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U. S. INTERVENTION AND ACGRESSION IN VIET NAM

DURING THE LAST TWENTY YEARS PERIODICALS & MONOGRAPHS

Indochina Archive University of California

VIETNAM WAR - HISTORY

Ministry of foreign Affairs Democratic Republic of Viet Nam

HANOI, 1965

"IL-..-., _ ii"~

U. S. INTERVENTION AND AGGRESSION IN VIET NAM

DURING THE LAST TWENTY YEARS

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs Democratic ~epublic O'f Viet Nam

HANOI,1965

CONTENTS

Page

I. First U.S. intervention in Viet Nam. 9

II. 'Second ,U.S" intervention in Viet Nam, systematic sabotage of the. 1954 'Geneva Agreements. 13

III. U.s. armed. aggtession against South Viet Nam. 19

IV. The !Jnlted,States launch.es air and naval altacks on the Democratic Repuhlic.of Viet Nam. 25 .

V; The sacalled ,will for. peace:. 31

VI. The sound basis' for a seillement of the Viet. N am problem. 37

FI~ST U.S. INTE~VENTION IN VIET NAM

After accomplishing the August 19, 1945 Revolution and taking over p6wer [ro111 the 'Japanese Fascists, the Vietnamese people founded the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam, a state' with full so\'ereignty, ihdependence, and territorial integrity from North to ' South. .

In an attempt to reconquer Viet Naill as well as the whole of Indo-China, the French colonialist aggressors started their "dirty war" at the end of 1945, Under tlie leadership of the Government of the Demo,cratic Republic of Viet Nam headed by President Ho Chi Minh, ,the Vietnamese people dealt at the aggressors repeated heavy blows, .

For Its part,since the. end, of World War II, the United States has nurtured the design of conquering Viet Nam ahd Indo-China as a whole, and turning this region into, a U.S. military base with a View to, carrying out its schemes against the socialist countries and the national liberation movement in Indo-China and South-East Asia. Soon after. the tril.lmph of Jhe August Revolution in Viet Nam, i~ sent to North Viet Namdown to ,the 16th parallel,200,OOO Chiang Kai:shck troops under LuHan's cOmmand asarJ'instrument for ihterveritfon inVlet"Nam. It will be recalled that at that time, U,S, Oellerais Gal1agher'tindM~t Lure'made frequent visits to Viet Nam for 'behlhd:th~-scene ac'tivfties.'Iri Decemb~ 1945, despite the fact thattheDlill11ocratic Republic,of Viet Natn had beenp'roclaimed an independent country with a unified.government, eXerCis'ing its

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authority all over the territory, the then President of the United States bluntly declared that it was necessary to place the Indo-Chinese states under U.N. trusteeship. It is clear that ever since that date, the United States has schemed to conquer Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia through the u.S.manipulated UNO.

After beling driven out of the Chine.se mainland, from 1950 conward, the United States, taking advantage of the French coloni alist aggressors' ever heavier defeats, has gradually increased its intervellllion in Viet Nam and other parts of Ind'OChina, endea vouring to help the French pursue their aggressive. war, and at the same time seeking to kick them out.

On March 16, 1950, an aircraftcarrier, 2 cruisers and 71 aircraft were sent by the United States to Saigon lor a show of force. This stirred up a sweeping wave of indignation among the Vietnamese people. On the following day, South Viet Nam gueril las mounted a mortar attack against theU.S: navy units. On March 19, 1950, a huge demonstration attended by more than 500,000 people was held in SaigonCholon, and the U.S. ships and planes were forced to leave South Viet N am.

OnMa), 8, 1950, U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson and French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman met in camera in Paris and agreed that the. United States' would increase military and economic aid to France and her puppets.

On June 27, 1950, immedl,i-tely after the start of the aggressive war against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the occupation of Taiwan by U.S. Navy, U.S. President Truman declared that he had ordered to illcreasemiHtary assistance to the French forces and those of the "Associated States" of IndoChina andio dispatch there a military mission which was to cooperate closely with these f()rce~.. .. . .

On July IS, i950,. thefinst .. U.S: military mission headeq by Major'Gel1el'al Graves B .. Erskine and John Melby,. Head. o,f'the South East ASia Division of the u:S. 'State Department, arrived. in Saigon to survey the situation of the French forces andthe po:ssibi lity fOor the United Stat~sto usem,iJi,tary basesin IndQCl~illa. .

. On August 10, 1950, the first shipment of U.S. arms' arrived in, IndoChilla.

., I

On December 23, 1950, the United States signed with France and the Indo-Chinese "Associated States" a "mutual defence" treaty which was in reality an instrument for intensifying U.S. intervention in Indo-China.

Early in 1951, it set up under this treaty the Military Aid Advi-' sory Group (MAAG) in Saigon.

Since then, it has engaged in an ever deeper intervention in Indo-China. The U.S. and French Staffs closely cooperated in pur-suing the "dirty war". Hundreds of U.S. military advisers and hundreds ofthousands of tons of arms and war materials were sent to Indo-China. U.S. aid tothe French in Indo-China rose from 314 million in 1950-1951 to 1,000 million U.S. dollars - approximately 4/5 of the total war expenditures of the French in Indo-China - in 1953-1954, All in all, from 1950 to 1954, U.S. aid to the French in Indo-China amounted to 2,600 million dollars.

Explaining the reason behind the increasing U.S. intervention in Indo-China, P"esident Eisenhower told a meeting of governors of the various states on August 4, 1953 that if Indo-China was lost, "the tin and tungsten that we so greatly value from that area would cease coming".

