Vietnam: A Television History (1983–…): Season 1, Episode 2 - Vietnam: A Television History - full transcript
The eight-year battle between the French and Vietminh is examined.
WHAT THE GOAL
OF THE UNITED STATES SHOULD BE.
THAT GOAL CAN BE NOTHING LESS
THAN VICTORY.
WHAT IS INVOLVED HERE
IS, IN EFFECT, TO LET
THE RED CHINESE KNOW IN VIETNAM
AS WE, IN EFFECT, LET
KHRUSHCHEV KNOW
IN THE CONFRONTATION IN CUBA
THAT THE UNITED STATES
WILL NOT STAND BY
AND ALLOW ANY POWER,
HOWEVER GREAT
TAKE OVER ANOTHER COUNTRY
BY AGGRESSION.
A RETREAT BY THE UNITED STATES
FROM VIETNAM
WOULD BE A COMMUNIST VICTORY
AND WOULD LEAD TO WORLD WAR 3.
CAPTIONING OF THIS PROGRAM
WAS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART
BY THE CORPORATION
FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
AND PUBLIC TELEVISION STATIONS.
NARRATOR:
BY EARLY 1968
AMERICA HAD DROPPED
ALMOST 3 MILLION TONS OF BOMBS
ON VIETNAM--
TWICE THE TONNAGE DROPPED
ON GERMANY AND JAPAN
IN WORLD WAR 2.
AMERICA WAS TRYING
TO STOP NORTH VIETNAM
FROM SENDING SOLDIERS
AND SUPPLIES TO THE SOUTH--
TRYING TO FORCE
THE COMMUNIST LEADERS IN HANOI
TO GIVE UP THEIR LONG-HELD GOAL
OF A UNIFIED VIETNAM.
AFTER THE IMPACT OF THE 1968
COMMUNIST TET OFFENSIVE
PEACE TALKS BEGAN.
WE ALL WENT
AND STAYED IN HOL ROOMS
RATHER THAN RENTING APARTMENTS.
IT DIDN'T OCCUR TO ANY OF US
THAT FIVE OR SIX YEARS LATER
THERE WOULD STILL BE
A DELEGATION IN PARIS
STILL GOING OVER VERY MUCH
OF THE SAME GROUND.
WHEN WE FIRST ARRIVED
THERE WAS AN ATMOSPHERE
OF HEIGHTENED EXPECTATION
OF EARLY PROGRESS.
NARRATOR:
THE AMERICANS BROUGHT IN
SOUTH VIETNAMESE
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS.
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE BROUGHT IN
THE NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT,
THE VIET CONG--
THE COMMUNIST-LED MOVEMENT
IN THE SOUTH.
THE NEGOTIATIONS
WERE VERY STEREOTYPED
AND WERE NOT NEGOTIATIONS
IN THE CLASSIC SENSE
OF THE WORD.
THERE WASN'T THE KIND OF GIVE
AND TAKE THAT YOU WOULD HAVE
IN A LABOR NEGOTIATION
OR A BUSINESS NEGOTIATION
OR EVEN IN A MORE NORMAL
INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATION.
THEY TENDED TO FOLLOW
A VERY SET PATTERN:
ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER WOULD
MAKE A PREPARED STATEMENT
AND THEN THE OTHER SIDE WOULD
REPLY WITH A PREPARED STATEMENT
AND THEN THERE WOULD BE
A LITTLE BIT OF GIVE AND TAKE.
NARRATOR:
AS THE DIPLOMATS HAGGLED
OVER THE POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS
OF THE SEATING ARRANGEMENTS
PRESIDENT JOHNSON PREPARED
TO LEAVE OFFICE.
JOHNSON:
WE WANT PEACE VERY MUCH.
WE'VE BEEN DOING ALL WE COULD
FOR SEVERAL MONTHS
TO TRY TO BRING ABOUT
SOME KIND OF AN UNDERSTANDING
THAT WOULD RESULT
IN SUBSTANTIVE DISCUSSIONS
AND ULTIMATE SETTLEMENT
OF THE SOUTHEAST ASIA PROBLEM.
NARRATOR: A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE
AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
JOHNSON HALTED ALL BOMBING
OF NORTH VIETNAM.
IF, AFTER ALL OF THIS TIME
THERE IS STILL NO END IN SIGHT
THEN I SAY THE TIME HAS COME
FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
TO TURN TO NEW LEADERSHIP.
I PLEDGE TO YOU
WE SHALL HAVE AN HONORABLE END
TO THE WAR IN VIETNAM.
NARRATOR: BY A NARROW MARGIN,
NIXON WON.
IN PARIS,
THE PEACE TALKS DRAGGED ON.
IN VIETNAM,
THE WAR CONTINUED.
THE WEAPONS WERE
VIET CONG ROCKETS.
THE VICTIMS WERE
DANANG CIVILIANS.
THE 1968 TET OFFENSIVE HAD HIT
SOUTH VIETNAM'S CITIES AND TOWNS
BUT NOW THE MAIN FIGHTING HAD
SHIFTED BACK TO THE COUNTRYSIDE.
MORE THAN HALF A MILLION
AMERICAN SOLDIERS
WERE STILL IN VIETNAM.
FOUR YEARS
SINCE AMERICAN COMBAT TROOPS
HAD LANDED IN VIETNAM
THE DENSELY POPULATED
MEKONG DELTA
WAS STILL FAR FROM PACIFD.
DURING THE FIRST SIX MONTHS
OF 1969
AN AVERAGE
OF MORE THAN 800 AMERICANS
WERE WOUNDED EACH WEEK.
EACH WEEK, MORE THAN 200
AMERICANS WERE KILLED.
EACH WEEK, MORE THAN 450
OF THEIR SOUTH VIETNAMESE ALLIES
DIED
ALONGSIDE THEM.
EACH DAY, MORE THAN 500
NORTH VIETNAMESE AND VIET CONG
WERE COUNTED DEAD.
I THINK ALL OF US HAVE HAD
A GREAT DEAL OF CONFIDENCE
IN THOSE
WHO HEAD OUR GOVERNMENT
THAT THEY WOULD NOT
LET US DOWN
AND THAT THIS WOULD NOT BE
A NEVER-ENDING WAR.
YES, IN OUR SOCIETY
WE MUST HAVE FAITH
IN OTHER PEOPLE--
WE MUST HAVE FAITH
IN OUR SYSTEM.
IT IS NOT ENOUGH FOR US TO PLACE
CONFIDENCE MERELY IN OURSELVES
BECAUSE WE ARE NOT
THAT POWERFUL.
I WOULD SAY
THAT WE ARE PROBABLY
INCURABLE OPTIMISTS
AS AMERICANS.
NARRATOR:
IN JULY, 1969
PRESIDENT NIXON HAD GOOD NEWS
FOR THE TROOPS:
THEY COULD SOON GO HOME
AND LEAVE THE FIGHTING
TO THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE.
HE CALLED THE POLICY
"VIETNAMIZATION."
MELVIN LAIRD:
THE POLICY OF VIETNAMIZATION
WAS TO TURN OVER
THE RESPONSIBILITY
FOR THE GROUND COMBAT
AND AIR COMBAT
TO THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE.
IT WAS A POLICY OF GIVING THEM
THE EQUIPMENT AND THE TRAINING
SO THAT THEY COULD FOLLOW UP
THEIR RESPONSIBILITY
TO THEIR COUNTRY.
YOU CANNOT GUARANTEE THE WILL
OF ANY COUNTRY
BUT YOU CAN GIVE THEM
THE TOOLS.
NARRATOR:
THE SAIGON ADMINISTRATION FACED
A NEW POLITICAL CHALLENGE--
THE VIET CONG PROCLAIMED
THEMSELVES
THE PROVISIONAL
REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT.
WE MADE UP OUR MINDS
FROM THE BEGINNING
THAT WE WERE GOING TO TRY
TO DISENGAGE FROM VIETNAM.
AND ALL OF THE DEBATES
AFTERWARDS
WERE ABOUT
RATES OF DISENGAGEMENT--
NOT ABOUT
THE FACT OF DISENGAGEMENT.
THE PRESSURES WERE ON
AS FAR AS THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
WERE CONCERNED.
THE PRESSURES WERE ON
AS FAR AS THE CONGRESS
WAS CONCERNED
AND IF WE WOULDN'T HAVE MOVED
IN THE DIRECTION
OF VIETNAMIZATION
OUR WHOLE MILITARY-FORCE
STRUCTURE
WOULD HAVE BEEN DESTROYED
IN THE UNITED STATES
AND WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE
TO MEET THE NATO COMMITMENTS,
WHICH WERE TREATY COMMITMENTS.
THE MAJOR PREOCCUPATION
OF KISSINGER AND NIXON
WAS U.S./SOVIET RELATIONS.
THEY BELIEVED
THAT WORLD PEACE DEPENDED
ON GETTING THE SOVIET UNION
INTO A RELATIONSHIP
WITH THE UNITED STATES
SO THAT IT CEASED TO DO THINGS
WHICH THREATENED
AMERICAN SECURITY INTERESTS.
AND IT WAS IN THIS CONTEXT
THAT THEY APPROACHED
EVERY ISSUE.
KISSINGER WAS FOND OF SAYING
THAT WE INHERITED
500,000 TROOPS IN VIETNAM--
WE DIDN'T PUT THEM THERE.
¶ HOME, I'M COMING HOME
COMING HOME,
FROM ACROSS THE SEA. ¶
NARRATOR:
FOR THE CAMERAS
U.S. TROOPS CELEBRATED
THEIR DEPARTURE.
¶ HOME, I'M COMING HOME
¶ NO MORE MARCHING
AND FIGHTING FOR ME.
¶ I AM A SOLDIER,
A COMING HOME SOLDIER
¶ NO PURPLE HEART
DO I WEAR ON MY CHEST.
¶ I AM A SOLDIER,
A COMING HOME SOLDIER
¶ I KNOW THAT I,
I'VE DONE MY BEST.
¶ I'M COMING HOME,
I'M COMING
¶ I'M COMING HOME,
I'M COMING
H-O-M-E. ¶
(APPLAUSE)
NARRATOR:
AS THE AMERICAN TROOPS LEFT
NIXON STEPPED UP
AIR AND ARTILLERY ATTACKS.
BOY:
AFTER THE BOMBERS LEFT
WE CLIMBED OUT
OF THE SHELTER.
OUR TEACHER TOLD US
TO GO HOME AND REST.
BUT WHEN WE WENT BACK
TO THE VILLAGE
WE SAW THAT THE BAMBOO GROVES
AND OTHER TREES
HAD ALL BEEN BURNT
BY THE BOMBING.
BUFFALOES AND CATTLE
WERE KILLED.
NARRATOR: USED ON VIETNAM--
EXPLOSIVES, DEFOLIANTS
FRAGMENTATION BOMBS, NAPALM.
HUNDREDS OF MILES OF TUNNELS
WERE DUG
TO SHELTER FACTORIES
AND HOMES.
THE SONGS AND POETRY
OF HO CHI MINH
PROMISED VICTORY
AND INDEPENDENCE.
THE AMERICANS
AND THE AMERICAN-SPONSORED
GOVERNMENT IN THE SOUTH
WOULD BE DEFEATED.
KOREAN, AUSTRALIAN, THAI
AND OTHER TROOPS
WOULD BE DRIVEN OUT.
"WE WILL REBUILD OUR LAND
TEN TIMES MORE BEAUTIFUL"
CLAIMED HO CHI MINH.
HE WAS REALLY VERY ILL
BY THE END OF 1968.
IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT FOR HIM
TO MOVE ABOUT.
AND YET, COMRADE HO CHI MINH
PATIENTLY CONTINUED
HIS EXERCISE
AND HIS WALKS.
EARLY IN 1969
HE WAS STILL VISITING
THE VILLAGES
BUT HIS HEALTH DETERIORATED
AFTER THAT
ALTHOUGH HE CONTINUED TO WORK.
NARRATOR:
HO CHI MINH DIED
ON SEPTEMBER 3, 1969.
TUU KY:
HE SAID
HE WAS ONLY GOING TO VISIT LENIN
AND HIS OTHER PREDECESSORS.
AND BY THE WORD "PREDECESSORS,"
HE COULD HAVE MEANT
THAT HE WAS GOING TO VISIT
PAST VIETNAMESE LEADERS.
NARRATOR: VIETNAM'S
COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER--
LE DUAN--
DELIVERED THE EULOGY.
THIS WAS SO PAINFUL
TO THE NATION
AND TO ME PERSONALLY
THAT I CANNOT FIND THE WORDS
TO DESCRIBE IT.
BUT TO US
IT WAS NOT JUST
A PAINFUL EVENT.
WE ALSO FACED
THE PROBLEM--
HOW TO CONTINUE HIS WORK--
HOW TO ACCOMPLISH
ALL THE THINGS
HE WANTED US TO ACHIEVE.
NARRATOR:
AMERICAN TROOPS--
SOME JUST RETURNED
FROM VIETNAM--
WERE DEPLOYED TO WASHINGTON
TO PROTECT THE CAPITAL
AGAINST ANTI-WAR DEMONSTRATORS.
PEACE NOW!
PEACE NOW!
NARRATOR:
NIXON AND HIS AIDES--
CLAIMING THAT ANTI-WAR CRITICS
WERE HELPING THE COMMUNISTS--
ORDERED
ILLEGAL WIRETAPS
AND DREW UP A LIST
OF THEIR DOMESTIC "ENEMIES."
¶ ALL WE ARE SAYING
IS GIVE PEACE A CHANCE...¶
ARE YOU LISTENING, NIXON?
NARRATOR: IN A SINGLE
WASHINGTON DEMONSTRATION
A QUARTER OF A MILLION AMERICANS
DENOUNCED THE WAR.
ARE YOU LISTENING
IN THE PENTAGON?
