Byline; Hans Morgenthau on War in Vietnam

Talking about Vietnam. So much has been sacked by me by all those that says he did very little but that seems to be very little which still can be said and breached does not at least for. The speaker not to speak of SI audience. However. It is one of C quality years of political and historic subjects that you can be looked at from very many different perspectives. And so let me try it tonight. To look at Vietnam not as not so much current populism of American foreign and military policy but Arthur as an example. It's a case in point of what is fundamentally wrong with our very thinking about and about foreign

and military policy. Let me say Tigana lies at least some aspects of our policies with regard to beate none. In terms of what we can learn a from that experience from our mistakes and how we can again at least a measure of wisdom from what we have to run along and what went wrong in Vietnam. First of all we have a basic misunderstanding about what by dilution means into contempt and it's good lation. To communism. So this. Has made itself money fests not only in Vietnam but also of course in the Dominican Republic.

We assume that success. Ever try a conspiracy communist conspiracy which is for sponsible for I do Lucian's where ever see me or Korea. Includes if Marx died of Savoy it's for me to suffer through his life as a boy and if Lenin had died of the measles let me say to you to give to give him some benefit of the light and not too painful to seize. Marxism and botulism but never have been heard of. We would still live today in an objective for the revolutionary situation. Foresee a breakdown of the European following. And empires serializing consequent of that breakdown of a great number of new states most of which are not viable

political military and economic entities. See awakening by virtue of modern technology. Off. See see my colonial nations such as China and American nations. Also as factors delineate in objective revolutionary situation what is occurring in Islam contributes to this. My blue Schneller situation is that it exploits so this revolutionary situations for its purposes. But it does not create them. It's a choice before us. If they are for not between the defense of the starter squall and I view Lucian Freud between Lucian exploited and subverted by communism and it I view Lucian rich

follows a noncommunist course. This is appears to be a simple distinction which is simple only in theory but full of risks and pitfalls in practice for it so happens that most if not all of you Lucius. We Trix's today and so likely to exist tomorrow. Have the communist component C are exposed to a greater or lesser degree to soothe a sense of being taken over. By communism. In other words what happened in Cuba. May happen elsewhere. And this is see concrete political situation which confronts us now nothing is simpler than to keep trying to lead to a sad situation.

By sending some other means. There's a place with a revolution that is breaking out. So this is a simple matter of logistics and we are very good. At solving. The problems of logistics. Watch this. Military intervention does not sought of subproblems and UBL I'm afraid in demeaning the public as we are seeing today in Vietnam is the catastrophic of a silence of such a simple minded policy of military oppression. Certainly they existed a certain verse into Dominican Republic. If that's your view Lucian might be taken although not by communists but the sound policy would have been not to suppress that I view Lucian because of its communist component

but I don't compete actively we see communist component for influence upon sat that dilution. Now anybody you know your tired sis in Washington will tell you that sis is a very difficult and risky policy. And furthermore you cannot sell it to countless I do not deny its riskiness and I don't not deny it's a different creditors. Considering she's state of part of domestic public opinion to make such a policy a popular one but it is the task of simple accident and officials still acting irresponsibly for the conduct of American foreign policy to embark upon sound foreign policies and when I see approval of domestic public opinion of course I'm now sis. There's always considerations like the applicable to Vietnam for as you know if they are to

interpretations of the war in Vietnam one retreat into official one which recounts it as a classic case of communist organization. And the other one which I support on the basis of the evidence that says a war started out as a domestic civil war. It's a very violent against ACM regime of it for as a miller has it given you a product of character sation and intellect turns and peasants who voted against the CM machine in the fifties could not get it's a beginning. Support of the government of North Vietnam the government of North Vietnam. Feeling a is a possibility of war. Very few states are beginning to support this revolutionary movement into us

all the under great pressure and after mass executions in the south as fact they see North Vietnamese government about in 1960 started to aid and abet if you like or loosen into South. Now if this is not a media academic distinction. But is it a distinction of the greatest importance for form S. or Fischer point of view. That is a case of outside our question I guess a question of two Vietnamese nations open a fictional assumption of course. The form says a superstition Sam follows of necessity. A number of conclusions. We try to see this day have handicapped our policy of this we got to hear it now. For every Brit fool. If this is such a fashion bison North Vietnamese government against South Viet Cong Amy C of the North Vietnamese government it would have been perfect their

logic to say that we shall negotiate only reach the North Vietnamese government which is see if you are the party to the conflict and indeed until July 28 for much I should say from a phone up at 7 when for the first time I get to negotiate until July 28. We have always taken the position. I thought we shall only negotiate with the government of North Vietnam. It was only in his speech of July 28 that suffice it and declared that the participation of the Viet Cong in negotiations would not be in Stone Mountain obstacle for such negotiations. But until July 28 we operated reseeing a framework of fictional assumptions. We

created a world of fiction which had very little if any relation really act on the facts but which was capable of supporting and realistic palaces for Indeed. To say we are willing to negotiate but we are we not negotiate with the other party into civil war is of course saying we are not willing to negotiate at all or it is like a treacherous third saying doing see American War of Independence. We didn't negotiate with. The 15 so far since we should respect the head of a respectable government but we are not going to do. We are not going to negotiate resaw is a bunch of racists. George Washington. Thank you. George Washington to him.