In July 1953, it was decided at a meeting of U.S., French and British Foreign Ministers that increased military aid would be given the 'French on condition that the latter wohld carry out the Navarre plan, - which was in fact.a U.S. plan, -for stepping up the war in Indo-China, and that U.S. aid would be given directly to the BaoDai puppet administration. The French Government had no other choice than to accept lheseconditions.

When the Viet Nam People's Army began attacking Dien Bien Phu at the beginning of March 1954, the prospect of defeat o,f the French Expeditionary Corps became clear. U.S. Secretary of State J.F. Du1!es declared that henceforth Indo-China would be included in the "inviolable area"ofU.S. strategy. President Eisenhower also' threatened that the UnHeilStates would take partin the Indo-China wadfthe situation became alarming. The U.S. scheme consisted in' taking advantage of the opportunity to take in hand, Prolong and expand the Indo-China waf. The.United States. strove to inwlve Britain and other. countries into the war along with it. A plan 'caNed

. "Operation Vautour" was worked out jointly by the Americans and

the French for a,I11l,assive ,bombing of North Viet Nam by'hundreds of. U.S. Air Force platies: Meanwhile two aircraft-carriers of the U.S. 7th Fleet came to the,Bac Bo Gulf.

But the United States could not realize i,ts plan of directly , intervening -in, the IndCl.China war, and expanding it in face of the tidal wave of struggle of the people in france and,in the world for tlJe restoration of peace in Indo-China, and in .face of the disapproval of its aliies. The historic victory scored by the Viet, namese army and people at Dien Bien Phu forced it to go to the

, Geneva Conference to discuss a settlement of the IndoChina question,

, Then, the United States sought every means ,to sabotage the negotiations at th'e Ge'neva Conference. However, the Conference went ahead and wound up success{ully:' peace was restored in Indo-China on the basis ,of the recognition of the sovereignty, inde-pendence, unity and territorial integrity of Viet Nam, Laos and Ga'l11b6dia: '

The great victory gained by the peoples of Viet Na'm, Laos and Cambodia at the 1954 Geneva Conference marked the complete failure 'not only of "the dirty war", but also of the first 'U.S. infer-vention in Viet Nam. Howevet, the Undted States has not given up its policy of intervention in this country.

II

SECOND U.S. INTERVENTION .IN VIET NAM, SYSTEMATIC SABOTAGE OF THE 1954 GENEVA

AGREEMENTS

The. 1954 Geneva Agreements stipulate that: - The participants in the 1954 Geneva Conference on indo-

China shall respect the sovereignty, independence, unity and terri-torial integrity of Viet Nam, LaDs and CambDdia, and shall refrain frDm any interference in their internal affairs.

- Viet Nam which is temporarily divided into two zones with a view to facilitating the elimination of. the state of war, and in substance the repatriation of the French Expeditionary Corps, shall be reunified through nation-wide free general eledions to be held in July 1956 ..

-'it is prohibited to bring foreign troops, military personnel into either part of Viet N am and establish foreign military bases therein ;. the regrouping zones of the armed forces of both parties must not join any military alliance or be used for the resumption bf hostilities Dr ,the furtherance Df an aggressive pDlicy.

While the GDvernment of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam has always beenstr.il;t1y implementing the Geneva Agreements, the United States has embarked on an entirely opposite course with the pur,p~se . .of pursuing its intervention. in Viet Nam.

, While at. the Geneva Conference W. Bectem Smith, Head ufthe US.' Delegationi' gave a solemn undertaking ~hat the United States

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would refrain from the threat or the use of force to disturb the execution of the Geneva Agreements, U.S. President Eisenhower stated that:

"The United States has not itself been party to, or bound by, . the decisions taken by the Conference." On Septeniber 8, 1954, the United States drew Great Britain,

France and a number of other countries into signing the Manila Treaty, founded S.E.A.T:O., an aggres'sive military bloc, and includ-ed South Viet Nam. Cambodia and Laos in its "protection area". This brazen act which took place barely two months after the con-clusion of the 1954 Geneva Agreements on Indo-China, testified to the U.S. scheme of systematic sabotage d,f the Agreements.

The United States' on the one hand endeavoured to gradually kick the French out of Viet Nam, and. on the other made every effort to help the N go Dinh Diem puppet administration to "stabilize the situation", with a view to using South Viet Nam as a spring-board for aggression against the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam.

It secured firm control over the Ngo Dinh Diem Administration by means of assistance programmes which amounted to 1,600 million U.S. dolJars for the period from 1954 to 1960, a network of "advisers" and missions dubbed "Military Aid Advisory Group" (M.A.A.G.), "U.S. Operations Mission" (U.S.O.M . .), and the "Michigan State University". mission (M.S.U.). which fully control the military, administrative, economic andfl.nancial affairs of South Viet Nam. In fact, South Viet Nam has been turned. into a U.S. new-type

. co.lbny. Indeed, N go Dinh Diem said in 1957 du'ring a visit to the .United States:

"The frontiers of the United States extend to, the 17th paralll!l." After wiping out the armedforees of the opponent religious

sects" Ng0 Dinh Di.em organized a ttaudulent "referendum" to deposeBao Dai (October23,1955},. founded the so-called "Republic of Viet Nam'~ {October 26, t955),and l1.eldrigged. elections to set up the.sQ-caHed "National, Assembly"qfSou~h Vi.et .Nam (January 23; J;956). .

Inexecution. of the scheme ftir the perm'anel1tpa'tfiti6wofVief N Ifni, the Ngo1i>ilihDiem Aclrnintsttatioti'reje~tedaU the j1h6pooa]s ma de.liy"th e .. GoVe.rIlPulilrlt. Mthe'Democtati e . RepO blic oLVi"et,N nm

': " , '. ,.~", -. ,'-,',

on the holding of consultations and general elections 'for the reuni-ficationoi Viet Nam in July 1956 as explicitly stipulated in the Geneva Agreements. .