¶ ALL WE ARE SAYING...¶
NARRATOR:
HANOI RADIO PUBLICIZED
THE PROTESTS.
IF 200 PEOPLE MARCHED
ON WASHINGTON
THEY MADE IT 200,000.
WE LEARNED
HOW TO DEAL WITH THE NUMBERS.
OF COURSE, EVERY PROTEST,
EVERY ANTI-WAR SPEECH
MADE BY A PERSON
SUCH AS McGOVERN
JANE FONDA, GALBRAITH--
ALL OF THOSE--
ONLY ENCOURGED THE VIETNAMESE,
PROLONGED THE WAR
WORSENED OUR CONDITION
AND COST THE LIVES
OF MORE AMERICANS
ON THE BATTLEFIELD.
SO MANY PEOPLE
IN AND OUT OF THE GOVERNMENT--
AND I WOULD PUT THE MEDIA
AT THE TOP OF THE LIST--
SEEM FAR MORE CONCERNED
ABOUT THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE
IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
THAN THEY WERE
THE LIVES OF THE YOUNG MEN
THAT WERE FIGHTING
FOR THEIR COUNTRY.
WHEN I WAS DESCRIBING
THE TORTURE OF THE P.O.W.s
IN NORTH VIETNAM
AMERICAN CITIZENS TOLD ME:
"THEY HAD NO BUSINESS
VOLUNTEERING."
NARRATOR:
DEFENSE SECRETARY LAIRD
WAS AHEAD OF THE TIMETABLE
FOR U.S. TROOP WITHDRAWAL.
BY APRIL, 1970
HE HAD REDUCED
THE FORCES IN VIETNAM
BY MORE THAN 100,000.
NIXON HAD RESUMED
FULL-SCALE BOMBING OF THE NORTH.
AMERICAN GENERALS
HAD ASKED LAIRD
TO ENDORSE A MAJOR OFFENSIVE
AGAINST COMMUNIST SANCTUARIES
IN CAMBODIA.
LAIRD OPPOSED THE USE
OF U.S. GROUND TROOPS.
NIXON MADE THE DECISION.
NIXON:
I HAVE CONCLUDED
THAT THE TIME HAS COME
FOR ACTION.
TONIGHT, AMERICAN
AND SOUTH VIETNAMESE UNITS
WILL ATTACK THE HEADQUARTERS
FOR THE ENTIRE
COMMUNIST MILITARY OPERATION
IN SOUTH VIETNAM.
THIS KEY CONTROL CENTER
HAS BEEN OCCUPIED
BY THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
AND THE VIET CONG
FOR FIVE YEARS
IN BLATANT VIOLATION
OF CAMBODIA'S NEUTRALITY.
THIS IS NOT
AN INVASION OF CAMBODIA.
NARRATOR: THE ACTION
FURTHER DIVIDED AMERICA.
ALL AMERICANS MAY NOT AGREE
WITH THE DECISION
A PRESIDENT MAKES
BUT HE IS OUR PRESIDENT.
NARRATOR:
EVANGELIST BILLY GRAHAM--
AN OLD FRIEND
AND SUPPORTER--
WHO ONCE TOLD NIXON:
"IT IS YOUR DESTINY
TO BE PRESIDENT."
MR. PRESIDENT
WE WELCOME YOU
AND MRS. NIXON.
WE HONOR YOU
AS OUR PRESIDENT
(APPLAUSE)
AND WE PRAY FOR YOU
THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE
TO GIVE YOU THE WISDOM
THE COURAGE AND THE FAITH
AS YOU BEAR
THE HEAVY RESPONSIBILITIES
OF YOUR OFFICE.
NARRATOR:
THREE WEEK EARLIER
FOUR STUDENTS
HAD BEEN SHOT DEAD
BY NATIONAL GUARDSMEN
DURING DEMONSTRATIONS
AT KENT STATE UNIVERSITY
IN OHIO.
CAMPUS PROTESTS
REACHED A PEAK.
POLLS SHOWED
THAT A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS
SUPPORTED ADMINISTRATION POLICY.
BUT OPPONENTS
CONTINUED THEIR PROTESTS
HARASSING NIXON
WHEREVER THEY COULD.
CHANT:
ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR
WE DON'T WANT
YOUR FUCKING WAR!
NIXON: IF WE'RE GOING
TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER--
AS WE MUST
BRING THEM TOGETHER--
IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE PEACE
IN THE WORLD
IF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE
ARE GOING TO HAVE A FULFILLMENT
BEYOND SIMPLY
THOSE MATERIAL THINGS
THEY MUST TURN
TO THOSE GREAT SPIRITUAL SOURCES
THAT HAVE MADE AMERICA
THE GREAT COUNTRY THAT IT IS.
I'M PROUD TO BE HERE.
¶ GOD BLESS AMERICA
¶ LAND THAT I LOVE.
¶ STAND BESIDE HER
¶ AND GUIDE HER
¶ THROUGH THE NIGHT
WITH THE LIGHT FROM ABOVE.
¶ FROM THE MOUNTAINS
¶ TO THE PRAIRIES
¶ TO THE OCEANS
WHITE WITH FOAM
¶ GOD BLESS AMERICA
¶ MY HOME SWEET HOME.
¶ GOD BLESS AMERICA
MY HOME..SWEET...HOME. ¶
ANNOUNCER:
THIS IS NBC NEWS.
NIXON:
I PROPOSE
THAT ALL ARMED FORCES
THROUGHOUT INDOCHINA
CEASE FIRING THEIR WEAPONS
AND REMAIN IN THE POSITIONS
THEY NOW HOLD.
THIS WOULD BE
A CEASE-FIRE IN PLACE.
I DO NOT MINIMIZE THE DIFFICULTY
OF MAINTAINING A CEASE-FIRE
IN A GUERRILLA WAR.
BUT AN UNCONVENTIONAL WAR
MAY REQUIRE
AN UNCONVENTIONAL TRUCE.
NARRATOR:
BY IMPLICATION
A CEASE-FIRE IN PLACE WOULD
LEAVE NORTH VIETNAMESE TROOPS
IN THE SOUTH.
HANOI'S LEADERS
DID NOT RESPOND.
IMPATIENT SENATORS URGED
ENDING THE WAR IN NINE MONTHS.
THE ONLY POSSIBLE EXCUSE
FOR THE CONTINUING
DISCREDITED POLICY
OF VIETNAMIZATION--
SEEMS TO BE
THE PRESIDENT'S INTENTION
TO PLAY HIS LAST GREAT CARD
FOR PEACE
AT A TIME CLOSER
TO NOVEMBER, 1972.
I CANNOT BELIEVE
AND I DO NOT BELIEVE
THAT MOST OF OUR COUNTRYMEN
BELIEVE
THAT A PLAN FOR PEACE
NECESSITATES
BOMBING FOUR COUNTRIES,
INVADING TWO
IN ORDER TO GET OUT OF ONE.
THERE ARE MANY TODAY
WHO ARE DISENCHANTED
WITH THE CONFLICT.
THERE WERE VERY FEW
AT THE OUTSET--
EITHER REPUBLICANS
OR DEMOCRATS--
WHO OPPOSED
THE EVER-DEEPENING INVOLVEMENT--
INDEED, WHO DID NOT SUPPORT
OR ACQUIESCE IN IT.
NARRATOR:
ANTI-WAR SENTIMENTS GREW
AMONG ACADEMICS
AND OPINION LEADERS.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
PUBLISHED
THE STOLEN
"PENTAGON PAPERS"--
A SECRET HISTORY
OF OFFICIAL WAR DECISIONS.
WE WENT INTO VIETNAM
ON THE WHEELS OF THE SAME POLICY
AND FOR MANY
OF THE SAME REASONS
THAT WE HAD GONE INTO KOREA
A DECADE AND A HALF EARLIER.
WE DID SO, HOWEVER,
ALMOST AS AN HABITUATED RESPONSE
WITH FAR LESS UNDERSTANDING
OF THE ACTUAL SITUATION
IN INDOCHINA--
UNMINDFUL OF THE CHANGES
IN THIS NATION, IN ASIA
AND IN THE WORLD.
VIETNAM WAS A MISTAKE--
A TRAGIC MISTAKE.
TO PERSIST IN IT NOW
IS TO ADD OUTRAGE
TO THE SACRIFICES OF THOSE
WHO HAVE SUFFERED
AND WHO HAVE DIED
IN THIS CONFLICT.
TO PERSIST IN IT NOW
IS TO DO VIOLENCE
TO THE WELFARE OF THE NATION.
NARRATOR:
NIXON'S ENVOYS
WERE A FAMILIAR SIGHT
ON SAIGON'S BOULEVARDS.
BUT HENRY KISSINGER CONCEALED
FROM SOUTH VIETNAM
THAT HE HAD BEEN SECRETLY
MEETING WITH THE COMMUNISTS
SINCE AUGUST, 1969.
EVEN TOP U.S. OFFICIALS
HAD BEEN KEPT IN THE DARK.
MY FIRST INKLING
OF THE SECRET TALKS
CAME FROM CONVERSATIONS
THAT I HAD QUITE REGULARLY
ON THE SECURE TELEPHONE CIRCUIT
WITH PHIL HABIB
WHO WAS THE ACTING HEAD
OF OUR DELEGATION IN PARIS
THAT WAS MEETING
WITH THE VIETNAMESE.
HE AND I--
COMPARING NOTES
ON THE VARIOUS THINGS
THAT WERE OCCURRING--
CAME TO THE CONCLUSION
THAT THERE MUST BE
SOME SECRET TALKS TAKING PLACE
ELSEWHERE.
OUR CONCLUSION WAS
THAT THEY WERE BEING
CARRIED ON BY HENRY KISSINGER.
NARRATOR: THE ADVERSARY
IN THE SECRET TALKS
WAS LE DUC THO.
LE DUC THO HAD A TENDENCY
TO MAKE THE SAME SPEECH
EVERY DAY FOR MONTHS ON END
AND IT WAS SORT OF LIKE
A PRAYER SESSION
AT THE BEGINNING OF A MEETING
WHAT IT SYMBOLIZED WAS
THAT THEY HAD
ALL KINDS OF TIME--
THAT WE WERE GOING
TO HAVE TO COLLAPSE
LONG BEFORE THEY WOULD
EVEN THINK OF YIELDING.
NARRATOR:
FROM PEKING
A TELEVISION SPECTACULAR--
A DIPLOMATIC BOMBSHELL:
RICHARD NIXON--
HONORED GUEST OF THE NATION
HE ONCE ACCUSED
OF FOMENTING AGGRESSION
IN VIETNAM;
WITH MAO TSE TUNG--
THE COMMUNIST LEADER
HE ONCE REVILED.
RELATIONS BETWEEN
CHINA AND THE SOVIET UNION
WERE IN SHREDS.
BUT BOTH GAVE AID
TO NORTH VIETNAM.
COULD NIXON WIDEN THE RIFT
TO AMERICA'S ADVANTAGE?
BEFORE CHINA'S REVOLUTION
CHINA AND VIETNAM
HAD BEEN TRADITIONAL ENEMIES.
COULD CHINA BE INDUCED
TO ABANDON THE NORTH VIETNAMESE?
MR. PRIME MINISTER
OUR TWO PEOPLES TONIGHT HOLD
THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD
IN OUR HANDS.
AND AS WE THINK
OF THAT FUTURE
WE ARE DEDICATED
TO THE PRINCIPLE
THAT WE CAN BUILD A NEW WORLD.
NARRATOR:
NIXON OFFERED THE CHINESE
TRADE, RECOGNITION--
A COUNTERWEIGHT
TO THE RUSSIANS.
CHINA'S ISOLATION
WAS COMING TO AN END.
NIXON:
WE HAVE BEEN HERE A WEEK.
THIS WAS THE WEEK
THAT CHANGED THE WORLD.
NARRATOR:
ON MARCH 31, 1972
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE LAUNCHED
A NEW AND AMBITIOUS OFFENSIVE.
THEY POURED DIRECTLY ACROSS
THE 17th PARALLEL
INTO SOUTH VIETNAM.
REFUGEES AND SOUTH VIETNAMESE
TROOPS FLED BEFORE THEM.
BY APRIL 2
THE COMMUNISTS HAD CONQUERED
HALF OF QUANG TRI PROVINCE.
BY MAY 1,
THEY HAD TAKEN IT ALL.
AFTER THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
HAD TAKEN QUANG TRI
WE HAD A MEETING IN MAY, 1972
WHICH WE HAD NEGOTIATED
TO ARRANGE FOR MONTHS.
WHEN I ARRIVED THERE
ALL HE DID WAS
READ NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS TO ME.
WHEN I SAID I DIDN'T HAVE
TO COME THOUSANDS OF MILES
TO HEAR NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS
HE SAID:
"IF THEY'RE TRUE,
WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?"
NARRATOR:
THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE ARMY
WAS IN DISARRAY.
IN WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT NIXON
SEARCHED FOR A RESPONSE
THAT WOULD NOT REQUIRE
AMERICAN COMBAT TROOPS.
I WAS CALLED
BY THE PRESIDENT
AND HE QUESTIONED ME
ABOUT THE PROSPECTS
OF MINING HAIPHONG HARBOR.
I TOLD HIM
WE WERE ALL READY FOR THAT.
I HAD RECOMMENDED IT
AND I'D PERSONALLY MADE THE PLAN
MYSELF
EIGHT YEARS BEFORE.
SO THERE WAS
NO PLANNING NECESSARY.
AND CONSEQUENTLY
HIS NEXT REQUIREMENT
WAS TO ASK ME:
"CAN WE DO THIS
WITHOUT IT LEAKING?
"BECAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO BE
ANNOUNCING IT TO THE NATION
"ON THE TV
AT THE SAME INSTANT
THAT THE BOMBS WERE FALLING."
