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    "label": "Rotary Club, Ionia, MI, September 2, 1970",
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{
    "id": "4526310",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Rotary Club, Ionia, MI, September 2, 1970",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4526310",
    "collections": [
        "Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers",
        "Speeches"
    ],
    "subjects": [
        "Cambodia",
        "Vietnam War, 1961-1975",
        "Vietnamization"
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    "seq": 1,
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    "type": "document",
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box D30, folder \"Rotary Club, Ionia, MI, September\n2, 1970\" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald\nR. Ford 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 The Council donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain.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.\nall Fifth District news media only\na ffice Copy\nCONGRESSMAN\nNEWS\nGERALD R. FORD\nHOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER\nRELEASE\n--FOR RELEASE AT 12 NOON--\nWednesday, September 2, 1970\nExcerpts from a Speech by Rep. Gerald R. Ford before the Ionia Rotary Club\nWe are steadily moving toward peace in Vietnam and the Middle East and\ntoward arms control in Vienna.\nWe are making real progress toward the goal of peace in Vietnam. It is not\na light at the end of a tunnel. It is a reality which we are in the process of\nachieving. We are on the road to a peace that makes sense, a valid peace, a peace\nwhich is in the best interests of the United States and the entire Free World.\nWe have withdrawn 115,000 men from Vietnam on the road to that peace, and we\nwill withdraw another 150,000 by next May. What this amounts to is that we will\nend our front-line combat role in Vietnam by next spring. Meantime, our South\nVietnamese allies are growing ever stronger as they battle to thwart Communist\naggression in Indochina.\nThis is the best answer to those Americans who would have us chuck it all\nfor what they call \"peace now.\" Their peace would destroy South Vietnam and lead to\nthe slaughter of hundreds of thousands of anti-Communist South Vietnamese. Their\npeace would destroy American credibility throughout the world. America's word\nwould be worth no more than a shrug of the shoulders, and the barriers against\nCommunist expansionism would crumble all over the globe.\nConsider the problem that Vietnam posed for President Nixon when he took\noffice in January 1969. He was faced with three alternatives. All of them were\nbad.\nOne was further escalation of the war in an effort to \"win\" it. The American\npatience at home was thin. If indeed the war was winnable, a policy of escalation\nwould have destroyed the new Administration before it got started.\nA second choice was to build up the ability of the South Vietnamese to defend\nthemselves while American forces in Vietnam were withdrawn over a period of months.\nThis was a course which did not write off the previous investment of American lives\nand treasure in Vietnam.\nThe third choice was immediate withdrawal. This almost surely would have\ndestroyed South Vietnam. And it would have caused the collapse of American\ncredibility among other nations whether it calmed the American people or not.\nGERALD\nThe President chose the middle Vietnamization of the war. While\n(more)\nDigitized from Box D30 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\navoiding the catastrophic consequences of immediate withdrawal, it reflected the\nmajority view in America that U.S. ground fighting in Vietnam should be ended.\nThe effort to Vietnamize the war went well until the North Vietnamese\nincreased the tempo of their incursions into Cambodia down the Ho Chi Minh trail\nthrough Laos and along the border between South Vietnam and Cambodia. This was a\nclear move to outflank American troops in South Vietnam and raid them from the\nsanctuary of so-called neutral territory. This territory was neutral only in a\ntechnical sense because it was under the military control of the North Vietnamese.\nThe military situation of the Americans and South Vietnamese would have been\nuntenable if the North Vietnamese had succeeded, because they then would have had to\nprotect their whole western flank.\nPresident Nixon, as Commander-in-Chief, made the difficult decision to save\nhis existing commitment of manpower in South Vietnam by protecting its flank. He\ndecided that American and South Vietnamese forces must keep the North Vietnamese\nand Viet Cong from consolidating their positions in Cambodia. Only then could\nVietnamization proceed, along with American withdrawal.\nPresident Nixon's lonely decision has proved wise. Vietnamization is\ncontinuing with less external interruption. The level of fighting in Vietnam has\ndropped to the lowest point in four years. And American withdrawals are continuing\nas planned.\nThe Cambodian Operation was a great success despite the domestic furor it\ncaused. The Communists lost vast stores of supplies, a fact which is reflected in\nthe current low level of fighting in Vietnam. And now the Communists see a\nmarshalling of South Vietnamese, Cambodian and Thai forces to resist the reestablish-\nment of Communist sanctuaries in Cambodia while U.S. air power continues to\ninterdict their supply routes.\nEvents in Cambodia have not widened the war. It has been an Indochina War\never since the Communists violated the neutrality of Laos and Cambodia to pursue\nthier designs on South Vietnam. What has been widened is the commitment of the\npeople of Cambodia and Thailand to resist a threat to their own security which had\nbeen tolerated too long.