The United Stales and the Ngo Dinh Diem Administration went ahead with .ever more serious violations of the military provisions of the Geneva Agreements. Thel)nited States set ,about 'building up the P1!p.pet army, bringing into South Viet Nam arms and other war materials, establishing a network of milita.ry bases and strategic highways, in feverish preparation for a new war.. '

,From 1954 to 1960, the United States boosted the strength of the puppet regular army to ten inlantry divisions fully armed with US. weapons,and organized new navy and air force units. It alSO' trained. and equipped about 200,000 men of the regional troops, police force and militia of the South Viet Nam Administration.

By the end of 1960, it had built in South Viet Nam57 airfields, Le., nine limes more than in 1954, and the 32.km'long and 100 metre-wide Saigon-Bien Hoa autobahn - which was in fact a camouflaged air base, -:- t.hteenew naval bases and many strategic highways linking up the various military bases in South Viet N am and connecting South Viet Nam with military bases in Laos and Thailand ..

The United States has also illegally brought into South Viet Nam hundreds oJ thousands of tons of weapons and war materials. Clandestine at first, these operations were later or! carried out openly andtlhinterruptedly. In 1960 alone, the value of U.S. arms introduced into South Viet N am amounted to 74,000,000 U.S. dollars.

Ffqin a staff of 200 men atthe endo(the war in VietNam, the U.S.' military mission M.A.A.G. swelled to 2,000 men in 1960. This

mi~ion~ssumed command of the South Viet Nam army,. from the Defence Ministty (lownto army battalions.

Inviewofthe repeated clamimrs of the NgoDinh Diem Admi- . nlstatioll about "Marching North," arid "Fi\lingup. the Ben Hal. rivet"~,JLis obvious that the military bui/dupin South Viet N~m

, . hadl'!w6tller:aj,m .. thal) to prepare for an armed aggression against the Qemocratk

, On U.S. orders, the South. Viet Nam Administration has cease-lessly smuggled spy"commandos into North Viet Nam for espionage and sabotage activities. 1958, 1959 and 1960 witnessed hundreds Qif vJolations of the air space and territorial waters of the Democratic Republic olf Viet Nam by South Viet Nam air and naval craft, At the instigation of the United States and the South Viet Nam regime, the pro-U.S; Phoui Sananlkone clique of Laos undertook harassing actions on the Viet Nam-Laos border, and even staged armed provocations in Huong Lap (Vinh Linharea), a part o.f the terri-tory of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam. Military personnel of the Ngo Dinh Diem Administration were iJlegally brought into Laos to participate in the U.S.-fomented civil war in that country. The United States and its South Viet Nam agents fostered the reactionary Khmer Serei clique, plotted the murder of the King and the Queen of Cambodia, and attempted to overthmw the Royil! Cam-bodian Government headed by Prince N orodom Sihanouk. Further-more, South Viet Nam and Thailand made frequent harassments and provo.cations along the Cambodian borders.

Also on U.S. orders, the Ngo Dinh Diem Administration carried' out large-scale and unimaginably savage repressions against the patriots who stand for freedom, peace and national reunification. Former Resistance members were arrested, subjected to inhuman tortures and massacred. Jails mushroomed, hundreds of thousands of patriots were detained; in addition, there were many other pri-sons and concentration camps camouflaged under such names as "prosperity zones" and "agricultural settlements". A series of fascist laws were promulgated of whiCh the ill-famed 10/59 Law prescribing death sentences without trial against any suspect. By the end of 1960, tens of thousands of people had been murdered, and hundreds of thousands of others tortured to infirmity.

The above facts show that the United States has been systema- . ticaJly s.abotaging the Geneva Agreements on Viet Nam, vio,lating the clauses on the reunification of the country, the military pmvi-sions and thOse dealing with the democratic. liberties of the people.

The U.S. policy ofiiItervelltion has trampled upon the deep aspirations of the people of South Viet l'i1ain and ofiillViet'Na,midr peace, unity, intlependence and democracy. Even the rights to .life and peaceful labou" hnveno(been respected by the ruthless fascist

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dictatorial policies of the N go Dinh Diem Adrriinistration. Ther~fore, exercising their rights of self-defence and self-determination--which are the inalienable rights of all peoples - the undaunted South VietNam people have resoluteily risen up against the U.S. imperialists and their agents.

The patriotic movement in South'Viet Nam has rapidlydeve-loped into a mighty tidal wave which threatens to sw'eep away the positions of the United States and its agents, Once again, the U.S. policy of intervention in South Viet N am has sustained disastrous, fai'lure.

III

u.s. ARMED AGGRESSION AGAINST SOUTH VIET NAM

The vigorous struggle of the South Viet Nam people has; brought about heavy defeats for the United States and caused the puppet regime to head for disintegratiofl. Yet, Washington is stubbornly clinging on to South Viet Nam.

"The United States must pay whatever price is' necessary to hold South Viet Nam. If u.s. troops are required to defend South Viet Nam, the United States must also pay that price.'"

The above statement of Senator Jackson,a member of the U.S .. Senate Arm~d Fprces "

"brink-ol-war" . loreign policy with the so;called "strategy of flexible response" which envisages three categories 0,1 war: world war, local war, and special war. _

"Special wars" are nothing but wars 01 aggression. They are aggressive wars suited to neo-colonialism. In the "special warfare" now being experimented in South Viet N am, the puppet army is used as the main body of fighting troops, whereas command and supply of arms and dollars are assumed by the U.S. imperialists through a network of "advisers". U.S. troops aTe to take a direct part in the fight only to such extent as needed.