NARRATOR:
NIXON MINED HAIPHONG HARBOR
AND STEPPED UP THE BOMBING.
NEARLY 1,000 U.S. AIRCRAFT
POUNDED NORTH AND SOUTH VIETNAM.
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE OFFENSIVE
WAS BLUNTED.
KISSINGER:
THEN WE RESUMED NEGOTIATIONS.
AND LE DUC THO WAS
MUCH EASIER TO DEAL WITH
AND MADE MANY MORE CONCESSIONS
AFTER THAT.
NARRATOR: 12 DAYS AFTER
THE MINING AND THE BOMBING
PRESIDENT NIXON
WAS RECEIVED IN MOSCOW.
BREZHNEV'S REACTION
TO THE BOMBING OF HANOI
AND THE MINING OF HAIPHONG
WAS VERY TOUGH IN RHETORIC
AND REALLY INCONSEQUENTIAL
IN ACTION.
HE MADE MANY TOUGH STATEMENTS,
BUT HE NEVER DID ANYTHING.
THE FACT
THAT THE SOVIETS RECEIVED US
AFTER THE INTENSIFICATION
OF THE WAR ON NORTH VIETNAM
MUST HAVE CONTRIBUTED
TO THE SENSE OF ISOLATION
AND BELEAGUERMENT
OF HANOI.
NARRATOR: THE NIXON-KISSINGER
GLOBAL STRATEGY
S INTACT.
THE UNITED STATES
AND THE SOVIET UNION
SIGNED THE STRATEGIC ARMS
CONTROL TREATY.
NIXON FACED RE-ELECTION.
THE WAR IN VIETNAM
DRAGGED ON.
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE CLUNG
TO A KEY DEMAND:
THAT THE THIEU GOVERNMENT
IN SAIGON
MUST BE DISSOLVED.
THEN, AFTER MORE THAN FOUR YEARS
OF FIGHTING AND TALKING
A BREAKTHROUGH.
ON THE 8th OCTOBER, '72
LE DUC THO HAVE MAKE
A PROPOSAL.
IN THIS PROPOSAL,
WE HAVE DROPPED THE DEMAND
FOR DISSOLUTION
OF THIEU GOVERNMENT
AND WE PROPOSE
THAT THE THIEU GOVERNMENT
IN SOUTH VIETNAM
COEXIST.
THEY DROPPED THE DEMAND
THAT THIEU HAD TO RESIGN ON
OCTOBER 8
AND THAT,
AS FAR AS WE WERE CONCERNED
WAS THE BREAKTHROUGH.
I THINK
THAT THE PRINCIPAL ELEMENT
THAT WE BROUGHT TO IT
WAS THAT WE WERE PREPARED
TO SETTLE
FOR A CEASE-FIRE IN PLACE
AND THE RETURN
OF OUR PRISONERS OF WAR
IN EXCHANGE FOR THE REMOVAL
OF OUR MILITARY FORCES.
NARRATOR:
PEACE SEEMED NEAR.
NIXON TURNED
AGAINST HIS CRITICS.
(APPLAUSE)
AS YOU RECALL
I MADE THE DECISION
TO MINE THE HARBORS
TO BOMB MILITARY TARGETS
IN NORTH VIETNAM.
THAT DECISION
WAS THE RIGHT DECISION.
THOSE WHO PREDICTED
THAT IT WOULD LEAD
TO THE DISSOLUTION
OF THE SUMMIT
WERE THE LEADERS OF THE MEDIA.
THEY PROVED TO BE WRONG.
WHEN THAT DECISION WAS MADE
THERE WAS
PRECIOUS LITTLE SUPPORT
FROM ANY OF THE
SO-CALLED "OPINION LEADERS"
OF THIS COUNTRY
THAT I HAVE JUST DESCRIBED.
BUT WHAT WAS
THE MOST HEARTWARMING THING
TO ME
WAS THAT THOSE WHO HAD
SO MUCH AT STAKE--
THOSE WHO HAD SUFFERED SO MUCH--
THE GREAT MAJORITY OF THOSE
WHOSE HUSBANDS AND LOVED ONES
ARE P.O.W.s OR M.I.A.
STOOD BY THAT DECISION
AND I THANK YOU VERY MUCH
FOR THAT SUPPORT.
(APPLAUS
NARRATOR:
NIXON SENT HIS DIPLOMATS
TO SAIGON
WITH THE TEXT
OF THE SECRET AGREEMENT.
SO WE SAY,
"FINE, THANK YOU--
COULD WE SEE THE TEXT?"
AND WE WANT TO HAVE TIME
TO STUDY THE TEXT.
OF COURSE, THEY GAVE US THE TEXT
IN ENGLISH!
AND AT THAT TIME, I THOUGHT,
I SAY:
"IF OUR OPPOSITION KNEW
THAT RIGHT AT THIS MOMENT
"WE WERE DISCUSSING
THE FATE OF OUR COUNTRY
"IN A TEXT IN ENGLISH
"BOY, YOU KNOW,
IT WOULD BE SO BAD
THAT WE SHOULDN'T EVEN
THINK ABOUT IT!"
SO I SAID:
"WHERE IS
THE VIETNAMESE TEXT?"
"OH! WE FORGOT, AND..."
I SAY, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN,
YOU FORGOT?
"THE OTHER SIDE--
"I KNOW THEY DON'T PRESENT
A TEXT TO YOU IN ENGLISH!
"THERE IS SOMETHING
CALLED NATIONAL PRIDE
WHERE YOU PRESENT
YOUR OWN LANGUAGE!"
THEY SAID:
"OH--THIS IS
A GOOD TRANSLATION."
I SAY:
"YOU MEAN TO TELL ME
"AN AMERICAN UNDERSTAND
VIETNAMESE
" BETTER THAN A VIETNAMESE?
WE WANT TO SEE
THE VIETNAMESE TEXT."
THE ATMOSPHERE IN SAIGON
WHEN WE BROUGHT TO SAIGON
THE DRAFT OF THE TREATY
THAT WE HAD NEGOTIATED
WITH THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
WAS VERY, VERY TENSE
AND VERY UNPLEASANT.
AND THIS I ASCRIBE TO THE FACT
THAT IT CAME, PRETTY MUCH,
AS A COMPLETE SURPRISE
TO THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE.
THEY HAD BEEN BRIEFED
IN VERY GENERAL TERMS
BUT NO ONE HAD EVER BEEN
SO EXPLICIT AS TO SHOW THEM
SIGNIFICANT DRAFTS
OF TREATY LANGUAGE.
WE REALIZED
THAT THIS IS
A VERY BAD DOCUMENT
TO START WITH.
#2, IT DID NOT CHANGE IN ANY WAY
THE COMMUNIST POSITION--
IT WAS JUST WORDED DIFFERENTLY.
AND #3, THE FACT
THAT THE AMERICANS PRESENTED
TO US
AND TOLD US IT WAS THE BEST
THEY COULD HAVE OBTAINED
IS VERY OMINOUS
BECAUSE IT MEANS
THAT THE AMERICANS ARE OUT
TO PUSH US TO ACCEPT THAT.
THEY RAISED THE ISSUE
OF NORTH VIETNAMESE
TROOP WITHDRAWAL
AND ASKED WHY
THAT HAD NOT BEEN DEALT WITH
IN OUR DOCUMENT.
THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT
NEVER DID ACCEPT
TO HAVE
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE ARMY
STATIONED IN SOUTH VIETNAM.
ALL OF THE PROPOSALS
THAT WE MADE
TO THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
WERE SEEN AND APPROVED
BY THIEU.
SO THAT WAS NOT
A NEW PROPOSAL BY US
IN OCTOBER, '72.
WE SAY:
"WE'RE NOT GOING TO SIGN IT.
"SO PLEASE GO BACK
TO MR. NIXON
"TELL HIM
THAT WE CANNOT COOPERATE
ON THAT ONE."
NARRATOR: UNABLE TO PERSUADE
THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE TO SIGN
KISSINGER RETURNED HOME.
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE--
FEARING THAT THE SETTLEMENT
WAS IN JEOPARDY--
MADE THE AGREEMENT PUBLIC.
FOR A MOMENT, PUT YOURSELF
IN THE NORTH VIETNAMESE SHOES.
THEY HAD GONE THROUGH
THIS ENTIRE NEGOTIATING PROCESS.
THEY HAD REACHED AGREEMENT
WITH US.
THEY HAD EVEN BEGUN
GIVING INSTRUCTIONS
TO THEIR CADRE
TO PREPARE FOR A CEASE-FIRE.
SOME OF
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE LEADERS
MIGHT HAVE BEGUN TO THINK
THAT THEY HAD BEEN THE VICTIMS
OF THE BIGGEST CON JOB
IN HISTORY.
NARRATOR:
KISSINGER TRIED
TO REASSSURE AMERICA
AND BOTH VIETNAMS.
WE HAVE NO COMPLAINT
WITH THE GENERAL DESCRIPTION
OF EVENTS
AS IT WAS GIVEN
BY RADIO HANOI.
HOWEVER, THERE GREW UP
THE SEEDS
OF ONE PARTICULAR
MISUNDERSTANDING.
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE NEGOTIATORS
MADE THEIR PROPOSAL CONDITIONAL
ON THE SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM
BY OCTOBER 31.
WE DID AGREE
THAT WE WOULD MAKE
A MAJOR EFFORT
TO CONCLUDE NEGOTIATIONS
BY OCTOBER 31st.
AS FAR AS SAIGON IS CONCERNED
IT IS, OF COURSE, ENTITLED
TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SETTLEMENT
OF A WAR
FOUGHT ON ITS TERRITORY.
ITS PEOPLE HAVE SUFFERED MUCH.
AND THEY WILL REMAIN THERE
AFTER WE LEAVE.
WE BELIEVE
THAT PEACE IS AT HAND.
I THINK THE SPEECH,
"PEACE IS AT HAND"
IS FOR THE ELECTORS
AND FOR THE VOTERS
IN THE UNITED STATES--
TO SAY TO THEM
THAT THE VIETNAM QUESTION
IS NO MORE
SO THEY CAN ELECT NIXON
AS A HERO FOR PEACE.
NARRATOR:
AS EXPECTED
NIXON WON BY A LANDSLIDE
BUT FACED A HOSTILE CONGRESS.
THE NEGOTIATIONS RESUMED
AS LE DUC THO RETURNED TO PARIS.
HE FACED 69 CHANGES
DEMANDED BY SOUTH VIETNAM
PRESENTED BY KISSINGER
AND ALEXANDER HAIG--
AMONG THEM,
THE DEMAND
THAT NORTH VIETNAMESE TROOPS
LEAVE THE SOUTH.
I PRESENTED
THIEU'S LIST OF CHANGES
BECAUSE I FELT
I OWED IT TO HIM
AND, FRANKLY,
TO DEMONSTRATE
THAT MOST OF THEM
WERE UNATTAINABLE.
THE SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES
THAT WERE SUGGESTED
WERE NOT ALL THAT MANY
BUT TWO OR THREE OF THEM
WERE QUITE REAL.
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE DELEGATION
WAS INCLINED TO BE
A LITTLE SURLY, ANYWAY
AND I THINK
THIS JUST ACCELERATED
THE PROCESS OF DETERIORATION.
NARRATOR:
KISSINGER FLEW TO FLORIDA
TO SEE NIXON
WORRIED THAT THE NEGOTIATIONS
MIGHT COLLAPSE.
HE SPOKE OF RESIGNING.
THE NORTH
WAS AGAIN INTRANSIGENT.
IN SOUTH VIETNAM, TOO
THE AGREEMENT
WAS STILL UNACCEPTABLE.
IN ORDER TO REASSURE SAIGON
WE HAD LAUNCHED
A MAJOR RE-SUPPLY PROGRAM
CALLED
"OPERATION ENHANCE PLUS"
WHERE WE PROVIDED
SEVERAL BILLION
ADDITIONAL DOLLARS
OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT
TO THE SAIGON GOVERNMENT.
IF, IN THE POLITBURO
IN HANOI
IT HAD BEEN A CLOSE DECISION
IN THE FIRST PLACE
TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT
PERHAPS, AFTER THE DEVELOPMENTS
OF OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER
THEY WERE HAVING
REAL SECOND THOUGHTS.
SULLIVAN:
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE ENGAGED
IN A NUMBER OF DILATORY TACTICS.
ONE OF THEM WAS THE QUESTION
OF TYING
THE RELEASE
OF PRISONERS OF WAR
TO THE RELEASE
OF CIVILIANS IN THE SOUTH.
BUT THERE WERE OTHERS--
ALL OF WHICH GENERALLY RENEGED
ON ARRANGEMENTS
THAT THEY HAD PREVIOUSLY MADE
AND WHICH WERE SIGNIFICANT
TO THE TEXT.
NARRATOR:
IN THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE
PARLIAMENT
PRESIDENT THIEU
DENOUNCED THE AGREEMENT
BEFORE U.S. AMBASSADOR BUNKER.
THIEU:
THE ESSENTIAL BASIS IS
THAT THE NORTH VIETNAMESE TROOPS
SHOULD WITHDRAW TOTALLY;
THEN, THE INTERNAL
POLITICAL SOLUTION
OF SOUTH VIETNAM
SHOULD BE LEFT
FOR THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE PEOPLE
ALONE.
WE ARE NOT CONTINUING A WAR
IN ORDER TO GIVE TOTAL VICTORY
TO OUR ALLIES.
WE WANT TO GIVE THEM
A REASONABLE OPPORTUNITY
TO PARTICIPATE
IN A POLITICAL STRUGGLE.
BUT WE ALSO WILL NOT MAKE
A SETTLEMENT
WHICH IS
A DISGUISED FORM OF VICTORY
FOR THE OTHER SIDE.
AFTER OCTOBER
KISSINGER REFUSED
TO GO BACK TO VIETNAM.
