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e 23, 1969
contradiction of the 1954 Geneva Accord - defendable only
because our intelligence told us (through means we could
not disclose) that the North Vietnamese were violating the
Accord by infiltration of cadres and material.
As I said to you when you visited with Theiline and me
in our home some two years ago, "President Kennedy put
the prestige of the United States on the line and we have been
trying to redeem it ever since".
The successive steps in the escalation of our involvement
in South Vietnam are all too familiar to you and I will not re-
count them now. However, I believe the public and the Congress
must always be told just how the escalation took place and who
was responsible. In short, Vietnam must never become
"President Nixon's war". You are struggling to extracate the
United States from a bad situation resulting from bad judgment
and faulty decisions by President Kennedy and President
Johnson and their principal advisors. Understandably, you
say, "Let's not quibble over how we, got into Vietnam. Let's
work to get out of it. " This position is commendable but it
seems to me, Mr. President, that too many on the Hill are
trying to put Vietnam on your doorstep and hence, I believe
you are justified in reminding the public both directly and
indirectly just how the situation came about.
I agree that we must withdraw and this should be done
as rapidly as possible. I concur in your "hope" (not a
commitment) that Clifford's timetable should be anticipated.
However, I am very concerned over the concept of withdrawing
combat forces and leaving our air and logistic resources
behind to be protected by a revitalized South Vietnam army.
We went through this once and the ARVN failed us. Air fields
and depots were seriously damaged by enemy bombardment,
infiltration and sabotage. Therefore, 50, 000 Marines were
put on "static defense" and when this failed, they and hundreds
of thousands more U. S. military personnel were put on the
offensive.
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"ocrText": "-2-\nJ\ne 23, 1969\ncontradiction of the 1954 Geneva Accord - defendable only\nbecause our intelligence told us (through means we could\nnot disclose) that the North Vietnamese were violating the\nAccord by infiltration of cadres and material.\nAs I said to you when you visited with Theiline and me\nin our home some two years ago, \"President Kennedy put\nthe prestige of the United States on the line and we have been\ntrying to redeem it ever since\".\nThe successive steps in the escalation of our involvement\nin South Vietnam are all too familiar to you and I will not re-\ncount them now. However, I believe the public and the Congress\nmust always be told just how the escalation took place and who\nwas responsible. In short, Vietnam must never become\n\"President Nixon's war\". You are struggling to extracate the\nUnited States from a bad situation resulting from bad judgment\nand faulty decisions by President Kennedy and President\nJohnson and their principal advisors. Understandably, you\nsay, \"Let's not quibble over how we, got into Vietnam. Let's\nwork to get out of it. \" This position is commendable but it\nseems to me, Mr. President, that too many on the Hill are\ntrying to put Vietnam on your doorstep and hence, I believe\nyou are justified in reminding the public both directly and\nindirectly just how the situation came about.\nI agree that we must withdraw and this should be done\nas rapidly as possible. I concur in your \"hope\" (not a\ncommitment) that Clifford's timetable should be anticipated.\nHowever, I am very concerned over the concept of withdrawing\ncombat forces and leaving our air and logistic resources\nbehind to be protected by a revitalized South Vietnam army.\nWe went through this once and the ARVN failed us. Air fields\nand depots were seriously damaged by enemy bombardment,\ninfiltration and sabotage. Therefore, 50, 000 Marines were\nput on \"static defense\" and when this failed, they and hundreds\nof thousands more U. S. military personnel were put on the\noffensive."
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