On June 19, 1961, a U.S. mission headed by Eugene Staley came' to Saigon and worked out the Staley' plan which was later on amended by Maxwell Taylor and kMwn as Staley"Taylor plan. This plan envisaged the following three stages:

1. To pacify South Viet Nam in 18 months, to establish bases in North Viet Nam.

2. To proceed with the military reinforcement of South Viet Nam, to rehabilitate its economy, and step up' sabotage activities in North Viet Nam. ". .

3. To develop South Viet Nam's economy, and attack No,rth Viet Nam.

In execution of this plan, the United States set up on February B, 1962 ail 'OperatiOflal comm.and under General Paul D. Harkins, and brought into ,South Viet Namlensof thous,ands of additional

.' :' !, ," "',' U.S, troops and huge qu~ntities of arms aod other war materials. On the other hand, it made every effort tOiilCrease the strength of the puppet army, and set about itrlplemen~irigthe scheme O'f herding

. millions 01 people into a netw,ork' 01 'camoutlagedconcentration camps dubbed "strategic hamlets". ' . .

U.S. military' aid to South Viet Nainfrom1960 tb 1964 amount- . ed'to 2,400 million U.S. dollars.: "

Military bases rapidly ihcredsed itl' otlmber.'Bythe'n1iddle of 1964, there were ill South VlefN am '169h1ilitary aifii.lds;or'three times as many as in 1960, and 11 naval bases; or twice as many as . in 1960. :' ." ,; 'II ',I' , ';,':;

During the same 'period,th~' United Sta'tes'broight 'intb'S0uth " Viet ,1\1311J ~;900 ;militm;y ,pl\me~~nd-Mli\;~pters,,&OO;warships and

variop~ Jypes,:9(, :modem l\r:n;J.~, j~9li,jd\ng: t1a'm~,thr9!Wers, .na,p:alm '. ana. ,phq~phQr(lt,l~, bpmbs .. n

~,~.'PIUNCIPALES BASES AERIENNES ET.NAVALES DES ETATS-UNIS ~; ET DE L'ADMINISTRATION FANTOCHE AU SUD vIlT NAM t i'""MAIN AIR AND NAVAL BASES' OF THE UNITED STATES *: THE SOUTH VIET NAM STOOGE ADMINISTRA nON

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CAMBODGE CAMBODIA

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KON-TUM . ~. PLlil-KU

IJJ BAN_M~. THur

,

LEGENDE - LEGEND

AND

The strength of the South Vietnam puppet troops which was 270,000 at the end of 1961, rose to 400,000 at the end O'f 1962,500,000 at the end of 1963, and 600,000 early in 1965. The Un.ited States is now. trying to draft another 160,000 men for this mercenary army.

U.S. military personnel and combat tropos in South Viet Nam also increased to over 50,000 men in May 1965, i.e., 14 times as many as in 1961, and 3 times as many as in 1963. This includes 5,000 officers, nearly 1/4 of the total number of officers in the U.S. standing army.

Using the so-called "helicopter-supported tactics", "armoured car-supported tactics", U.S. and puppet troops have been intensi-fying terrorist raids with a view to herding the population into "strategic hamlets", and wiping out the people's armed forces. The number of terrorist operations, big and small, which was 30,000 in 1962, rose to 35,000 in 1963: In the course of these raids, atrocious crimes were committed by the U.S. aggressors and their agents, who even used rockets, phos,phorous and napalm bombs to destroy villages and crops, and massacre civilians,mostly women and children. Noxious chemicals were sprayed, poisoning tens of tho,u-sands of people, and destroying hundreds of thousands of hectares of rice and other food crops. Recently, in defiance of international

,law, and of the mounting protests of world public opinion,the United States has gone to the length of using poison gases against the Vietnamese people.

, According to, .stillincomplete data, up to 1964, ~he casualties suffered by the South Viet Nam people as a result of the U.S. war of ag'gression' totalled 170,000 pe~sons killed, and 800,000 wounded or tortured to infirmity. Anorther 400,000 were detained in over 1,0qO jails all over South Viet Nam.

In condemning the U.S. aggressive war in South Viet Nam, Lord Bertrand Russel, a welr-kli.own British scientist, called it a "war of annihilation".

But the heroic South Viet Nam people have riSen up in arms against the aggressors for national salvation and self-liberation. Theirs is a thoroughly just struggle which fully conforms to the 1954 Geneva Agreements and to international law, The South Viet Nam National Front/or'Liberatioh, founded .on December 20, 1960,

'more and more clearly proves to be the sole genl!ine representative of the people, the mobilizer and organ'izer oo/all pafrio,tie .forces in South Viet Nam',

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Born iI), the midst of the anti-U.S. - Diem upsurge, the South VietNam National Fmnt for Liberation wlthLawyer Nguyen Huu Tho, as its President, unites all soCial strata, classes, nationalities, P0'litical parties, organizati0'ns; religious, groups a~d patriotic personalities irrespective of political tendency, in order to fight and 9verthrowthe rule of the U.S. imperialis,ts and their agents, achieve independence, democracy, better living conditions, peace and neutrality for South Viet Nam, and eventual peaceful nalional reunification.

The Fr0'nt has succeeded in rallyin'g ever br0'ader patriotic forces to the struggle against theU .S. imperialists and their South Viet, Narn agents., OUr southern compatriots, who, enjoy the broad sympathy and vigorous support, 0'f the peoples of the s,ocialist countries and, peace-loving people througllOut th,e world, have scored increasing victories.

