cambodia. They neither consulted nor informed Lon Nol in
advance. This again raised the question of constitutional powers. But William
Rehnquist argued that the law mandated presidents to deploy troops in conflicts
with foreign powers at their own initiative. This created a clamor in Congress,
yet they did not, nor wanted to take the action necessary to cut off funding
for the war. The argument for funding always came down to the fact that
American boys would be left in Vietnam without any weapons to defend
themselves, and this always was effective in saving face with the American
public and Congress. This in fact was a sham. Studies have already been made
and it was determined that U.S. troops could leave Vietnam in three weeks if an
all out effort was made. In reality, the American people and Congress still
wanted war at the cost of their sons, and the Vietnamese, to save face. A
cowardly reaction, a sheer failure in humanity, morality, and contemptible.
The press played up the
Cambodian invasion as a success, but in reality, it was a failure. All they
found were empty huts. However, the government made a big deal that they found
tons of supplies... In reality, these supplies could be easily be re-supplied.
The NVA simple pulled back from the advancing Americans, no real encounter occurred.
Regardless, the military and the press played this incursion as a "great
success".
Next year, on February
8, 1971 the South Vietnamese Army (SVA) invaded Laos with U.S. air support.
U.S. Nixon learned from the lesson of Cambodia, not to use U.S. troops.
Nevertheless, the invasion was a failure, though again called a success in the
press and by the government. I should say that not all the press believed that
it was a success. The same applies to Cambodia, but by in far, the overwhelming
American press supported the government's line. This conflict with the current
perceived "rewriting" of history that the U.S. lost the war because
of the "liberal press" distorted the truth.
The invasion was a
disaster, after 3000 causalities Thieu ordered his officers to stop. The goal
was to capture the town of Tchepone, 20 miles into Laos, but the SVA stopped
halfway there. American bombings obliterated city. Laos' Prince Souvanna Phoume
protested, but again no one listened. Artillery and ground assaults pinned down
most of the SVA. In March, Alexander Haig told HK that the SVA was reluctant to
continue fighting. Their retreat lasted four weeks, trucks had no gas, bodies
littered the countryside, and men who climbed on the helicopter skids to escape
were ripped to pieces by the trees as they flew low over the jungle. Moreover,
antiaircraft guns ripped to pieces military helicopter support. The NVA has
learned to combat the once feared helicopter warfare that was supposed to
defeat guerilla warfare. Eventually the SVA "captured" Tcheone, a
town already destroyed by bombs, now a worthless target. Yet, this was
portrayed as a face saving "victory" for the SVA.
Laos showed the
failures of the SVA. The reasons were lack of leadership, officers were chosen
not on ability but loyalty; and promotions were won in Saigon, not on the
battlefield.
President Nixon on
April 7, 19 71 announced to the American people on TV, Vietnamzation has
succeeded ( Not Really) and he attacked
the news media for showing the bad side of the war.
In Saigon, the
Vietnamese protested the slaughter of their troops in Laos with anti-American
demonstration in front of U.S. offices; they bombed US cars; and paraded
posters of Nixon on top of dead SVA soldiers. This again showed that the SVN
did not support the war. Many saw the war as America’s, not their war.
And, Vietnamzation meant the
sacrifice of Vietnam by American.
During the Johnson's
administration, they were repeated efforts for negotitions. These were always
marked by a decrease in military action. LBJ used the carrot and the stick
approach; he could not understand why the VC did not want to talk peace... In
reality, they were never interested in the talk of peace and used the
opportunities increase supplies. They were fighting a holly war. Nothing would
stop them from removing the foreign invaders. The antiwar movement always
argued that the peace attempts were short lived, that is why they failed. The
government said that the VC just used them to beef up their supplies. And, in retrospect
that was true. The peace movement however never recognized that the VC as
saints. Many felt that the inherent evil was the U.S. not the VC. In the
absence of the Americans, VC atrocities would not necessarily exist. In
addition, the antiwar movement believed Vietnam was a civil war. In addition,
no one in the peace movement believed that Vietnam's survival was necessary for
the preservation of the U.S. security
The U.S. government
launched numerous diplomatic peace efforts; they all failed. The reasons were
that the VC did not intend to give up the struggle, and the U.S. did not intend
to abandon SVN. At first, it was the domino theory, but by l966, it became
obvious that this was not the case. We were not interested in free elections
for the South Vietnamese that was a propaganda ploy to satisfy the American
people that their son's death had meaning. By l966, the government recognized
the mistake, was too involved to leave, and decided to plow ahead, just to save
face... how tragic.