SO HAIG CAME
AND WE WERE TOLD COUNTLESS TIMES
BY HIM, BY AMBASSADOR BUNKER
THAT WE SHOULD MODIFY
OUR POSITION.
THEY HAD OBTAINED SOME CHANGES
TO PLEASE US
BUT THEY COULDN'T GET
EVERYTHING WE WANTED.
WE SAID:
"WELL, THERE ARE STILL
SUBSTANTIAL ISSUES
"THAT ARE NOT RESOLVED
AND WE ARE NOT GOING
TO SIGN IT."
AND WHEN WE WERE THREATENED
OF BRUTAL REACTION, WE SAID:
"WE KNOW
WHAT BRUTAL REACTION MEANS--
WE ACCEPT THEM."
IT WAS A CALCULATED MOVE
FROM OUR PART.
WE SAID:
"THE U.S. HAS TWO OPTIONS:
"EITHER DO SOMETHING DRASTIC
IN SOUTH VIETNAM
OR BOMB THE NORTH."
NARRATOR:
IN PARIS
KISSINGER'S TALKS
WITH NORTH VIETNAM
SEEMED TO BE COLLAPSING.
SULLIVAN:
WE WARNED THEM
THAT OUR PRESIDENT WOULD RESUME
BOMBING OF THE NORTH.
THEY SEEMED NOT TO BELIEVE
THE NATURE OF THIS THREAT.
THEY SEEMED TO BELIEVE
THAT THE PRESIDENT
WOULD BE INHIBITED
FROM THE BOMBING
BECAUSE THE ELECTORAL TREND
IN THE UNITED STATES
HAD BROUGHT IN A CONGRESS
THAT WAS GOING TO OPPOSE BOMBING
AND BECAUSE
THE GENERAL ATTITUDE WAS OPPOSED
TO RESUMPTION
OF THE BOMBING.
NARRATOR:
NORTH VIETNAM'S LEADERS
MADE READY
FOR THE ANTICIPATED ATTACK.
HANOI'S POPULATION--
SWOLLEN WITH REFUGEES
FROM OTHER BOMBED TOWNS--
HAD TO BE EVACUATED.
BY DECEMBER 16
1/3 OF
THE ESTIMATED POPULATION--
HALF A MILLION PEOPLE--
HAD LEFT.
THE SOVIET-MADE
SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILES--
"SAMS"--
WERE READY
FOR THE AMERICAN BOMBERS.
MIKE CONNERS:
IT WAS FRIGHTENING
GOING TO HANOI--
THE MOST HEAVILY DEFENDED
MISSILE COMPLEX IN THE WORLD--
YOU'RE PRETTY SCARED.
SOME PEOPLE DIDN'T WANT TO GO.
BUT IT WAS VERY INTERESTING--
I WAS TOLD
THAT THE ROLLS
OF THE SICK PEOPLE
DECREASED.
PEOPLE WERE FIGHTING TO GET OFF
OF THEIR TEMPORARY SICK STATUS
SO THEY COULD GO.
BECAUSE NOBODY WANTED
TO BE LEFT BEHIND.
NARRATOR:
ON DECEMBER 18
B-52 BOMBERS WERE OVER
HANOI AND HAIPHONG.
CONNERS:
FOR MILES AND MILES
YOU COULD SEE
LITTLE FIRECRACKERS GOING OFF.
AND IT WAS VERY OBVIOUS
THAT THOSE WERE SAMS
BEING SHOT UP.
AND AT FIRST,
YOU WERE VERY AFRAID
BECAUSE YOU WANTED TO MOVE AWAY
FROM EVERY ONE YOU SAW.
BUT AFTER YOU CALMED DOWN,
YOU KIND OF IGNORED IT.
WE HEARD THE BOMBS
START HITTING
AND WE THOUGHT:
"THIS IS THE FIRST TIME
"THEY'VE BOMBED THE NORTH
IN A LONG TIME!"
WHEN WE HEARD
THE BOMBS START LANDING
A HALF-A-MILE SHORT
OF THE PRISON
AND WALK RIGHT BY US
IN A STRING
WE KNEW IT HAD TO BE BOMBERS
BECAUSE FIGHTERS DON'T CARRY
THAT MANY BOMBS.
AND THE JUBILATION
WAS UNBELIEVABLE--
PEOPLE HOLLERING AND SHOUTING.
AND A VIETNAMESE GUARD, EXCITED,
AND POKING HIS GUN IN THE DOOR
AND TELLING US
TO GET UNDER OUR BUNKS.
ONE OF THEM LOOKED IN THE DOOR
AND SAID:
"YOU KNOW
THEY ARE TRYING TO KILL YOU."
I SAID:
"THEY'RE NOT TRYING
TO KILL ME--
THEY'RE TRYING TO KILL YOU."
MOORER: THE TARGETS SELECTED
IN THE 1972 CHRISTMAS BOMBING
CONSISTED ENTIRELY
OF MILITARY TARGETS.
THEY WOULD CONSIST OF WAREHOUSES
COMMAND AND CONTROL STATIONS
MISSILE SITES
AMMUNITION STORAGE,
COMMUNICATIONS SITES--
THINGS OF THAT KIND.
THE ACCUSATION
THAT WE WERE CONDUCTING
CARPET BOMBING
OF COURSE,
IS ABSOLUTELY FALSE.
FOR THAT MATTER
HAD WE CONDUCTED
CARPET BOMBING
I THINK THAT THERE WOULDN'T BE
A HANOI TODAY.
NARRATOR:
ON DECEMBER 22
AMERICAN BOMBS HIT
HANOI'S BACH MAI HOSPITAL
FOR A SECOND TIME.
THEIR TARGET MAY HAVE BEEN
A SMALL MILITARY AIRFIELD
NEARBY.
DR. NGUYEN LUAN: CRIES AND MOANS
FILLED THE DARK NIGHT.
WE HAD TO USE
KNIVES, HAMMERS AND SHOVELS
TO BREAK THROUGH
THE CONCRETE WALLS
IN ORDER TO GET TO THE VICTIMS
TRAPPED INSIDE.
AS A SURGEON,
I OPERATE ON PEOPLE
TO SAVE THEIR LIVES.
NOW I WAS USING
MY SURGICAL KNIFE
NOT TO SAVE PEOPLE
BUT TO CUT APART THE CORPSES
IN THE BOMB SHELTER
SO WE COULD RESCUE THOSE
STILL ALIVE.
NARRATOR:
THE PRESIDENT ORDERED
A ONE-DAY BOMBING HALT
FOR CHRISTMAS DAY.
ON DECEMBER 26
THE B-52s RESUMED
THEIR MISSIONS.
THE MASSIVE NEW RAIDS
HAD PERSONALLY BEEN ORDERED
BY PRESIDENT NIXON.
HIS MAIN CON@RN,
HE SAID
WAS NOT DOMESTIC
AND INTERNATIONAL CRITICISM
BUT HIGH B-52 LOSSES.
SOME OF THE BOMBS HIT
A HANOI RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT.
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
BELIEVED
THAT THE RAIDS WERE
A DELIBERATE ACT OF TERROR.
THE SHELTER COLLAPSED ON ME.
THE NEXT MORNING
I WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL.
ONLY LATER ON DID I LEARN
THAT FIVE MEMBERS OF MY FAMILY
HAD BEEN KILLED:
MY MOTHER,
MY SISTER AND HER HUSBAND
MY OLDER BROTHER,
MY YOUNGER BROTHER.
THE MOST HEART-BREAKING SIGHT
WAS IN SON-QUAN ALLEY.
A WHOLE FAMILY OF SEVEN--
HUSBAND AND WIFE
AND FIVE CHILDREN--
HAD BEEN KILLED.
THE OLDEST CHILD WAS 20,
THE YOUNGEST, TWO.
THE WHOLE FAMILY
WAS WIPED OUT.
IT WAS EXTREMELY PAINFUL
TO SEE.
THE SITE OF THEIR HOUSE
IS STILL AN EMPTY LOT.
WHAT AN OUTRAGE!
A FAMILY OF SEVEN
COMPLETELY WIPED OUT!
NARRATOR:
THE 11-DAY CHRISTMAS BOMBINGS
WERE COMPARED
TO THE ATOMIC BLAST ON HIROSHIMA
IN WORLD WAR II.
AND THE TONNAGE OF BOMBS DROPPED
ON THE HANOI-HAIPHONG AREA
WAS ACTUALLY GREATER.
BUT THE TARGETS
WERE MORE DISPERSED.
THE DEATHS WERE FAR FEWER.
IN HANOI,
THEY TOTALLED 1,318.
KISSINGER:
NIXON WAS OF THE VIEW
THAT SOMETHING SHOCKING
HAD TO BE DONE.
THAT WAS NOT MY VIEW
AT THE TIME
BUT I DIDN'T DISAGREE WITH IT
AND I THINK
NIXON TURNED OUT TO BE RIGHT.
AFTER THE CHRISTMAS BOMBING
THE FIRST DAY THAT LE DUC THO
AND KISSINGER HAD TO MEET
IN PARIS
AFTER SHAKING HAND
KISSINGER HAD TOLD LE DUC THO
THAT:
"I AM VERY SORRY
"I COULD NOT PREVENT
THE DECISION OF THE PRESIDENT
"OF BOMBING UP
TO NORTH VIETNAM
ON CHRISTMAS DAY."
SO LE DUC THO SAY THAT:
"I KNOW
WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE.
"ALL YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE.
AND YOU ARE CRIMINALS."
PUBLICLY, HE REFUSED
TO SHAKE HANDS WITH ME.
AND IN ALL THE PICTURES
THAT WERE TAKEN
HE NEVER APPEARED WITH ME.
BUT INSIDE
THE NEGOTIATING ROOM
HE MOVED AT TREMENDOUS SPEED
AND WITH AS MUCH HUMAN WARMTH
AS HE WAS CAPABLE OF GENERATING
TOWARDS A CAPITALIST.
IT WAS
A VERY SOMBER MEETING--
NO JOLLITY, NO JOKING,
AS USUALLY WENT ON.
AND WHENEVER
POINTS WERE PRESSED
AND OUR PATIENCE
WAS RUNNING THIN
THEY EITHER MADE
A CONCESSION THERE
OR MOVED RAPIDLY ON.
NARRATOR:
ON JANUARY 11
KISSINGER CABLED NIXON
THAT THE AGREEMENT WAS READY.
THE TERMS WERE ALMOST IDENTICAL
TO THOSE LAID DOWN IN OCTOBER.
LE DUC THO
AND THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
WERE PREPARED TO SIGN.
THE AGREEMENT AFFIRMED
THAT SOUTH VIETNAM
WAS ONE COUNTRY
WITH TWO GOVERNMENTS.
THERE WERE TO BE MOVES
TOWARD RECONCILIATION.
PRISONERS OF WAR
WOULD BE RELEASED.
AMERICAN TROOPS
WOULD LEAVE.
NORTHERN FORCES COULD REMAIN
IN THE SOUTH.
PRESIDENT NIXON SENT
ALEXANDER HAIG
AND JOHN NEGROPONTE
TO SAIGON
WITH THE NEWS
OF AMERICA'S DECISION.
WE MADE IT QUITE CLEAR
THAT THIS TIME
WE REALLY PLANNED
TO GO THROUGH
WITH SIGNING THE AGREEMENT
WHETHER THEY INTENDED TO JOIN US
OR NOT.
¶ MINE EYES
HAVE SEEN THE GLORY...¶
NARRATOR:
LYNDON JOHNSON--
THE PRESIDENT WHO HAD FIRST SENT
U.S. COMBAT TROOPS TO VIETNAM
EIGHT YEARS EARLIER
DIED THE DAY BEFORE
THE AGREEMENT WAS SIGNED.
¶...OF THE COMING
OF THE LORD.
¶ HE IS TRAMPLING OUT
THE VINTAGE
¶ WHERE THE GRAPES OF WRATH
ARE STORED.
¶ HE HATH LOOSED
THE FATEFUL LIGHTNING
OF HIS TERRIBLE
SWIFT SWORD...¶
NARRATOR:
58,000 AMERICAN TROOPS
HAD DIED IN VIETNAM.
¶...HIS TRUTH
IS MARCHING ON. ¶
NARRATOR:
ON JANUARY 27, 1973
ALL PARTIES SIGNED
THE PEACE AGREEMENT.
HANOI CELEBRATED
WITH FIREWORKS.
IT WAS ALSO TET--
THE VIETNAMESE NEW YEAR.
BUT TO THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
AND VIET CONG
THE STRUGGLE HAD NOT ENDED.
VIETNAM WAS STILL DIVIDED.
THE WAR WE HAVE FOUGHT
FOR SO MANY YEARS
CONTINUES.
IT IS THE SAME WAR FOR PEACE
AND AT THE SAME TIME,
FOR INDEPENDENCE, FREEDOM
AND THE PEACEFUL UNIFICATION
OF OUR NATIVE LAND.
NARRATOR:
NEARLY 600 AMERICAN AIRMEN
HAD BEEN TAKEN PRISONER
DURING THE COURSE OF THE WAR.
MANY HAD BEEN HELD
IN WHAT THEY CALLED
"THE HANOI HILTON."
NOW THEY WERE GOING HOME.
THE VIETNAMESE
PHOTOGRAPHED THEIR DEPARTURE.
THEY CALLED THE FILM,
"GOODBYE, UNINVITED GUESTS."
NORTH VIETNAMESE PRISONERS
WERE ALSO BEING RELEASED.
AS THEY CROSSED THE RIVER
THAT DIVIDED VIETNAM
THEY DISCARDED THE CLOTHING
ISSUED TO THEM
BY THE
SOUTH VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT
THAT THEY HAD FOUGHT--
A GOVERNMENT
WHOSE FUTURE
WAS STILL IN DOUBT.