\nThose who shout \"peace now\" and would drop everything and run are wrong.\nThey mean well but they are choosing to ignore the dire consequences of such a\ncourse. The so-called Amendment to End the War is really an Amendment to Lose the\nPeace. I cannot be a party to that. It would be far more than a military defeat.\nIt would be a defeat for Americans as a people who believe in justice and decency.\nIt would be a shattering blow to the principles on which our Nation was built.\n###\nDistribution\n:\nall\nFifth\nDistrict\nnews\nMedia\n8/28/70\nm\nOffice\nCopy\nCONGRESSMAN\nNEWS\nGERALD R. FORD\nHOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER\nRELEASE\n--FOR RELEASE AT 12 NOON--\nWednesday, September 2, 1970\nExcerpts from a Speech by Rep. Gerald R. Ford before the Ionia Rotary Club\nWe are steadily moving toward peace in Vietnam and the Middle East and\ntoward arms control in Vienna.\nWe are making real progress toward the goal of peace in Vietnam. It is not\na light at the end of a tunnel. It is a reality which we are in the process of\nachieving. We are on the road to a peace that makes sense, a valid peace, a peace\nwhich is in the best interests of the United States and the entire Free World.\nWe have withdrawn 115,000 men from Vietnam on the road to that peace, and we\nwill withdraw another 150,000 by next May. What this amounts to is that we will\nend our front-line combat role in Vietnam by next spring. Meantime, our South\nVietnamese allies are growing ever stronger as they battle to thwart Communist\naggression in Indochina.\nThis is the best answer to those Americans who would have us chuck it all\nfor what they call \"peace now.\" Their peace would destroy South Vietnam and lead to\nthe slaughter of hundreds of thousands of anti-Communist South Vietnamese. Their\npeace would destroy American credibility throughout the world. America's word\nwould be worth no more than a shrug of the shoulders, and the barriers against\nCommunist expansionism would crumble all over the globe.\nConsider the problem that Vietnam posed for President Nixon when he took\noffice in January 1969. He was faced with three alternatives. All of them were\nbad.\nOne was further escalation of the war in an effort to \"win\" it. The American\npatience at home was thin. If indeed the war was winnable, a policy of escalation\nwould have destroyed the new Administration before it got started.\nA second choice was to build up the ability of the South Vietnamese to defend\nthemselves while American forces in Vietnam were withdrawn over a period of months.\nThis was a course which did not write off the previous investment of American lives\nand treasure in Vietnam.\nThe third choice was immediate withdrawal. This almost surely would have\ndestroyed South Vietnam. And it would have caused the collapse of American\ncredibility among other nations whether it calmed the American people or not.\nCERALD\nThe President chose the middle course--Vietnamization of the war. While\n(more)\navoiding the catastrophic consequences of immediate withdrawal, it reflected the\nmajority view in America that U.S. ground fighting in Vietnam should be ended.\nThe effort to Vietnamize the war went well until the North Vietnamese\nincreased the tempo of their incursions into Cambodia down the Ho Chi Minh trail\nthrough Laos and along the border between South Vietnam and Cambodia. This was a\nclear move to outflank American troops in South Vietnam and raid them from the\nsanctuary of so-called neutral territory. This territory was neutral only in a\ntechnical sense because it was under the military control of the North Vietnamese.\nThe military situation of the Americans and South Vietnamese would have been\nuntenable if the North Vietnamese had succeeded, because they then would have had to\nprotect their whole western flank.\nPresident Nixon, as Commander-in-Chief, made the difficult decision to save\nhis existing commitment of manpower in South Vietnam by protecting its flank. He\ndecided that American and South Vietnamese forces must keep the North Vietnamese\nand Viet Cong from consolidating their positions in Cambodia. Only then could\nVietnamization proceed, along with American withdrawal.\nPresident Nixon's lonely decision has proved wise. Vietnamization is\ncontinuing with less external interruption. The level of fighting in Vietnam has\ndropped to the lowest point in four years. And American withdrawals are continuing\nas planned.\nThe Cambodian Operation was a great success despite the domestic furor it\ncaused. The Communists lost vast stores of supplies, a fact which is reflected in\nthe current low level of fighting in Vietnam. And now the Communists see a\nmarshalling of South Vietnamese, Cambodian and Thai forces to resist the reestablish-\nment of Communist sanctuaries in Cambodia while U.S. air power continues to\ninterdict their supply routes.\nEvents in Cambodia have not widened the war. It has been an Indochina War\never since the Communists violated the neutrality of Laos and Cambodia to pursue\nthier designs on South Vietnam. What has been widened is the commitment of the\npeople of Cambodia and Thailand to resist a threat to their own security which had\nbeen tolerated too long.\nThose who shout \"peace now\" and would drop everything and run are wrong.\nThey mean well but they are choosing to ignore the dire consequences of such a\ncourse. The so-called Amendment to End the War is really an Amendment to Lose the\nPeace. I cannot be a party to that. It would be far more than a military defeat.\nIt would be a defeat for Americans as a people who believe in justice and decency.\nIt would be a shattering blow to the principles on which our Nation was built.\n###"
}