To date" the South Viet Nam National Front for Liberation has gained control of 4/5 of the territory and 10 million people, i.e., 2/3 of the population in South Viet Nam. It has, become a powerful force which has a dec.isive voice in the South Viet N am problem .

The Front is en~oylng a growing prestige in the wo,rld. It has

successively established official representations, in Cuba, Algeria, the Getman DernocraticRepublic,Czecihoslovaki~, Iildonesia. China, and the Soviet Union. It has also established a permanent representation to the Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Council in Cairo, and a permanent .observer near the Executive Cornmittee of the, International Union of' Students in Budapest. Its delegations have been, warmly wei corned to varlousinterriational confereilces where they were regarded as the genuine representatives of the South Viet Nam pe~ple. In particular, three major international c'6ilferenceswere recently held to express the world peoples' full $Upp&t '['O'f the 'patriotic movernent i't! South Viet Nam. They ate r: the Meeting- o( the International Trade Union Committee for .Solldafity~with'the Workers and' People of South Viet Nam, held iilHatll.ofat'the endQ;f Octobetl9$3, the International Conl.etence .

. fot:SoUdatiitywith'tl1e Petlpleo,IVietNamagainst U.S. Imp~ri~Hit YAggresSiO'(l.~ild'forthe . Defence of Peae',' held in Hil'F)oi in N ovem 6ibtHlt1r4; the .. ,pd\!)-Chirtese iPeUipTe'S :CbMeren'ce' held ear Ii.

. .in'MarcfuW,9,65,ln 'Rhl1tO,in,'Pen,l\( .. Go(!1fntrtfeesi f or Solidarity . with ,~he' &6u.thyle't!'Niifuj,pe~fe:a're being: setup ittl'fin4ncreasl11!;{ nu!llber . .of cQufItties.'/., .. ,,>,":'::\:

',"

In the military field, with the b~ttles of Ap Bac, An Lao, Phu My, Binh Gia, Pleiku, Qui Noan, Tuy Haa, Soc' TrilOg, Song Be, etc" ,the U,S. imperialists and their agents hav~gone from. ane defeat to another, .and are now hopele~sly bagged down. At first, they wanted to' "pacify", the Wha,le af Sa.utli Viet Nam. Later an, they had to' restrict their "pacification" efforts Jlrstt9 ten, then to'

,five, then to twa provinces, anti finally to' lhe' defence of Saigan- . Cholan. Over 80% of the "strategic hamlet.s" have been destroyed. The' much-vaunted "helicapter-supPbrted \actii:s" ain). "armaured'

, car-supported t~cti.cs" based an the use'"'f maderflarms such as M. 113 and M. 114 armo'ured cars alld helico'pters HU.IA; HU.IB, HU. lD ... have failed to' bringabaut the expecte(!effecls.From the beginning of 1961.to Aptil 1965, 550,000 puppet traops and 4,890 U.S. "advisers" were put out of. acti6n. Nearly 170,0'00 saldiers

. deserted from the puppet army. The liberated areas have expanded from the mountainous regians and the plains ,to the outskirtsts of the towns and Cities, and cbmeclose to' the strategic highways. As a result, the U.S. aggressars, and . their agel1tshave to retreat.; gradually to' the cities. Bu:ieve~inthe.areas;supposedly the sa,fest, " they. are still exposed to"erushingblowsqfthe vailantUberation

, Army, as, was the case in Bien Haa, Bltlh,Gia"Plelku, QUi Nhan, and,Saigol1. . ,

In the political field, the U.S.imperiallsts have. d,ismaIly failed in their efforts to set up ari~con~o1i4ateapuppetadminlstration (0' be relied upon in' their, aggressian. in South Viet-,N~m .. Coups

. havelollo",edcoup.,successive."chal1ges of horses .in midstream:.' ha~e been '~ffected.Yet,the United states is unal11e,xo . find a way out . .of ,th~etIdless pqli;ti.cal cris.is. in SouihV,ietN~in',Theeontra~ .,'

die~iom;.i'rLtl1);~nks"of tl\eagg'r,e~sors .and:t!Ii'eir, .. .stoqg.e~,parti(}tf' ., arly . t~tl'~e '.' ~.mohg'(~~:l ~tt~ra~eslnar pening':,Tre ~!i1;wp~~asriIY"iS disin(egrath,gw.ith;ftsmoraie'sil1l

IV

THE UNITED STATES LAUNCHES AIR AND NAVAL ATTAC/(S ON THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM

From the own admission of the U.S. ruling circles, by the. end of 1963,the military and political moves made by the United States in order to retrieve its predicament in South Viet Nam had turned out to be unable to prevent the s.ituation .in the aggressive war from going from bad .to worse. On March 7, 1964., U PI remarked:

"The question no longer is whether the war is being lost, but how fast the United States and South Viet Nam are losing it and whether there still is any flimsy hope of saving. the situation".

In. an attempt to find. a way out of this crumbling pQosition, the United States plots to extend the war beyond South Viet Nam's b'orders.

Since early 1964, the U.S. ruling circles in Washington have envisaged "carrying the war to North Viet Nam". Many plans have been mapped out by the U.S. strategists in the State Department and the Pentagon. NQotewQorthy is the plan NO' 6 worked out by Walt W. Rostow, the policy-planner Qof the U.S. State Department. This plan envisages three stages:

I st stage: naval blockade of Hai Phong port. , 2nd stage: naval attacks On North Viet Namcoastal Instal-

lations. 3rd stage: air bombing of NorthViet Nam.