CAPTIONED BY
THE CAPTION CENTER
WGBH BOSTON
OF THE UNITED STATES SHOULD BE.
THAT GOAL CAN BE NOTHING LESS
THAN VICTORY.
WHAT IS INVOLVED HERE
IS, IN EFFECT, TO LET
THE RED CHINESE KNOW IN VIETNAM
AS WE, IN EFFECT, LET
KHRUSHCHEV KNOW
IN THE CONFRONTATION IN CUBA
THAT THE UNITED STATES
WILL NOT STAND BY
AND ALLOW ANY POWER,
HOWEVER GREAT
TAKE OVER ANOTHER COUNTRY
BY AGGRESSION.
A RETREAT BY THE UNITED STATES
FROM VIETNAM
WOULD BE A COMMUNIST VICTORY
AND WOULD LEAD TO WORLD WAR 3.
CAPTIONING OF THIS PROGRAM
WAS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART
BY THE CORPORATION
FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
AND PUBLIC TELEVISION STATIONS.
NARRATOR:
BY EARLY 1968
AMERICA HAD DROPPED
ALMOST 3 MILLION TONS OF BOMBS
ON VIETNAM--
TWICE THE TONNAGE DROPPED
ON GERMANY AND JAPAN
IN WORLD WAR 2.
AMERICA WAS TRYING
TO STOP NORTH VIETNAM
FROM SENDING SOLDIERS
AND SUPPLIES TO THE SOUTH--
TRYING TO FORCE
THE COMMUNIST LEADERS IN HANOI
TO GIVE UP THEIR LONG-HELD GOAL
OF A UNIFIED VIETNAM.
AFTER THE IMPACT OF THE 1968
COMMUNIST TET OFFENSIVE
PEACE TALKS BEGAN.
WE ALL WENT
AND STAYED IN HOL ROOMS
RATHER THAN RENTING APARTMENTS.
IT DIDN'T OCCUR TO ANY OF US
THAT FIVE OR SIX YEARS LATER
THERE WOULD STILL BE
A DELEGATION IN PARIS
STILL GOING OVER VERY MUCH
OF THE SAME GROUND.
WHEN WE FIRST ARRIVED
THERE WAS AN ATMOSPHERE
OF HEIGHTENED EXPECTATION
OF EARLY PROGRESS.
NARRATOR:
THE AMERICANS BROUGHT IN
SOUTH VIETNAMESE
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS.
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE BROUGHT IN
THE NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT,
THE VIET CONG--
THE COMMUNIST-LED MOVEMENT
IN THE SOUTH.
THE NEGOTIATIONS
WERE VERY STEREOTYPED
AND WERE NOT NEGOTIATIONS
IN THE CLASSIC SENSE
OF THE WORD.
THERE WASN'T THE KIND OF GIVE
AND TAKE THAT YOU WOULD HAVE
IN A LABOR NEGOTIATION
OR A BUSINESS NEGOTIATION
OR EVEN IN A MORE NORMAL
INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATION.
THEY TENDED TO FOLLOW
A VERY SET PATTERN:
ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER WOULD
MAKE A PREPARED STATEMENT
AND THEN THE OTHER SIDE WOULD
REPLY WITH A PREPARED STATEMENT
AND THEN THERE WOULD BE
A LITTLE BIT OF GIVE AND TAKE.
NARRATOR:
AS THE DIPLOMATS HAGGLED
OVER THE POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS
OF THE SEATING ARRANGEMENTS
PRESIDENT JOHNSON PREPARED
TO LEAVE OFFICE.
JOHNSON:
WE WANT PEACE VERY MUCH.
WE'VE BEEN DOING ALL WE COULD
FOR SEVERAL MONTHS
TO TRY TO BRING ABOUT
SOME KIND OF AN UNDERSTANDING
THAT WOULD RESULT
IN SUBSTANTIVE DISCUSSIONS
AND ULTIMATE SETTLEMENT
OF THE SOUTHEAST ASIA PROBLEM.
NARRATOR: A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE
AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
JOHNSON HALTED ALL BOMBING
OF NORTH VIETNAM.
IF, AFTER ALL OF THIS TIME
THERE IS STILL NO END IN SIGHT
THEN I SAY THE TIME HAS COME
FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
TO TURN TO NEW LEADERSHIP.
I PLEDGE TO YOU
WE SHALL HAVE AN HONORABLE END
TO THE WAR IN VIETNAM.
NARRATOR: BY A NARROW MARGIN,
NIXON WON.
IN PARIS,
THE PEACE TALKS DRAGGED ON.
IN VIETNAM,
THE WAR CONTINUED.
THE WEAPONS WERE
VIET CONG ROCKETS.
THE VICTIMS WERE
DANANG CIVILIANS.
THE 1968 TET OFFENSIVE HAD HIT
SOUTH VIETNAM'S CITIES AND TOWNS
BUT NOW THE MAIN FIGHTING HAD
SHIFTED BACK TO THE COUNTRYSIDE.
MORE THAN HALF A MILLION
AMERICAN SOLDIERS
WERE STILL IN VIETNAM.
FOUR YEARS
SINCE AMERICAN COMBAT TROOPS
HAD LANDED IN VIETNAM
THE DENSELY POPULATED
MEKONG DELTA
WAS STILL FAR FROM PACIFD.
DURING THE FIRST SIX MONTHS
OF 1969
AN AVERAGE
OF MORE THAN 800 AMERICANS
WERE WOUNDED EACH WEEK.
EACH WEEK, MORE THAN 200
AMERICANS WERE KILLED.
EACH WEEK, MORE THAN 450
OF THEIR SOUTH VIETNAMESE ALLIES
DIED
ALONGSIDE THEM.
EACH DAY, MORE THAN 500
NORTH VIETNAMESE AND VIET CONG
WERE COUNTED DEAD.
I THINK ALL OF US HAVE HAD
A GREAT DEAL OF CONFIDENCE
IN THOSE
WHO HEAD OUR GOVERNMENT
THAT THEY WOULD NOT
LET US DOWN
AND THAT THIS WOULD NOT BE
A NEVER-ENDING WAR.
YES, IN OUR SOCIETY
WE MUST HAVE FAITH
IN OTHER PEOPLE--
WE MUST HAVE FAITH
IN OUR SYSTEM.
IT IS NOT ENOUGH FOR US TO PLACE
CONFIDENCE MERELY IN OURSELVES
BECAUSE WE ARE NOT
THAT POWERFUL.
I WOULD SAY
THAT WE ARE PROBABLY
INCURABLE OPTIMISTS
AS AMERICANS.
NARRATOR:
IN JULY, 1969
PRESIDENT NIXON HAD GOOD NEWS
FOR THE TROOPS:
THEY COULD SOON GO HOME
AND LEAVE THE FIGHTING
TO THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE.
HE CALLED THE POLICY
"VIETNAMIZATION."
MELVIN LAIRD:
THE POLICY OF VIETNAMIZATION
WAS TO TURN OVER
THE RESPONSIBILITY
FOR THE GROUND COMBAT
AND AIR COMBAT
TO THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE.
IT WAS A POLICY OF GIVING THEM
THE EQUIPMENT AND THE TRAINING
SO THAT THEY COULD FOLLOW UP
THEIR RESPONSIBILITY
TO THEIR COUNTRY.
YOU CANNOT GUARANTEE THE WILL
OF ANY COUNTRY
BUT YOU CAN GIVE THEM
THE TOOLS.
NARRATOR:
THE SAIGON ADMINISTRATION FACED
A NEW POLITICAL CHALLENGE--
THE VIET CONG PROCLAIMED
THEMSELVES
THE PROVISIONAL
REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT.
WE MADE UP OUR MINDS
FROM THE BEGINNING
THAT WE WERE GOING TO TRY
TO DISENGAGE FROM VIETNAM.
AND ALL OF THE DEBATES
AFTERWARDS
WERE ABOUT
RATES OF DISENGAGEMENT--
NOT ABOUT
THE FACT OF DISENGAGEMENT.
THE PRESSURES WERE ON
AS FAR AS THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
WERE CONCERNED.
THE PRESSURES WERE ON
AS FAR AS THE CONGRESS
WAS CONCERNED
AND IF WE WOULDN'T HAVE MOVED
IN THE DIRECTION
OF VIETNAMIZATION
OUR WHOLE MILITARY-FORCE
STRUCTURE
WOULD HAVE BEEN DESTROYED
IN THE UNITED STATES
AND WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE
TO MEET THE NATO COMMITMENTS,
WHICH WERE TREATY COMMITMENTS.
THE MAJOR PREOCCUPATION
OF KISSINGER AND NIXON
WAS U.S./SOVIET RELATIONS.
THEY BELIEVED
THAT WORLD PEACE DEPENDED
ON GETTING THE SOVIET UNION
INTO A RELATIONSHIP
WITH THE UNITED STATES
SO THAT IT CEASED TO DO THINGS
WHICH THREATENED
AMERICAN SECURITY INTERESTS.
AND IT WAS IN THIS CONTEXT
THAT THEY APPROACHED
EVERY ISSUE.
KISSINGER WAS FOND OF SAYING
THAT WE INHERITED
500,000 TROOPS IN VIETNAM--
WE DIDN'T PUT THEM THERE.
¶ HOME, I'M COMING HOME
COMING HOME,
FROM ACROSS THE SEA. ¶
NARRATOR:
FOR THE CAMERAS
U.S. TROOPS CELEBRATED
THEIR DEPARTURE.
¶ HOME, I'M COMING HOME
¶ NO MORE MARCHING
AND FIGHTING FOR ME.
¶ I AM A SOLDIER,
A COMING HOME SOLDIER
¶ NO PURPLE HEART
DO I WEAR ON MY CHEST.
¶ I AM A SOLDIER,
A COMING HOME SOLDIER
¶ I KNOW THAT I,
I'VE DONE MY BEST.
¶ I'M COMING HOME,
I'M COMING
¶ I'M COMING HOME,
I'M COMING
H-O-M-E. ¶
(APPLAUSE)
NARRATOR:
AS THE AMERICAN TROOPS LEFT
NIXON STEPPED UP
AIR AND ARTILLERY ATTACKS.
BOY:
AFTER THE BOMBERS LEFT
WE CLIMBED OUT
OF THE SHELTER.
OUR TEACHER TOLD US
TO GO HOME AND REST.
BUT WHEN WE WENT BACK
TO THE VILLAGE
WE SAW THAT THE BAMBOO GROVES
AND OTHER TREES
HAD ALL BEEN BURNT
BY THE BOMBING.
BUFFALOES AND CATTLE
WERE KILLED.
NARRATOR: USED ON VIETNAM--
EXPLOSIVES, DEFOLIANTS
FRAGMENTATION BOMBS, NAPALM.
HUNDREDS OF MILES OF TUNNELS
WERE DUG
TO SHELTER FACTORIES
AND HOMES.
THE SONGS AND POETRY
OF HO CHI MINH
PROMISED VICTORY
AND INDEPENDENCE.
THE AMERICANS
AND THE AMERICAN-SPONSORED
GOVERNMENT IN THE SOUTH
WOULD BE DEFEATED.
KOREAN, AUSTRALIAN, THAI
AND OTHER TROOPS
WOULD BE DRIVEN OUT.
"WE WILL REBUILD OUR LAND
TEN TIMES MORE BEAUTIFUL"
CLAIMED HO CHI MINH.
HE WAS REALLY VERY ILL
BY THE END OF 1968.
IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT FOR HIM
TO MOVE ABOUT.
AND YET, COMRADE HO CHI MINH
PATIENTLY CONTINUED
HIS EXERCISE
AND HIS WALKS.
EARLY IN 1969
HE WAS STILL VISITING
THE VILLAGES
BUT HIS HEALTH DETERIORATED
AFTER THAT
ALTHOUGH HE CONTINUED TO WORK.
NARRATOR:
HO CHI MINH DIED
ON SEPTEMBER 3, 1969.
TUU KY:
HE SAID
HE WAS ONLY GOING TO VISIT LENIN
AND HIS OTHER PREDECESSORS.
AND BY THE WORD "PREDECESSORS,"
HE COULD HAVE MEANT
THAT HE WAS GOING TO VISIT
PAST VIETNAMESE LEADERS.
NARRATOR: VIETNAM'S
COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER--
LE DUAN--
DELIVERED THE EULOGY.
THIS WAS SO PAINFUL
TO THE NATION
AND TO ME PERSONALLY
THAT I CANNOT FIND THE WORDS
TO DESCRIBE IT.
BUT TO US
IT WAS NOT JUST
A PAINFUL EVENT.
WE ALSO FACED
THE PROBLEM--
HOW TO CONTINUE HIS WORK--
HOW TO ACCOMPLISH
ALL THE THINGS
HE WANTED US TO ACHIEVE.
NARRATOR:
AMERICAN TROOPS--
SOME JUST RETURNED
FROM VIETNAM--
WERE DEPLOYED TO WASHINGTON
TO PROTECT THE CAPITAL
AGAINST ANTI-WAR DEMONSTRATORS.
PEACE NOW!
PEACE NOW!
NARRATOR:
NIXON AND HIS AIDES--
CLAIMING THAT ANTI-WAR CRITICS
WERE HELPING THE COMMUNISTS--
ORDERED
ILLEGAL WIRETAPS
AND DREW UP A LIST
OF THEIR DOMESTIC "ENEMIES."
¶ ALL WE ARE SAYING
IS GIVE PEACE A CHANCE...¶
ARE YOU LISTENING, NIXON?
NARRATOR: IN A SINGLE
WASHINGTON DEMONSTRATION
A QUARTER OF A MILLION AMERICANS
DENOUNCED THE WAR.
ARE YOU LISTENING
IN THE PENTAGON?
¶ ALL WE ARE SAYING...¶
NARRATOR:
HANOI RADIO PUBLICIZED
THE PROTESTS.