The peace talks
conducted by Nixon and HK dragged on longer then should have. The VC stuck to
their demands and essentially the peace talk settlement was America's surrender
to the Communist. We had no choice; the army in l971 was in a shambles. One
third of the troops were estimated on opium, heroin, or pot. Fraggings were
common; At home, the country was irrevocably split. In addition, everybody
demanded troop's withdrawal, which Nixon did gradually throughout his four
years. In December 1972, Nixon initiated massive Christmas bombings of North
Vietnam. Nixon claimed that he was only bombing military targets, but many
bombs went awry and many civilians were killed. This last indignity and
appeared to many to be totally immoral. Most Christians reverently celebrated the
birth of the Prince of Peace oblivious to the contradiction.
By January, l972 only
apporximately, 10,000 troops remained. The public also wanted the return of the
POW's. Thus, one can see that all the North Vietnamese had to do was to wait it
out, and they did. Although the peace agreement sounded good on paper, it was a
surrender. We promised to support the SVA but we knew they would eventually
fail, the reasons: Corruption, lack of
leadership, lack of morale and lack of purpose.
In 1973 Henry Kissinger
along with Le Duc Tho were awarded the Nobel Peace prize. Henry accepted. Le
Duc Tho refused. He felt that his country at this time still was not at peace.
For the Nobel Committee to award the Nobel Peace Prize to both these men
was an affront to all those in the past and in the future who received and will
receive the Prize.
After the peace
agreement was signed, both sides immediately broke the provisions. In l975, the
North Vietnamese took Saigon, and 400,000 Vietnamese were sent to reeducation camp.
In l981, 50,000 remained in these camps, which gradually dropped to an
estimated 7000. One million South Vietnamese escaped, of these 50,000 drowned
or were killed by pirates, 500,000 fled to Cambodia, and 50,000 Ameriasian
children still walked the streets of Saigon, discriminated against for their
mixed blood. Their economy dragged, but in l981, free market ideas were
introduce on the small level. The Khmer Rouge conquered Cambodia and a blood
bath ensued. In l978, Vietnam invaded Cambodia, not to prevent the bloodbath,
but to protect the Mekong delta, the land, which was traditionally part of the
Cambodian empire. The Vietnamese, felt that the Khmer Rouge was preparing for
an invasion to retake this area.
Laos in 1975 also came
under Communist control... In addition, although the Russians have aided the
Vietnamese, they had no permanent bases in South Vietnam. They do have use of
the Cam Ranh Bay, as a warm water port. The Vietnamese had always been
suspicious of Russians because they
entertained Nixon while the U.S. was bombing them in North Vietnam. They
distrusted China, because of Nixon’s relationships with China, as well as the
historical hostilities that existed between Vietnam and China. Now we recognize
that the "domino theory" had little credence.
In l980, a VA survey
showed that 82 % of the soldiers believed that the U.S. was not allowed to win.
66% will fight again, 76 % were on the receiving end of mortar or rockets fire.
56 % seen American KIA or WIA, 71 % said they were glad to go, 74% enjoyed
tour. 82% said political leaders would not let them win. (80 %) of Americans in
general believed the same thing. Sixty five percent of the Americans believed
the American troops were asked to fight a war we could never win.
The cost of the war
from 1965 to l973 was 120 billion dollars. A percentage of the three million
who served suffer from posttraumatic stress syndrone. Most who served were
poor, minorities, uneducated, and the average age, 19. Approximately 500,000
soldiers who served developed post traumatic stress… (My estimate). Four
million Vietnamese were killed. One million in Laos, one third of the
population. (History Channel) Up to 2.4 million were killed by Pol Pot. An
unknown number killed by the US bombing raids. Twenty millions gallons of Agent
Orange, a chemical banned in the United States were used in Vietnam.