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The' U.S. rhjHtarycircles, particularly the generals of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Un4erSecretary of Defence McNilUghton, have amended plam Rostow No.6 and put forward plan McNaughton for. bringing pressure to bear on North Viet Namby means of air

. atlaeks. in the vain hopepf reversing the tide. The . .14th Honolulu Conference held in early June 1964 decided

to carry the war to North VietNam in the form of air and naval attacks of destruction. .

Two months later, the United States set about carrying out this decision while intensifying the war in'South Viet Nam and directlY committing (he U.S. Air Forcl!' to the war in Laos.

On August 5, 1964, it launched the first attack, bombing and . strafing rnanylocalities along the coasts of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam;' To create a pretext for this new ad of war, it sent the ,destroyer Maddox of the 7th Flee! into the territorial waters of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam'for provocative activities from July 31 to August 2,. 1964, alJd engineered the so-called "T,onkih:Oulf Htcident" on the niglltofAugus( 4, 1964. In the b&nibitlg raids of early Februaty,1965,the. pretexfinvbked was

'. "tit for tat retahation" for the attacks launched by the Liberation Army and guerillas in Suth Viet Nilm. In Apr,il'i'96.5, after the . "tiffor tat retaliation;' argllment w~s exposed, the Uni,ted States

. r~sorted . to the "continuous reta:!iation" argument to justify its round-the-qlack indjscriminMe bombing of populated areas, which it' called "escal~tion".frbm one paraUeffo another. The tempo of

thesepiratic~l attacks was also jncrea~e.d. According to figures officially announced in Sai'gon and Washington, the U.S. Air Feirce launched:' . " ' , '". '" " _' " >, ", c-- _ ,',.',"'" f:,' ",' :,.-; ,,'" ii',

. ". ~lil Febrllary 1965:3 attacks with about 250 sorties, 'I~.Atkt;Ch.J965. >18atka~ks with 716 sorti'es;ancl':th

The. (axgetpf the ]110$t ferociousi,attacKs is Con Co,' helonging to the territory of the.Democratic Republic of \{iet Nam: about 100 raids were. recorded from August 1.964 to !lfioi:J: .. ,,;ilt . .",;:' .' .. " t .,,:, "'i'" -,,' ,~,,{,; , ,"i;,' t::>:' :, .

While carrying out air strikes against the mainland and some offshore islands, the United States has aiso used the 7th Fleet and warships of the South Viet Nam stooge administration to provoke, menace, inspect ships and junks sailing in international waters off the Vietnamese coasts or visiting D.R.V. ports. On March 21, 1965, the merchant-ship San Spyridbn, flying Lebanese flag and carrying goods for civiliijn use from Hai Phong port to Europe, was strafed by 1J .S. and South Viet N am aircraft, which caused many killed and wQunded. On March 24, 1965, the Soviet merchant-ship Ljma was also~hreatened by U.S. planes while sailing in international waters off the 'Vietnamese coast. These are piratical acts, which constitute.crude violations of the freedom of navigation in international waters, and brazen encroachments on the sove-reignty of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam and the other countries concerned.

The U.S. "special war;' in South Viet Namand war activities .against the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam have roused a moun-ting wave of indignation.in the world .

. The governments of all socialist countries have raised thei-r voices to energetically protest against" U.S. imperialist aggression,

\ " ' wholeheartedly support the just patriotic struggle of the South Viet Nam people, and express their determination to fulfil their internationalist dtity towards the Democratic Repulllic of Viet Nam, a member 0.1 the socialist camp. In all sociali'st countries, the people have displayed their militant solidarity with the Viet-namese people.

Concerned at the developments in VietNam, the governments and .leaders of many nationalist countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America have sternly condemned the U.S, pO'licy of aggression against South and North Viet Nam, and urged the United States tocorrec,try implement the 1954 Geneva Agreements on Viet Nam, arid strictly 'respect the sovereignty, independence, unity and terri-torial integrity

hundreds of millions of members, wholeheartedly take sides with the Vietnamese people, unreservedly support their just struggle, and resolutely QPp~'se the "special war" in South Viet Nam and the U.S. war activities against the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam. .

Tens Qf mill.iQns Qf people throughQut the world have come down to the streets to show their indignation at the U.S. policy of aggreSSion and war, and demand the withdrawal oJ American troops and arms from South Viet Nam and the cessation of all war activities against NQrth Viet Nam. This unprecedented move-ment is powerfully and continuously developing both in intensity and scope, taking on varied forms, such as rallies and demonstra-tions, damaging U.S. embassies, legations and infQrmation halls, giving moral and material supPQrt in the form Qf funds,. clothing and medicines. Millions of people have volunteered to go to Viet Nam to fight side by side with the Vietnamese people against U.S. imperialism.

Even in the United States, the administratIon cannot conceal the truth about Viet Nam. Thousands of intellectuals, religious leaders and other prominent personalities, tens of thousands of young people, stUdents, and women have voiced their opposition to the JQhnson Administration's policy of war against the Vietnamese people. The struggle of the American people sometimes assumed resolute forms, such as students' hunger strikes,orthe trespassing O'f barbed-wire fences surrounding an Oakland naval base by hundreds of yO'ung people to. prevent a U.S. cargo of arms from leaving. for South Viet Nam. Helga Herz will be remembered for

, ever as the woman who burnt herself to. death to.protest against the U.~. poHcy of ,aggression and war in Viet Nam. This. is indeed

. one stirrinl!1 image of the Amedcan people's movement against the 'war of aggreSSion in South VietNam.' ,