IF 200 PEOPLE MARCHED
ON WASHINGTON
THEY MADE IT 200,000.
WE LEARNED
HOW TO DEAL WITH THE NUMBERS.
OF COURSE, EVERY PROTEST,
EVERY ANTI-WAR SPEECH
MADE BY A PERSON
SUCH AS McGOVERN
JANE FONDA, GALBRAITH--
ALL OF THOSE--
ONLY ENCOURGED THE VIETNAMESE,
PROLONGED THE WAR
WORSENED OUR CONDITION
AND COST THE LIVES
OF MORE AMERICANS
ON THE BATTLEFIELD.
SO MANY PEOPLE
IN AND OUT OF THE GOVERNMENT--
AND I WOULD PUT THE MEDIA
AT THE TOP OF THE LIST--
SEEM FAR MORE CONCERNED
ABOUT THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE
IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
THAN THEY WERE
THE LIVES OF THE YOUNG MEN
THAT WERE FIGHTING
FOR THEIR COUNTRY.
WHEN I WAS DESCRIBING
THE TORTURE OF THE P.O.W.s
IN NORTH VIETNAM
AMERICAN CITIZENS TOLD ME:
"THEY HAD NO BUSINESS
VOLUNTEERING."
NARRATOR:
DEFENSE SECRETARY LAIRD
WAS AHEAD OF THE TIMETABLE
FOR U.S. TROOP WITHDRAWAL.
BY APRIL, 1970
HE HAD REDUCED
THE FORCES IN VIETNAM
BY MORE THAN 100,000.
NIXON HAD RESUMED
FULL-SCALE BOMBING OF THE NORTH.
AMERICAN GENERALS
HAD ASKED LAIRD
TO ENDORSE A MAJOR OFFENSIVE
AGAINST COMMUNIST SANCTUARIES
IN CAMBODIA.
LAIRD OPPOSED THE USE
OF U.S. GROUND TROOPS.
NIXON MADE THE DECISION.
NIXON:
I HAVE CONCLUDED
THAT THE TIME HAS COME
FOR ACTION.
TONIGHT, AMERICAN
AND SOUTH VIETNAMESE UNITS
WILL ATTACK THE HEADQUARTERS
FOR THE ENTIRE
COMMUNIST MILITARY OPERATION
IN SOUTH VIETNAM.
THIS KEY CONTROL CENTER
HAS BEEN OCCUPIED
BY THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
AND THE VIET CONG
FOR FIVE YEARS
IN BLATANT VIOLATION
OF CAMBODIA'S NEUTRALITY.
THIS IS NOT
AN INVASION OF CAMBODIA.
NARRATOR: THE ACTION
FURTHER DIVIDED AMERICA.
ALL AMERICANS MAY NOT AGREE
WITH THE DECISION
A PRESIDENT MAKES
BUT HE IS OUR PRESIDENT.
NARRATOR:
EVANGELIST BILLY GRAHAM--
AN OLD FRIEND
AND SUPPORTER--
WHO ONCE TOLD NIXON:
"IT IS YOUR DESTINY
TO BE PRESIDENT."
MR. PRESIDENT
WE WELCOME YOU
AND MRS. NIXON.
WE HONOR YOU
AS OUR PRESIDENT
(APPLAUSE)
AND WE PRAY FOR YOU
THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE
TO GIVE YOU THE WISDOM
THE COURAGE AND THE FAITH
AS YOU BEAR
THE HEAVY RESPONSIBILITIES
OF YOUR OFFICE.
NARRATOR:
THREE WEEK EARLIER
FOUR STUDENTS
HAD BEEN SHOT DEAD
BY NATIONAL GUARDSMEN
DURING DEMONSTRATIONS
AT KENT STATE UNIVERSITY
IN OHIO.
CAMPUS PROTESTS
REACHED A PEAK.
POLLS SHOWED
THAT A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS
SUPPORTED ADMINISTRATION POLICY.
BUT OPPONENTS
CONTINUED THEIR PROTESTS
HARASSING NIXON
WHEREVER THEY COULD.
CHANT:
ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR
WE DON'T WANT
YOUR FUCKING WAR!
NIXON: IF WE'RE GOING
TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER--
AS WE MUST
BRING THEM TOGETHER--
IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE PEACE
IN THE WORLD
IF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE
ARE GOING TO HAVE A FULFILLMENT
BEYOND SIMPLY
THOSE MATERIAL THINGS
THEY MUST TURN
TO THOSE GREAT SPIRITUAL SOURCES
THAT HAVE MADE AMERICA
THE GREAT COUNTRY THAT IT IS.
I'M PROUD TO BE HERE.
¶ GOD BLESS AMERICA
¶ LAND THAT I LOVE.
¶ STAND BESIDE HER
¶ AND GUIDE HER
¶ THROUGH THE NIGHT
WITH THE LIGHT FROM ABOVE.
¶ FROM THE MOUNTAINS
¶ TO THE PRAIRIES
¶ TO THE OCEANS
WHITE WITH FOAM
¶ GOD BLESS AMERICA
¶ MY HOME SWEET HOME.
¶ GOD BLESS AMERICA
MY HOME..SWEET...HOME. ¶
ANNOUNCER:
THIS IS NBC NEWS.
NIXON:
I PROPOSE
THAT ALL ARMED FORCES
THROUGHOUT INDOCHINA
CEASE FIRING THEIR WEAPONS
AND REMAIN IN THE POSITIONS
THEY NOW HOLD.
THIS WOULD BE
A CEASE-FIRE IN PLACE.
I DO NOT MINIMIZE THE DIFFICULTY
OF MAINTAINING A CEASE-FIRE
IN A GUERRILLA WAR.
BUT AN UNCONVENTIONAL WAR
MAY REQUIRE
AN UNCONVENTIONAL TRUCE.
NARRATOR:
BY IMPLICATION
A CEASE-FIRE IN PLACE WOULD
LEAVE NORTH VIETNAMESE TROOPS
IN THE SOUTH.
HANOI'S LEADERS
DID NOT RESPOND.
IMPATIENT SENATORS URGED
ENDING THE WAR IN NINE MONTHS.
THE ONLY POSSIBLE EXCUSE
FOR THE CONTINUING
DISCREDITED POLICY
OF VIETNAMIZATION--
SEEMS TO BE
THE PRESIDENT'S INTENTION
TO PLAY HIS LAST GREAT CARD
FOR PEACE
AT A TIME CLOSER
TO NOVEMBER, 1972.
I CANNOT BELIEVE
AND I DO NOT BELIEVE
THAT MOST OF OUR COUNTRYMEN
BELIEVE
THAT A PLAN FOR PEACE
NECESSITATES
BOMBING FOUR COUNTRIES,
INVADING TWO
IN ORDER TO GET OUT OF ONE.
THERE ARE MANY TODAY
WHO ARE DISENCHANTED
WITH THE CONFLICT.
THERE WERE VERY FEW
AT THE OUTSET--
EITHER REPUBLICANS
OR DEMOCRATS--
WHO OPPOSED
THE EVER-DEEPENING INVOLVEMENT--
INDEED, WHO DID NOT SUPPORT
OR ACQUIESCE IN IT.
NARRATOR:
ANTI-WAR SENTIMENTS GREW
AMONG ACADEMICS
AND OPINION LEADERS.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
PUBLISHED
THE STOLEN
"PENTAGON PAPERS"--
A SECRET HISTORY
OF OFFICIAL WAR DECISIONS.
WE WENT INTO VIETNAM
ON THE WHEELS OF THE SAME POLICY
AND FOR MANY
OF THE SAME REASONS
THAT WE HAD GONE INTO KOREA
A DECADE AND A HALF EARLIER.
WE DID SO, HOWEVER,
ALMOST AS AN HABITUATED RESPONSE
WITH FAR LESS UNDERSTANDING
OF THE ACTUAL SITUATION
IN INDOCHINA--
UNMINDFUL OF THE CHANGES
IN THIS NATION, IN ASIA
AND IN THE WORLD.
VIETNAM WAS A MISTAKE--
A TRAGIC MISTAKE.
TO PERSIST IN IT NOW
IS TO ADD OUTRAGE
TO THE SACRIFICES OF THOSE
WHO HAVE SUFFERED
AND WHO HAVE DIED
IN THIS CONFLICT.
TO PERSIST IN IT NOW
IS TO DO VIOLENCE
TO THE WELFARE OF THE NATION.
NARRATOR:
NIXON'S ENVOYS
WERE A FAMILIAR SIGHT
ON SAIGON'S BOULEVARDS.
BUT HENRY KISSINGER CONCEALED
FROM SOUTH VIETNAM
THAT HE HAD BEEN SECRETLY
MEETING WITH THE COMMUNISTS
SINCE AUGUST, 1969.
EVEN TOP U.S. OFFICIALS
HAD BEEN KEPT IN THE DARK.
MY FIRST INKLING
OF THE SECRET TALKS
CAME FROM CONVERSATIONS
THAT I HAD QUITE REGULARLY
ON THE SECURE TELEPHONE CIRCUIT
WITH PHIL HABIB
WHO WAS THE ACTING HEAD
OF OUR DELEGATION IN PARIS
THAT WAS MEETING
WITH THE VIETNAMESE.
HE AND I--
COMPARING NOTES
ON THE VARIOUS THINGS
THAT WERE OCCURRING--
CAME TO THE CONCLUSION
THAT THERE MUST BE
SOME SECRET TALKS TAKING PLACE
ELSEWHERE.
OUR CONCLUSION WAS
THAT THEY WERE BEING
CARRIED ON BY HENRY KISSINGER.
NARRATOR: THE ADVERSARY
IN THE SECRET TALKS
WAS LE DUC THO.
LE DUC THO HAD A TENDENCY
TO MAKE THE SAME SPEECH
EVERY DAY FOR MONTHS ON END
AND IT WAS SORT OF LIKE
A PRAYER SESSION
AT THE BEGINNING OF A MEETING
WHAT IT SYMBOLIZED WAS
THAT THEY HAD
ALL KINDS OF TIME--
THAT WE WERE GOING
TO HAVE TO COLLAPSE
LONG BEFORE THEY WOULD
EVEN THINK OF YIELDING.
NARRATOR:
FROM PEKING
A TELEVISION SPECTACULAR--
A DIPLOMATIC BOMBSHELL:
RICHARD NIXON--
HONORED GUEST OF THE NATION
HE ONCE ACCUSED
OF FOMENTING AGGRESSION
IN VIETNAM;
WITH MAO TSE TUNG--
THE COMMUNIST LEADER
HE ONCE REVILED.
RELATIONS BETWEEN
CHINA AND THE SOVIET UNION
WERE IN SHREDS.
BUT BOTH GAVE AID
TO NORTH VIETNAM.
COULD NIXON WIDEN THE RIFT
TO AMERICA'S ADVANTAGE?
BEFORE CHINA'S REVOLUTION
CHINA AND VIETNAM
HAD BEEN TRADITIONAL ENEMIES.
COULD CHINA BE INDUCED
TO ABANDON THE NORTH VIETNAMESE?
MR. PRIME MINISTER
OUR TWO PEOPLES TONIGHT HOLD
THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD
IN OUR HANDS.
AND AS WE THINK
OF THAT FUTURE
WE ARE DEDICATED
TO THE PRINCIPLE
THAT WE CAN BUILD A NEW WORLD.
NARRATOR:
NIXON OFFERED THE CHINESE
TRADE, RECOGNITION--
A COUNTERWEIGHT
TO THE RUSSIANS.
CHINA'S ISOLATION
WAS COMING TO AN END.
NIXON:
WE HAVE BEEN HERE A WEEK.
THIS WAS THE WEEK
THAT CHANGED THE WORLD.
NARRATOR:
ON MARCH 31, 1972
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE LAUNCHED
A NEW AND AMBITIOUS OFFENSIVE.
THEY POURED DIRECTLY ACROSS
THE 17th PARALLEL
INTO SOUTH VIETNAM.
REFUGEES AND SOUTH VIETNAMESE
TROOPS FLED BEFORE THEM.
BY APRIL 2
THE COMMUNISTS HAD CONQUERED
HALF OF QUANG TRI PROVINCE.
BY MAY 1,
THEY HAD TAKEN IT ALL.
AFTER THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
HAD TAKEN QUANG TRI
WE HAD A MEETING IN MAY, 1972
WHICH WE HAD NEGOTIATED
TO ARRANGE FOR MONTHS.
WHEN I ARRIVED THERE
ALL HE DID WAS
READ NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS TO ME.
WHEN I SAID I DIDN'T HAVE
TO COME THOUSANDS OF MILES
TO HEAR NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS
HE SAID:
"IF THEY'RE TRUE,
WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?"
NARRATOR:
THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE ARMY
WAS IN DISARRAY.
IN WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT NIXON
SEARCHED FOR A RESPONSE
THAT WOULD NOT REQUIRE
AMERICAN COMBAT TROOPS.
I WAS CALLED
BY THE PRESIDENT
AND HE QUESTIONED ME
ABOUT THE PROSPECTS
OF MINING HAIPHONG HARBOR.
I TOLD HIM
WE WERE ALL READY FOR THAT.
I HAD RECOMMENDED IT
AND I'D PERSONALLY MADE THE PLAN
MYSELF
EIGHT YEARS BEFORE.
SO THERE WAS
NO PLANNING NECESSARY.
AND CONSEQUENTLY
HIS NEXT REQUIREMENT
WAS TO ASK ME:
"CAN WE DO THIS
WITHOUT IT LEAKING?
"BECAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO BE
ANNOUNCING IT TO THE NATION
"ON THE TV
AT THE SAME INSTANT
THAT THE BOMBS WERE FALLING."
NARRATOR:
NIXON MINED HAIPHONG HARBOR
AND STEPPED UP THE BOMBING.