Subsequently a large Vietnamese population showed a marked increase, estimated
at three to ten times, in birth defects in VN. In addition, many American GI's
exposed to Agent Orange suffered from numerous conditions. The government spent
millions attempting to understand the affect on American GI's, yet refused to
study the best and the more appropriate
model, the affect of agent orange on the Vietnamese people. Attempts to
study the Vietnamese continually met with failure since the government did not
want the results of Agent Orange research used by Vietnam to criticize our
government of chemical warfare. Even though, the goal was to find out what the
long-term risks were to our own veterans, and how to best treat them. Perhaps,
this is the last insult to reason and to our veterans who fought in Vietnam.
Today 7000 South Vietnamese are still in reeducations camps in VN.
On the antiwar front, it is estimated that
approximately 50-80-000 went to Canada, many returned; but approximately 25,000
choose to stayed
The problem from the
beginning was corruptions. Diem's brother and closest advisor, Nhu, had for his
advisor and chief aid a VC agent. The South Vietnam government had many VC
agents in the government, many occupying high positions. The corruption
primarily was at the highest levels of the government and military and amounted
to small numbers. The vast majority of SNV soldiers were diligent, but often
ill equipped and poorly trained. Many of the SVN Officers were true to the
concepts of freedom. As the cliché goes just a few rotten apples spoils the
barrel.
What went wrong?
Westmoreland said that we escalated too slow, did not invade the sanctuaries,
inadequately supplied the SVA and South Vietnamese citizens, and the cease-fire
agreement of RMN and HK, which was surrender, disguised as a victory. He
accused the news media of "crisis journalisms" that distorted the news. Actually, the press
supported the war and was the mouthpiece for government propaganda. Frequently
editors relied on the White House, the pentagon, and State department for news.
The vast majority of the press strongly supported the war effort. Before Tet
criticism was minimal. After Tet criticism, increased. In fact Harrison
Salisbury was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his reports from Hanoi, but the
advisory board controlled by the publishers overruled the prize. Those
reporters who opposed were few in numbers when one compares them to the 10,000
newspapers, and many news services in the country. Thus if anything, the press
supported the Government’s position. Congress lagged in opposition even more.
In reality, the vast
pro war propaganda the U.S. press fed its citizens was one of the primary
reasons for the failures in Vietnam. The people believed what we read and saw
on TV. By 1968, no one accepted, nor trusted the press, which said that TET was
a disaster for the Viet Cong.
American foreign policy
since the end of World War II was one word, Containment. Communism was
monolithic, threatened to take over the world. If we did not stop Communism,
one country after another would fall under their evil dominion.
In reality, Communism
was never the threat imagined by our mass hysteria response to it. The United
States always had a technological advantage. Kennedy defeated Nixon, because he
out hawked Nixon, terrifying Americans that we had a missile gap. This was
false. In fact, both Nixon and Kennedy were briefed in the pre election period
by our intelligence agencies at the request of Eisenhower. That briefing
confirmed that we had a far superior missile defense system than Russia's. The
problem was that poor Nixon, at the famous debates, looked helpless, while
Kennedy continually harped on the Missile gap, he could not rebut the argument
because if so, he would be releasing classified secret information; and Kennedy
knew this. As a result, both were locked into this myth, and any attempt to
tell the truth would have been political suicide.
Communism was never the
treat that had been purported. However, it served the purpose of Pentagonism,
the imperialization of your own people. Create this false fear that if one
doesn't opposes it are the enemy, and than wrap this cause in the American flag,
flog it to death and reap tremendous profits.
I have always wondered
if Kerenski had disengaged from World War I, the chances of the Russian
Revolution would have not happened. However, when Kerenski pursued the war, the
people saw no other hope but to join the revolution, and the result, the
beginning of a political movement that would engulf the whole world.
The genuine threat
to any country's security more often come from within not from the
outside We should have used the monies spent on the war to build the South
Vietnam's economy, provide jobs, build houses and roads, not feed the military
industrial complex. The benefits would have been far more successful. It takes
less than 30 % of the dissatisfied populous to successfully sponsor a revolution.
Recently in Haiti, only 200 were successful. The goals of a country are to
provide for the disaffected, give them equal opportunity. This is the best way
to avoid a violent takeover.
On a positive note:
Remember the picture of the girl who got napalmed and ran nude with her brother
down the dirt road... she went to Russia for plastic surgery and the care she
received motivated her to go to medical school and became a doctor.