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OCR Page 1 of 44GRB
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JK
October 5, 1970
PROPOSED PREFACE FOR 1969 VOLUME OF PRESIDENTIAL PAPERS
On January 20, 1969, America was nearing the .end of a decade
that had been marked by tumult and tragedy, and in which many Amer-
icans had grown uncertain about the nation's present and fearful of its
future.
Against that backdrop, the new Administration took office dedicated
to the reform of the American government, to the restoration of Amer-
ica's spirit and to the renewal of its promise.
The first priority was ending the war in Vietman, and building
toward a stable peace not only there but world-wide. No problem SO
occupied my own time and attention during 1969. I considered it vital
that the war be ended, but also that it be ended in a way which would
contribute to a larger and a lasting peace. This required standing firm
against those who pressed for a precipitate withdrawal regardless of
the consequences. But it also called for new initiatives that would re-
verse the trend of ever greater U.S. involvement, that would give the
North Vietnamese incentives to negotiate and that at the same time
would strengthen the capacity of the South Vietnamese to manage their
own defense.
By the end of 1969 we had laid a r-reaching set of peace proposals
on the negotiating table at Paris, a carefully phased process of
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