NEARLY 1,000 U.S. AIRCRAFT
POUNDED NORTH AND SOUTH VIETNAM.
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE OFFENSIVE
WAS BLUNTED.
KISSINGER:
THEN WE RESUMED NEGOTIATIONS.
AND LE DUC THO WAS
MUCH EASIER TO DEAL WITH
AND MADE MANY MORE CONCESSIONS
AFTER THAT.
NARRATOR: 12 DAYS AFTER
THE MINING AND THE BOMBING
PRESIDENT NIXON
WAS RECEIVED IN MOSCOW.
BREZHNEV'S REACTION
TO THE BOMBING OF HANOI
AND THE MINING OF HAIPHONG
WAS VERY TOUGH IN RHETORIC
AND REALLY INCONSEQUENTIAL
IN ACTION.
HE MADE MANY TOUGH STATEMENTS,
BUT HE NEVER DID ANYTHING.
THE FACT
THAT THE SOVIETS RECEIVED US
AFTER THE INTENSIFICATION
OF THE WAR ON NORTH VIETNAM
MUST HAVE CONTRIBUTED
TO THE SENSE OF ISOLATION
AND BELEAGUERMENT
OF HANOI.
NARRATOR: THE NIXON-KISSINGER
GLOBAL STRATEGY
S INTACT.
THE UNITED STATES
AND THE SOVIET UNION
SIGNED THE STRATEGIC ARMS
CONTROL TREATY.
NIXON FACED RE-ELECTION.
THE WAR IN VIETNAM
DRAGGED ON.
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE CLUNG
TO A KEY DEMAND:
THAT THE THIEU GOVERNMENT
IN SAIGON
MUST BE DISSOLVED.
THEN, AFTER MORE THAN FOUR YEARS
OF FIGHTING AND TALKING
A BREAKTHROUGH.
ON THE 8th OCTOBER, '72
LE DUC THO HAVE MAKE
A PROPOSAL.
IN THIS PROPOSAL,
WE HAVE DROPPED THE DEMAND
FOR DISSOLUTION
OF THIEU GOVERNMENT
AND WE PROPOSE
THAT THE THIEU GOVERNMENT
IN SOUTH VIETNAM
COEXIST.
THEY DROPPED THE DEMAND
THAT THIEU HAD TO RESIGN ON
OCTOBER 8
AND THAT,
AS FAR AS WE WERE CONCERNED
WAS THE BREAKTHROUGH.
I THINK
THAT THE PRINCIPAL ELEMENT
THAT WE BROUGHT TO IT
WAS THAT WE WERE PREPARED
TO SETTLE
FOR A CEASE-FIRE IN PLACE
AND THE RETURN
OF OUR PRISONERS OF WAR
IN EXCHANGE FOR THE REMOVAL
OF OUR MILITARY FORCES.
NARRATOR:
PEACE SEEMED NEAR.
NIXON TURNED
AGAINST HIS CRITICS.
(APPLAUSE)
AS YOU RECALL
I MADE THE DECISION
TO MINE THE HARBORS
TO BOMB MILITARY TARGETS
IN NORTH VIETNAM.
THAT DECISION
WAS THE RIGHT DECISION.
THOSE WHO PREDICTED
THAT IT WOULD LEAD
TO THE DISSOLUTION
OF THE SUMMIT
WERE THE LEADERS OF THE MEDIA.
THEY PROVED TO BE WRONG.
WHEN THAT DECISION WAS MADE
THERE WAS
PRECIOUS LITTLE SUPPORT
FROM ANY OF THE
SO-CALLED "OPINION LEADERS"
OF THIS COUNTRY
THAT I HAVE JUST DESCRIBED.
BUT WHAT WAS
THE MOST HEARTWARMING THING
TO ME
WAS THAT THOSE WHO HAD
SO MUCH AT STAKE--
THOSE WHO HAD SUFFERED SO MUCH--
THE GREAT MAJORITY OF THOSE
WHOSE HUSBANDS AND LOVED ONES
ARE P.O.W.s OR M.I.A.
STOOD BY THAT DECISION
AND I THANK YOU VERY MUCH
FOR THAT SUPPORT.
(APPLAUS
NARRATOR:
NIXON SENT HIS DIPLOMATS
TO SAIGON
WITH THE TEXT
OF THE SECRET AGREEMENT.
SO WE SAY,
"FINE, THANK YOU--
COULD WE SEE THE TEXT?"
AND WE WANT TO HAVE TIME
TO STUDY THE TEXT.
OF COURSE, THEY GAVE US THE TEXT
IN ENGLISH!
AND AT THAT TIME, I THOUGHT,
I SAY:
"IF OUR OPPOSITION KNEW
THAT RIGHT AT THIS MOMENT
"WE WERE DISCUSSING
THE FATE OF OUR COUNTRY
"IN A TEXT IN ENGLISH
"BOY, YOU KNOW,
IT WOULD BE SO BAD
THAT WE SHOULDN'T EVEN
THINK ABOUT IT!"
SO I SAID:
"WHERE IS
THE VIETNAMESE TEXT?"
"OH! WE FORGOT, AND..."
I SAY, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN,
YOU FORGOT?
"THE OTHER SIDE--
"I KNOW THEY DON'T PRESENT
A TEXT TO YOU IN ENGLISH!
"THERE IS SOMETHING
CALLED NATIONAL PRIDE
WHERE YOU PRESENT
YOUR OWN LANGUAGE!"
THEY SAID:
"OH--THIS IS
A GOOD TRANSLATION."
I SAY:
"YOU MEAN TO TELL ME
"AN AMERICAN UNDERSTAND
VIETNAMESE
" BETTER THAN A VIETNAMESE?
WE WANT TO SEE
THE VIETNAMESE TEXT."
THE ATMOSPHERE IN SAIGON
WHEN WE BROUGHT TO SAIGON
THE DRAFT OF THE TREATY
THAT WE HAD NEGOTIATED
WITH THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
WAS VERY, VERY TENSE
AND VERY UNPLEASANT.
AND THIS I ASCRIBE TO THE FACT
THAT IT CAME, PRETTY MUCH,
AS A COMPLETE SURPRISE
TO THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE.
THEY HAD BEEN BRIEFED
IN VERY GENERAL TERMS
BUT NO ONE HAD EVER BEEN
SO EXPLICIT AS TO SHOW THEM
SIGNIFICANT DRAFTS
OF TREATY LANGUAGE.
WE REALIZED
THAT THIS IS
A VERY BAD DOCUMENT
TO START WITH.
#2, IT DID NOT CHANGE IN ANY WAY
THE COMMUNIST POSITION--
IT WAS JUST WORDED DIFFERENTLY.
AND #3, THE FACT
THAT THE AMERICANS PRESENTED
TO US
AND TOLD US IT WAS THE BEST
THEY COULD HAVE OBTAINED
IS VERY OMINOUS
BECAUSE IT MEANS
THAT THE AMERICANS ARE OUT
TO PUSH US TO ACCEPT THAT.
THEY RAISED THE ISSUE
OF NORTH VIETNAMESE
TROOP WITHDRAWAL
AND ASKED WHY
THAT HAD NOT BEEN DEALT WITH
IN OUR DOCUMENT.
THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT
NEVER DID ACCEPT
TO HAVE
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE ARMY
STATIONED IN SOUTH VIETNAM.
ALL OF THE PROPOSALS
THAT WE MADE
TO THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
WERE SEEN AND APPROVED
BY THIEU.
SO THAT WAS NOT
A NEW PROPOSAL BY US
IN OCTOBER, '72.
WE SAY:
"WE'RE NOT GOING TO SIGN IT.
"SO PLEASE GO BACK
TO MR. NIXON
"TELL HIM
THAT WE CANNOT COOPERATE
ON THAT ONE."
NARRATOR: UNABLE TO PERSUADE
THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE TO SIGN
KISSINGER RETURNED HOME.
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE--
FEARING THAT THE SETTLEMENT
WAS IN JEOPARDY--
MADE THE AGREEMENT PUBLIC.
FOR A MOMENT, PUT YOURSELF
IN THE NORTH VIETNAMESE SHOES.
THEY HAD GONE THROUGH
THIS ENTIRE NEGOTIATING PROCESS.
THEY HAD REACHED AGREEMENT
WITH US.
THEY HAD EVEN BEGUN
GIVING INSTRUCTIONS
TO THEIR CADRE
TO PREPARE FOR A CEASE-FIRE.
SOME OF
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE LEADERS
MIGHT HAVE BEGUN TO THINK
THAT THEY HAD BEEN THE VICTIMS
OF THE BIGGEST CON JOB
IN HISTORY.
NARRATOR:
KISSINGER TRIED
TO REASSSURE AMERICA
AND BOTH VIETNAMS.
WE HAVE NO COMPLAINT
WITH THE GENERAL DESCRIPTION
OF EVENTS
AS IT WAS GIVEN
BY RADIO HANOI.
HOWEVER, THERE GREW UP
THE SEEDS
OF ONE PARTICULAR
MISUNDERSTANDING.
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE NEGOTIATORS
MADE THEIR PROPOSAL CONDITIONAL
ON THE SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM
BY OCTOBER 31.
WE DID AGREE
THAT WE WOULD MAKE
A MAJOR EFFORT
TO CONCLUDE NEGOTIATIONS
BY OCTOBER 31st.
AS FAR AS SAIGON IS CONCERNED
IT IS, OF COURSE, ENTITLED
TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SETTLEMENT
OF A WAR
FOUGHT ON ITS TERRITORY.
ITS PEOPLE HAVE SUFFERED MUCH.
AND THEY WILL REMAIN THERE
AFTER WE LEAVE.
WE BELIEVE
THAT PEACE IS AT HAND.
I THINK THE SPEECH,
"PEACE IS AT HAND"
IS FOR THE ELECTORS
AND FOR THE VOTERS
IN THE UNITED STATES--
TO SAY TO THEM
THAT THE VIETNAM QUESTION
IS NO MORE
SO THEY CAN ELECT NIXON
AS A HERO FOR PEACE.
NARRATOR:
AS EXPECTED
NIXON WON BY A LANDSLIDE
BUT FACED A HOSTILE CONGRESS.
THE NEGOTIATIONS RESUMED
AS LE DUC THO RETURNED TO PARIS.
HE FACED 69 CHANGES
DEMANDED BY SOUTH VIETNAM
PRESENTED BY KISSINGER
AND ALEXANDER HAIG--
AMONG THEM,
THE DEMAND
THAT NORTH VIETNAMESE TROOPS
LEAVE THE SOUTH.
I PRESENTED
THIEU'S LIST OF CHANGES
BECAUSE I FELT
I OWED IT TO HIM
AND, FRANKLY,
TO DEMONSTRATE
THAT MOST OF THEM
WERE UNATTAINABLE.
THE SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES
THAT WERE SUGGESTED
WERE NOT ALL THAT MANY
BUT TWO OR THREE OF THEM
WERE QUITE REAL.
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE DELEGATION
WAS INCLINED TO BE
A LITTLE SURLY, ANYWAY
AND I THINK
THIS JUST ACCELERATED
THE PROCESS OF DETERIORATION.
NARRATOR:
KISSINGER FLEW TO FLORIDA
TO SEE NIXON
WORRIED THAT THE NEGOTIATIONS
MIGHT COLLAPSE.
HE SPOKE OF RESIGNING.
THE NORTH
WAS AGAIN INTRANSIGENT.
IN SOUTH VIETNAM, TOO
THE AGREEMENT
WAS STILL UNACCEPTABLE.
IN ORDER TO REASSURE SAIGON
WE HAD LAUNCHED
A MAJOR RE-SUPPLY PROGRAM
CALLED
"OPERATION ENHANCE PLUS"
WHERE WE PROVIDED
SEVERAL BILLION
ADDITIONAL DOLLARS
OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT
TO THE SAIGON GOVERNMENT.
IF, IN THE POLITBURO
IN HANOI
IT HAD BEEN A CLOSE DECISION
IN THE FIRST PLACE
TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT
PERHAPS, AFTER THE DEVELOPMENTS
OF OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER
THEY WERE HAVING
REAL SECOND THOUGHTS.
SULLIVAN:
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE ENGAGED
IN A NUMBER OF DILATORY TACTICS.
ONE OF THEM WAS THE QUESTION
OF TYING
THE RELEASE
OF PRISONERS OF WAR
TO THE RELEASE
OF CIVILIANS IN THE SOUTH.
BUT THERE WERE OTHERS--
ALL OF WHICH GENERALLY RENEGED
ON ARRANGEMENTS
THAT THEY HAD PREVIOUSLY MADE
AND WHICH WERE SIGNIFICANT
TO THE TEXT.
NARRATOR:
IN THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE
PARLIAMENT
PRESIDENT THIEU
DENOUNCED THE AGREEMENT
BEFORE U.S. AMBASSADOR BUNKER.
THIEU:
THE ESSENTIAL BASIS IS
THAT THE NORTH VIETNAMESE TROOPS
SHOULD WITHDRAW TOTALLY;
THEN, THE INTERNAL
POLITICAL SOLUTION
OF SOUTH VIETNAM
SHOULD BE LEFT
FOR THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE PEOPLE
ALONE.
WE ARE NOT CONTINUING A WAR
IN ORDER TO GIVE TOTAL VICTORY
TO OUR ALLIES.
WE WANT TO GIVE THEM
A REASONABLE OPPORTUNITY
TO PARTICIPATE
IN A POLITICAL STRUGGLE.
BUT WE ALSO WILL NOT MAKE
A SETTLEMENT
WHICH IS
A DISGUISED FORM OF VICTORY
FOR THE OTHER SIDE.
AFTER OCTOBER
KISSINGER REFUSED
TO GO BACK TO VIETNAM.
