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    "localId": "4526047",
    "label": "Vietnam/McNamara, August 26, 1967",
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{
    "id": "4526047",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Vietnam/McNamara, August 26, 1967",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4526047",
    "collections": [
        "Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers",
        "Speeches"
    ],
    "subjects": [
        "Vietnam War, 1961-1975"
    ],
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        "logicalDate": "1967-08-31",
        "month": 8,
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{
    "seq": 1,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "document",
    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/ford/grf-0054/642080/4526047.pdf",
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box D22, folder \"Vietnam/McNamara, August 26,\n1967\" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R.\nFord Presidential Library.\nCopyright Notice\nThe copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of\nphotocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to\nremain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid\ncopyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nDigitized from Box D22 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nCONGRESSMAN\nNEWS\nGERALD R. FORD\nHOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER\nRELEASE\n--FOR RELEASE SATURDAY AM's--\nAugust 26, 1967\nSTATEMENT OF REP. GERALD R. FORD (R-MICH.)\nThe published statement of Defense Secretary McNamara before the Senate\nPreparedness subcommittee appears to be at odds, not only with the views of all\nthe top military witnesses heard by the committee, but also with the recent\nactions of President Johnson. Since my August 8 speech to the House on our\nVietnam policy, the President apparently has authorized increased military\npressure against North Vietnam through selective bombing of more significant\ntargets previously forbidden to U.S. airmen.\nNow we find the Secretary of Defense defending the ineffective and deceptive\nairpower policies of the past two and one-half years in contradiction to the\nresponsible judgment of our best military leaders and the conclusions of both\nDemocratic and Republican Senators who have heard all the evidence. Mr. McNamara\nis entitled to his convictions but before the President commits more than half\na million Americans to the ground war in South Vietnam we, as a nation, should\nbe very sure the Secretary of Defense is right and all the others are wrong.\nThis credibility gap is deadly serious. A nation at war cannot afford confusion\nand doubt about its basic policies.\nI want to support my Commander-in-Chief when we are at war and so do all\nAmericans. But WE must know where he stands, where we are going, and how we\nwill get there. It does no good to compound public concern by declassifying\nmore target data and playing meaningless numbers games, as if this terrible war\nwere merely a debate. Forget the past. What is our present policy? What hope\nis there for future U.S. success in Vietnam? That's what the American people\nwant to know, straight, on the level, from the man in charge.\nOnly the Commander-in-Chief can clear up this deepening doubt. It should\nnot be too much for the American people to expect that when our nation has been\ncommitted to the use of force, and since 1965 has paid a high price to pursue\nthis course, that both the civilian and military leaders responsible should be\nin substantial agreement and that some end is in sight.\n###\nGERALD FORD LIBRARY\nTOTAL SIGNIFICANT TARGETS IN NORTH VIETNAM\nFORD\nUNHIT 70%\nOFF LIMITS 50%\n90%\nHIT 30%\nUNHIT\n80%\nOFF\n75%\n75%\nLIMITS\n75%\n75%\nUNHIT\nOFF\nUNHIT\nUNHIT\nLIMITS\n67%\nUNHIT\n65%\n60%\nHIT\nOFF\nLIMITS\n48%\nOFF\nLIMITS\n35%\nOFF\n35%\n33%\nLIMITS\nUNHIT\nHIT\n25%\n25%\n25%\nHIT\nHIT\nHIT\n12%\nOFF\n10%\nLIMITS\nHIT\nTRANSPORTATION\nOIL STORAGE\nPOWER COMPLEX\nWAR MAKING\nAIR DEFENSES\nMILITARY FACILITIES\nLAND & SEA\nDEPOTS\nALL HYDRO PLANTS\nALL PORTS & CANAL LOCKS,\nALL COMMAND & CONTROL\nMAINLY AMMO DUMPS HIT,\nINDUSTRIAL\nHQS, MOST MIG BASES\nALL NAVAL BASES\nMOST REPAIR FACILITIES\nFORBIDDEN\nCOMPLEX\nFORBIDDEN\nFORBIDDEN\nFORBIDDEN\nTOTAL SIGNIFICANT TARGETS IN NORTH VIETNAM\nFORD :- LIBRARY\nUNHIT 70%\nGFRV76\nOFF LIMITS 50%\n90%\nЮ\nHIT 30%\nUNHIT\n80%\nOFF\n75%\n75%\nLIMITS\n75%\n75%\nUNHIT\nOFF\nUNHIT\nUNHIT\nLIMITS\n67%\nUNHIT\n65%\n60%\nHIT\nOFF\nLIMITS\n48%\nOFF\nLIMITS\n35%\nOFF\n35%\n33%\nLIMITS\nUNHIT\nHIT\n25%\n25%\n25%\nHIT\nHIT\nHIT\n12%\nOFF\n10%\nLIMITS\nHIT\nTRANSPORTATION\nOIL STORAGE\nPOWER COMPLEX\nWAR MAKING\nAIR DEFENSES\nMILITARY FACILITIES\nLAND & SEA\nALL COMMAND & CONTROL\nMAINLY AMMO DUMPS HIT,\nDEPOTS\nALL HYDRO PLANTS\nALL PORTS & CANAL LOCKS,\nINDUSTRIAL\nHQS, MOST MIG BASES\nALL NAVAL BASES\nMOST REPAIR FACILITIES\nFORBIDDEN\nCOMPLEX\nFORBIDDEN\nFORBIDDEN\nFORBIDDEN\nSIGNIFICANT MILITARY TARGETS IN NORTH VIETNAM\nTOTAL TARGETS\nOIL/GAS\nPOWER\nTRANSPORTATION\nINDUSTRIAL\nAIR\nMILITARY\n(P.O.L.)\nCOMPLEX\nLAND & SEA\nCOMPLEX\nDEFENSES\nFACILITIES\n25%\nHIT\n30%\n65%\n33%\nHIT\nHIT\nHIT\n25%\nHIT\n75%\nUNHIT\n10%\n25%\n70%\nHIT\nHIT\n67%\nUNHIT\n35%\n75%\n90%\n75%\nUNHIT\nUNHIT\nUNHIT\nUNHIT\nUNHIT\n12%\n35%\n60%\n80%\n75%\n48%\n50% OFF-LIMITS\nOFF-LIMITS\nOFF-LIMITS\nOFF-LIMITS\nOFF-LIMITS\nOFF LIMITS\nOFF-LIMITS\nALL HYDRO\nPLANTS\nFORBIDDEN\nMAINLY\nAMMO DUMPS\nHIT; ALL\nNAVAL BASES\nEVERYTHING BELOW LINE\nFORBIDDEN\nCANNOT BE ATTACKED UNDER\nALL PORTS &\nHIGH-LEVEL RESTRAINTS FROM\nCANAL LOCKS,\nWASHINGTON AS OF JULY 1967\nMOST REPAIR\nFACILITIES\nCOMBAT U.S. PLANE LOSSES OVER NVN\nFORBIDDEN\nALL COMMAND\nAS OF AUGUST 1, 1967 = 636 PLANES\n& CONROL HQS,\nONLY CEMENT\nMOST MIG BASES\nAND STEEL PLANT\nFORBIDDEN\nSTRUCK YET\n(All the above percentages are approximate and should be so qualified.)\nGERALD FORD"
}