In short, since the el1dol the I

ZONES ATTAQUEES PA~ L'U.S. AIR FORCE AU NORD VIET NAM DE FEv'RIE~ A MAl 1965

. MAP OF AREAS IN NORTH VIET NAM ATTACKED BY U.S. AIR FORCE FROM FEBRUARY TO MAY 1965

POPULAIRE

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Limite Nord des z""es bombard," Jusqu' Bu ler iui" 196:;

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Northern limit of the TtlideJ 1"!taB up' to June 1st, 1965

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- Limitrl M:Jfd d(JS ~n.$ bombardhs jU5qU'.u ler mal 196$

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Nort},ern,Jim,'t of the raidad IIT,",S up to M"y 1st, 1965

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'~ - Limit" Nou} des ~nes bomba,d., . iu.~qu'llu ler avril/965

Northern limit 01 the ,eided .ffN!lS up to April 1st, 1965

- Limite Nord rim z8nes bomba,dw /usqu'eu Ie, mtlrS 1965 Northern limit 01 the r.idfld ar.us up to Mercl! 1st, 1965

v

THE SO~CALLED U.S. WILL FOR PEACE

The U.S. GO'vernment has put forward one argument after 'another, and published a "blue boO'k" and a "white paper" in an attempt to cO'ver up its aggression in SO'uth Viet Nam.

Since April 7, 1965, U.S. President JO'hnson has repeatedly stated that the United States has. cO'me to South Viet Nam "to defend freedom", "to' aIlO'w the people O'f South Viet Nam to' guide their own country in their o,wn way". He has also accused North Viet Nam of "ag,gressiQn against SQuth Viet Nam".He has said that the United States is ready to engage in "uncO'nditional discus-sions" to find a peaceful settlement of the war in Viet N am .

. Is tIre U.S. Oovernment "defending freedom" in' South Vi.et Nam?

As everybody knows, after World War II, the Vietnamese people seized PQwer fr~m the Japanese Fascists, and founded the Demo-

. cratic Republic of Viet Nam, a unified country exercising sovereign. ty from. the Viet Nam-China border down to' the southernmos't end Qf Viet Nam. But the United States actively helped the. French colonialist agj:!ressors with' dollars and weapons to ca,rry out "the. dirty war" fot.the purpQse of imposing' once agaiN. the wlonial' yoke on the Vietnamese, Khmer and 'Laotian peoples, After the con~lusion of the 19M Geneva, Agreements, wheJ;1ViehN'amwas . tempO~lIirily partitiQnedd'nt6 two;ZQoes, the South Viet NampeQple longed to see Sou!hVietNam achieve .

. -31-

independence, democracy, peace and neutrality. But the United States has set up a fascist regime under the Ngo Dinh Diem brothers and, later on, under a succession of military dictators; it has sabotaged the peaceful reunification of Viet Nam as provided for in the Geneva Agreements. It has brought into South Viet N am nearly 50,000 troops from the ,United States a!ld. thousands 01 mercenaries from a number of satellite countries to wage,together with the Saigon puppet army, an undeclared war, thus encroaching on the sovereignty and territory of Viet Nam, It .is crystal-clear that the United States, instead of "defending freedom" is. carrying out an armed aggression in South Viet Nam; it does not "allow the people of South Viet Nam to gUide their own country in their own way", but is st\fiing their deepest and most sacred aspirations, in an attempt to turn South Viet Nam into a U,S. military base and new-type colony. . .

The successive coups d'etat used by it to oust the stooge dictators desRised by the South Viet N am people have borne out the fallaciousness and utter bankruptcy of the U.S. argument about "defending freedom".

The United States is the aggressor in South Viet Nam, Such is the truth, That is what hundreds of millions(Jf peace

and' justice-loving people, and many governments' all over the world recognize when they sternly condemn "the special war" waged by the United States, and resolutely support the South' Viet Nam people's just patriotic struggle,

The so-called "aggression of North Viet Nam" is but an awkward and ridiculous myth fabricated by the White House. It can by no means C()ver up the truth, hut will only expose further the mean and 'deceitful tricks of the Johnson Administration and. their .ilk.

The South Viet Nam people have every right to rise up in arms against the U,S. aggressors and their lackeys to defend their country and their freedom, they aiJ'e fully entitled to use all neces-sary means in accordance with their iightof self-defence and self-determination, including an appeal to peace 'and justice-loving countries for m0tal support .and material aid in the form of fUiIds, weapons and volunteers.

~ 32 -

Is it true that the United States is ready to engage in "utlcon-ditional discussions" with a view to finding a peaceful settlement. of the con~ict in Viet Nam ?

It will be recalled that nQt IQng ago, President Johnson deman-ded, as a pre-conditiQn tQ any negotiationsfQr a settlement Qf the South Viet Nam question, that North Viet Nain should "stop its aggression against SQuth Viet Nam". This time, he proposes "unconditional discussiQns" presumably because he wants to give better proof of his "will for peace",and even of his desire "to raise the living standards" Qf South'East Asian peoples. The U.S. ruling circles probably hope' that Johnson's April 7 speech might mislead the world's peoples into taking this as the sign Qf a change in the U.S. policy.

Unfortunately, the April 7 speech is full of contradictions: - It is a fact that U.S. and puppet troops are fighting against

the South Viet Nam Liberation Army and people which are led by the South Viet Nam National Front for Liberation. The United States talks about its desire to hold "discussions" with a view to finding a peaceful solution to.the South Viet Nam question, bilt it refuses to recogl1ize the South Viet Nam National Front fQr Libera-tion as the sole' genuine representative Qf the South Viet Nam people. It is obvious that the United States wants neither peace nor "negotiations" .