SO HAIG CAME
AND WE WERE TOLD COUNTLESS TIMES
BY HIM, BY AMBASSADOR BUNKER
THAT WE SHOULD MODIFY
OUR POSITION.
THEY HAD OBTAINED SOME CHANGES
TO PLEASE US
BUT THEY COULDN'T GET
EVERYTHING WE WANTED.
WE SAID:
"WELL, THERE ARE STILL
SUBSTANTIAL ISSUES
"THAT ARE NOT RESOLVED
AND WE ARE NOT GOING
TO SIGN IT."
AND WHEN WE WERE THREATENED
OF BRUTAL REACTION, WE SAID:
"WE KNOW
WHAT BRUTAL REACTION MEANS--
WE ACCEPT THEM."
IT WAS A CALCULATED MOVE
FROM OUR PART.
WE SAID:
"THE U.S. HAS TWO OPTIONS:
"EITHER DO SOMETHING DRASTIC
IN SOUTH VIETNAM
OR BOMB THE NORTH."
NARRATOR:
IN PARIS
KISSINGER'S TALKS
WITH NORTH VIETNAM
SEEMED TO BE COLLAPSING.
SULLIVAN:
WE WARNED THEM
THAT OUR PRESIDENT WOULD RESUME
BOMBING OF THE NORTH.
THEY SEEMED NOT TO BELIEVE
THE NATURE OF THIS THREAT.
THEY SEEMED TO BELIEVE
THAT THE PRESIDENT
WOULD BE INHIBITED
FROM THE BOMBING
BECAUSE THE ELECTORAL TREND
IN THE UNITED STATES
HAD BROUGHT IN A CONGRESS
THAT WAS GOING TO OPPOSE BOMBING
AND BECAUSE
THE GENERAL ATTITUDE WAS OPPOSED
TO RESUMPTION
OF THE BOMBING.
NARRATOR:
NORTH VIETNAM'S LEADERS
MADE READY
FOR THE ANTICIPATED ATTACK.
HANOI'S POPULATION--
SWOLLEN WITH REFUGEES
FROM OTHER BOMBED TOWNS--
HAD TO BE EVACUATED.
BY DECEMBER 16
1/3 OF
THE ESTIMATED POPULATION--
HALF A MILLION PEOPLE--
HAD LEFT.
THE SOVIET-MADE
SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILES--
"SAMS"--
WERE READY
FOR THE AMERICAN BOMBERS.
MIKE CONNERS:
IT WAS FRIGHTENING
GOING TO HANOI--
THE MOST HEAVILY DEFENDED
MISSILE COMPLEX IN THE WORLD--
YOU'RE PRETTY SCARED.
SOME PEOPLE DIDN'T WANT TO GO.
BUT IT WAS VERY INTERESTING--
I WAS TOLD
THAT THE ROLLS
OF THE SICK PEOPLE
DECREASED.
PEOPLE WERE FIGHTING TO GET OFF
OF THEIR TEMPORARY SICK STATUS
SO THEY COULD GO.
BECAUSE NOBODY WANTED
TO BE LEFT BEHIND.
NARRATOR:
ON DECEMBER 18
B-52 BOMBERS WERE OVER
HANOI AND HAIPHONG.
CONNERS:
FOR MILES AND MILES
YOU COULD SEE
LITTLE FIRECRACKERS GOING OFF.
AND IT WAS VERY OBVIOUS
THAT THOSE WERE SAMS
BEING SHOT UP.
AND AT FIRST,
YOU WERE VERY AFRAID
BECAUSE YOU WANTED TO MOVE AWAY
FROM EVERY ONE YOU SAW.
BUT AFTER YOU CALMED DOWN,
YOU KIND OF IGNORED IT.
WE HEARD THE BOMBS
START HITTING
AND WE THOUGHT:
"THIS IS THE FIRST TIME
"THEY'VE BOMBED THE NORTH
IN A LONG TIME!"
WHEN WE HEARD
THE BOMBS START LANDING
A HALF-A-MILE SHORT
OF THE PRISON
AND WALK RIGHT BY US
IN A STRING
WE KNEW IT HAD TO BE BOMBERS
BECAUSE FIGHTERS DON'T CARRY
THAT MANY BOMBS.
AND THE JUBILATION
WAS UNBELIEVABLE--
PEOPLE HOLLERING AND SHOUTING.
AND A VIETNAMESE GUARD, EXCITED,
AND POKING HIS GUN IN THE DOOR
AND TELLING US
TO GET UNDER OUR BUNKS.
ONE OF THEM LOOKED IN THE DOOR
AND SAID:
"YOU KNOW
THEY ARE TRYING TO KILL YOU."
I SAID:
"THEY'RE NOT TRYING
TO KILL ME--
THEY'RE TRYING TO KILL YOU."
MOORER: THE TARGETS SELECTED
IN THE 1972 CHRISTMAS BOMBING
CONSISTED ENTIRELY
OF MILITARY TARGETS.
THEY WOULD CONSIST OF WAREHOUSES
COMMAND AND CONTROL STATIONS
MISSILE SITES
AMMUNITION STORAGE,
COMMUNICATIONS SITES--
THINGS OF THAT KIND.
THE ACCUSATION
THAT WE WERE CONDUCTING
CARPET BOMBING
OF COURSE,
IS ABSOLUTELY FALSE.
FOR THAT MATTER
HAD WE CONDUCTED
CARPET BOMBING
I THINK THAT THERE WOULDN'T BE
A HANOI TODAY.
NARRATOR:
ON DECEMBER 22
AMERICAN BOMBS HIT
HANOI'S BACH MAI HOSPITAL
FOR A SECOND TIME.
THEIR TARGET MAY HAVE BEEN
A SMALL MILITARY AIRFIELD
NEARBY.
DR. NGUYEN LUAN: CRIES AND MOANS
FILLED THE DARK NIGHT.
WE HAD TO USE
KNIVES, HAMMERS AND SHOVELS
TO BREAK THROUGH
THE CONCRETE WALLS
IN ORDER TO GET TO THE VICTIMS
TRAPPED INSIDE.
AS A SURGEON,
I OPERATE ON PEOPLE
TO SAVE THEIR LIVES.
NOW I WAS USING
MY SURGICAL KNIFE
NOT TO SAVE PEOPLE
BUT TO CUT APART THE CORPSES
IN THE BOMB SHELTER
SO WE COULD RESCUE THOSE
STILL ALIVE.
NARRATOR:
THE PRESIDENT ORDERED
A ONE-DAY BOMBING HALT
FOR CHRISTMAS DAY.
ON DECEMBER 26
THE B-52s RESUMED
THEIR MISSIONS.
THE MASSIVE NEW RAIDS
HAD PERSONALLY BEEN ORDERED
BY PRESIDENT NIXON.
HIS MAIN CON@RN,
HE SAID
WAS NOT DOMESTIC
AND INTERNATIONAL CRITICISM
BUT HIGH B-52 LOSSES.
SOME OF THE BOMBS HIT
A HANOI RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT.
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
BELIEVED
THAT THE RAIDS WERE
A DELIBERATE ACT OF TERROR.
THE SHELTER COLLAPSED ON ME.
THE NEXT MORNING
I WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL.
ONLY LATER ON DID I LEARN
THAT FIVE MEMBERS OF MY FAMILY
HAD BEEN KILLED:
MY MOTHER,
MY SISTER AND HER HUSBAND
MY OLDER BROTHER,
MY YOUNGER BROTHER.
THE MOST HEART-BREAKING SIGHT
WAS IN SON-QUAN ALLEY.
A WHOLE FAMILY OF SEVEN--
HUSBAND AND WIFE
AND FIVE CHILDREN--
HAD BEEN KILLED.
THE OLDEST CHILD WAS 20,
THE YOUNGEST, TWO.
THE WHOLE FAMILY
WAS WIPED OUT.
IT WAS EXTREMELY PAINFUL
TO SEE.
THE SITE OF THEIR HOUSE
IS STILL AN EMPTY LOT.
WHAT AN OUTRAGE!
A FAMILY OF SEVEN
COMPLETELY WIPED OUT!
NARRATOR:
THE 11-DAY CHRISTMAS BOMBINGS
WERE COMPARED
TO THE ATOMIC BLAST ON HIROSHIMA
IN WORLD WAR II.
AND THE TONNAGE OF BOMBS DROPPED
ON THE HANOI-HAIPHONG AREA
WAS ACTUALLY GREATER.
BUT THE TARGETS
WERE MORE DISPERSED.
THE DEATHS WERE FAR FEWER.
IN HANOI,
THEY TOTALLED 1,318.
KISSINGER:
NIXON WAS OF THE VIEW
THAT SOMETHING SHOCKING
HAD TO BE DONE.
THAT WAS NOT MY VIEW
AT THE TIME
BUT I DIDN'T DISAGREE WITH IT
AND I THINK
NIXON TURNED OUT TO BE RIGHT.
AFTER THE CHRISTMAS BOMBING
THE FIRST DAY THAT LE DUC THO
AND KISSINGER HAD TO MEET
IN PARIS
AFTER SHAKING HAND
KISSINGER HAD TOLD LE DUC THO
THAT:
"I AM VERY SORRY
"I COULD NOT PREVENT
THE DECISION OF THE PRESIDENT
"OF BOMBING UP
TO NORTH VIETNAM
ON CHRISTMAS DAY."
SO LE DUC THO SAY THAT:
"I KNOW
WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE.
"ALL YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE.
AND YOU ARE CRIMINALS."
PUBLICLY, HE REFUSED
TO SHAKE HANDS WITH ME.
AND IN ALL THE PICTURES
THAT WERE TAKEN
HE NEVER APPEARED WITH ME.
BUT INSIDE
THE NEGOTIATING ROOM
HE MOVED AT TREMENDOUS SPEED
AND WITH AS MUCH HUMAN WARMTH
AS HE WAS CAPABLE OF GENERATING
TOWARDS A CAPITALIST.
IT WAS
A VERY SOMBER MEETING--
NO JOLLITY, NO JOKING,
AS USUALLY WENT ON.
AND WHENEVER
POINTS WERE PRESSED
AND OUR PATIENCE
WAS RUNNING THIN
THEY EITHER MADE
A CONCESSION THERE
OR MOVED RAPIDLY ON.
NARRATOR:
ON JANUARY 11
KISSINGER CABLED NIXON
THAT THE AGREEMENT WAS READY.
THE TERMS WERE ALMOST IDENTICAL
TO THOSE LAID DOWN IN OCTOBER.
LE DUC THO
AND THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
WERE PREPARED TO SIGN.
THE AGREEMENT AFFIRMED
THAT SOUTH VIETNAM
WAS ONE COUNTRY
WITH TWO GOVERNMENTS.
THERE WERE TO BE MOVES
TOWARD RECONCILIATION.
PRISONERS OF WAR
WOULD BE RELEASED.
AMERICAN TROOPS
WOULD LEAVE.
NORTHERN FORCES COULD REMAIN
IN THE SOUTH.
PRESIDENT NIXON SENT
ALEXANDER HAIG
AND JOHN NEGROPONTE
TO SAIGON
WITH THE NEWS
OF AMERICA'S DECISION.
WE MADE IT QUITE CLEAR
THAT THIS TIME
WE REALLY PLANNED
TO GO THROUGH
WITH SIGNING THE AGREEMENT
WHETHER THEY INTENDED TO JOIN US
OR NOT.
¶ MINE EYES
HAVE SEEN THE GLORY...¶
NARRATOR:
LYNDON JOHNSON--
THE PRESIDENT WHO HAD FIRST SENT
U.S. COMBAT TROOPS TO VIETNAM
EIGHT YEARS EARLIER
DIED THE DAY BEFORE
THE AGREEMENT WAS SIGNED.
¶...OF THE COMING
OF THE LORD.
¶ HE IS TRAMPLING OUT
THE VINTAGE
¶ WHERE THE GRAPES OF WRATH
ARE STORED.
¶ HE HATH LOOSED
THE FATEFUL LIGHTNING
OF HIS TERRIBLE
SWIFT SWORD...¶
NARRATOR:
58,000 AMERICAN TROOPS
HAD DIED IN VIETNAM.
¶...HIS TRUTH
IS MARCHING ON. ¶
NARRATOR:
ON JANUARY 27, 1973
ALL PARTIES SIGNED
THE PEACE AGREEMENT.
HANOI CELEBRATED
WITH FIREWORKS.
IT WAS ALSO TET--
THE VIETNAMESE NEW YEAR.
BUT TO THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
AND VIET CONG
THE STRUGGLE HAD NOT ENDED.
VIETNAM WAS STILL DIVIDED.
THE WAR WE HAVE FOUGHT
FOR SO MANY YEARS
CONTINUES.
IT IS THE SAME WAR FOR PEACE
AND AT THE SAME TIME,
FOR INDEPENDENCE, FREEDOM
AND THE PEACEFUL UNIFICATION
OF OUR NATIVE LAND.
NARRATOR:
NEARLY 600 AMERICAN AIRMEN
HAD BEEN TAKEN PRISONER
DURING THE COURSE OF THE WAR.
MANY HAD BEEN HELD
IN WHAT THEY CALLED
"THE HANOI HILTON."
NOW THEY WERE GOING HOME.
THE VIETNAMESE
PHOTOGRAPHED THEIR DEPARTURE.
THEY CALLED THE FILM,
"GOODBYE, UNINVITED GUESTS."
NORTH VIETNAMESE PRISONERS
WERE ALSO BEING RELEASED.
AS THEY CROSSED THE RIVER
THAT DIVIDED VIETNAM
THEY DISCARDED THE CLOTHING
ISSUED TO THEM
BY THE
SOUTH VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT
THAT THEY HAD FOUGHT--
A GOVERNMENT
WHOSE FUTURE
WAS STILL IN DOUBT.
CAPTIONED BY
THE CAPTION CENTER
WGBH BOSTON