- The United States says that it wants a peaceful settlement of the war in Viet Nam, but at the same time, it declares that "it will not withdraw, either openly or under the cloak of a meaningless agreement". A peaceful settlement which does not include the withdrawal Qf U.S. and satellite troops from South Viet Nam canllO't be regarded as such by sound-niinded people. It only means tha.t the United States which has launched an armed aggression against South VietNam, is insolently asking the heroic South Viet Nam people to lay down their arms and surrender tQ those on whom they have inflicted defeat after defeat. This is the kind of "negotiations from a position of strength" repeatedly mentioned by the U.S. ruling circles, from Johnson to Dean Rusk and MeN amara. But they should not have any illusions about it. The indQmitable SQuth Viet Nampeople deeply love peace but they are determined fo struggle against the U.S. imperialist aggressors; never will they layd0wn their arms llntil they win final victory.

- 33-

-The United States says tl>at it 'wants to' seek a peaceful 'settlement of the war in Viet Nam because it "wants peace quickly to be restoted" but it deems it "necessary to increase its response and make attacks by air',', While President Johns.on says that the United States "will strive not to extend the hostilities", Maxwell Taylor, the initiator nf the tlieory of ';specialwar"" who is nnw the plenipo,tentiary representative nUhe U.S, Government in South Viet Nam for carrying out this kind of war, bluntly states that "no limit exists to the potential escalation nf the war", and that "America may directly, enter the fighting ground if necessary".

While talking abnut peace, the United States continues to intensify the war in South Viet Nam, and to extend the war with its air fnrce and navy to North,Viet Nam. This may lead to unfore-seeable consequences. It is clear that ,the U.S. aggressors and warmnngers are using dOUble talk tn covet up their new dangerous miHtary adventures in this area.

Over the, recent period, the United States has brought into South Viet Nam the major part of the third division of marines ,commanded byMajor General Williams ~. Cnllins (this is stationed in the bases nf Da Nang, Phu Bai and Chu Lai, a new air base now being built about 100, kilnmetres south of DaNang); the whole 173rd brigade of' paratronps commanded by'Brigadier General Ellis WilIiamson (this is stationed in Bien 110a and'Vung

"Tau bases),; many support units such as those of, engineers, artil-lery, Hawkanti-a'ircraft missiles. On'April 10, 1965, the United Slates setup in Saigon the Support Command No ,I, a bQdy responsiblefor ensuring materiaIsuppliesfoFt,heoperations nf U.S. army corps .

. The ,Ullited States,hasalsnordered its satel1l'tes to'send troops "to South Viet Namascanllon-fodd~r'il1h~South 'Knrean puppet

government has, sent2,OOOtroops;'i!:\ustrtl'!Ia ,has S,el1t a battahon of 800 men; the Philippine aUfhorIties are plotting to send 2,000 mercenaries.to$outh Viet" Nath. '

,With fegardt0arms and'equipmeni,the United States(1.as ' intr0dllqea'U1to'Soufh Viet Naittm~ny,l\lOd,eJ'nrneans of warfare

, sllchh~htorn\j~t ,fightet~;rad~r-equiip:pe!l'E;C: 121 planes, rnc,endieg~Jb0mhs,,'lil.M'd:eveJ1 Dig-guns -eapabl,e9f!;,flrHfJgtacticall'1uclear 'sheIls,etc. ()rtfri'a~y' 'ogcasfdns: it has:~v'en,Useda ir baSes 'friTha'iHmd 'I br'tlie'~~hi!l1iri gandstr,'afin It

"

of the territory of the Democratic Republic .of Viet Nam, With a . view to intensifying the bombing of North Viet Nam by night and

.' in the forthcoming rainy season, it is sending to South Viet Nam many A.6 Intruder jet fighters specially equipped for this purpose,

While' U.S. reinforcements in troop.s and weapons are flowing in, the U.S. Seventh Fleet with the Ranger, H,ancock, Coral Sea

and Midway task forces keeps operating in, aii'd south of, the Bac Bo Gulf, multiplying provocations against ships plying in this area or visiting the harbours of the Democratic RepubIic of Viet Nam,

The. aggressive and bellicose features of the U.S .. Government are further laic! bare bythefoHowing arrogant action: on' April 24, 1965,President Johnson designated the whole of Viet Nam and the waters adjacent thereto up to 100 miles from the Vietnamese coasts, and part of the territorial waters of the Chinese People's Republic arouncithe Paracels ishindsas a "combat zone"of the U.S. armed forces. This is in essence a mo,ve towards a blockade of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam, and at the same time, a. preparation for larger-seale military adventures. .

In fact, the United States is frenZiedly il)tenstfying the aggres-sive war in South Viet Nam, stepping up the war of destruction with its air force agains(North Viet Narn, and. menacing the terri-torial waters of the I;)emocratic Republic of Viet Nam with its naval forces,in an attempt to turn defeat and weakness into victory and strength, getbutO:L its present impass in South Viet N am, a11d obta:in atih'e conference table what it cannot win on the battlefield ..

'I'liIe.so-l:aHed "will fo:r peace" and. "economic' aid" recently .l11enti6nedbyJohnsonare but. familiar tricks of .psychological war-

fare)o/. the U,S:',imperia]ists . designed to soothe and deceive public oplni()n>ia,md coveruptheir.attempt to extend thew~r a"lldenslave

'the Indo.,

SECTEUR DECRETE ZONE DE COMBAT DES FORCES ARMEES AMERICAINES ,

PAR LE PRESIDENT JOHNSON LE 24 AVRIL 1965

SECTOR DECREED BY PRESIDENT JOHNSON ON APRIL 24, 1965 AS COMBAT ZONE OF THE U.S. ARMED FORCES

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