I expected that from. Our position with regard to the negotiations. He's been very similar to French so French for a long time to clear. We are not going to negotiate with that because we French citizens who have violated the laws of France have taken arms taking up arms against us. I'm doing it big old it was a much more intelligent man as he's given given credit for by many people in this country. You study if you wanted to leave the war in Vietnam even if you had to negotiate with the people or forts of war which we are unfortunately your habits and so on. And so I guess in Vietnam if you don't want to negotiate to be to be a Carlow you simply don't want to negotiate because it isn't true and Jason is a mountain of evidence to prove it.

As Nazi Viet Cong i.e. me instrument of Hanoi. We know for instance the National Liberation Front on the political of the Viet Cong. I'm much closer in certain respects to a taping and taping has tried to negotiate not only tight has actually negotiated the effect that we see nationally but ration foreign vending Hanoi when last March for instance. Mr. Corsi getting paid a visit to Hanoi and to Viet Cong suspect that his act was seeking wanted to pass rate to Hanoi government to negotiate with United States S.. Viet Cong. Mange attack upon play pool which was directly fought out of by rights against North Vietnam and of course made any

attempt at mediation on the part of pussy. Impossible so easy to me a fiction to say it's not Soviet call them your instrument of our knowledge but by saying this and by acting on your assumptions that it is to be contradicted of course greatly to make a new tool because we push a see Viet Cong into the sea arms of Hanoi. Now if this leads me to a second tranche of conservation we've got is a logic to a communism. Ten years ago in the first 15 or 20 years ago it was perfectly sensible. Well Paul was all out of communism all communist movements and all communist governments without discrimination

because it could all be if they got it. Samia extension of the power of the Soviet Union. We Trust last time to us. In other words a simple monolithic conception of communism during such a period of history corresponded to some facts and a symbol discriminating opposition to a problem and this was a sensible policy and I defended it to a day face not with one communism directed by the Soviet Union. But at least by 4 different communism's for having a different one be entering upon to national interests of the United States in S.F. or having to be on by different kinds of American foreign policy. Your first communism which is subservient to the Soviet Union. You have a communist which is subservient to China

if you have an independent communism such as that of Yugoslavia and now a full manger and you have a very white communism. So it's not it's a fence between the two major communist powers playing one against the other. Now it is what is the height of folly. To do to put to pursue a foreign policy which NEC lacked so its basic differences. But why do we have to learn our lesson at least to a certain extent in Eastern Europe. We have not learned it at all in Asia. For China I hastily plays the Soviet Union a sequencer center from which our evil emanates and so we today ate great noir with taping Soviet call with Hanoi. And it's all one to same thing. And the who who

spoke in a meeting and it was the other day a deputy undersecretary deputy assistant secretary of state spoke of Chinese citation in South Vietnam. Which is a kind of science fiction. It's much about the psychology of support for people who make foreign policy. If you trap a nice government send one of its most experienced diplomats Matsumoto former ambassador to Vietnam a couple of months ago and report which I trust not vitally publicized in this country. He poked fun at see grandfather father son relationship which we had assumed to exist between peeping Hanoi and Soviet comm and he said to relationship between Soviet Cong and Hanoi is very much like the relationship which existed during the Second World War Between see underground movements in occupied Europe

and U.S. governments in exile in London certainly say cease its relationship and say see a relationship of active US assistance but that is to say if this is one thing and do assume start so's movements within a particular country. Are so merely sort of too much a nations of another government is an entirely different thing and it isn't a case of Vietnam pure fiction but it is a fiction upon which our whole thinking about Vietnam. It's a base and for this reason says fiction is so terribly dangerous. If we would have a foreign policy with regard to Vietnam worthy of the name we would do everything in our power not to minimize the differences between Soviet Cong Hanoi but to maximize them we waterboard should be it Kong in order to separate them from Hanoi who would approach

China noise in order to separate it from peeping. Of course this requires a certain message tailored to a certain know how about diplomacy reaches not in to a larger supply in city councils of our government. Let me also say about negotiations in China. As a president has time and again and emphatically declared. So actually I think you don't negotiate with anybody about anything at any place. Starting to land. And that you have done so 15 times now I haven't got time to look at the town there was a post of yours 15 times but it all depends upon whom you want to negotiate and I thought Id made and second the all depends upon under what conditions you want to negotiate.

I can write a letter to see Empire State Building in Washington and say I'm willing to negotiate for the purchase of the Empire State Building. What are your conditions. And see Israel and see negotiation. Why do you love for the president as to us our stock. In any. Rightly. Be any and then it all depends upon what the terms of negotiations and indeed negotiations have clearly have been going on between ourselves and Hanoi and Artis abused Kong always sought by middlemen and obviously sees great stumbling block. Is government the kind of problem in South Vietnam ought to have. We of course say so I must be free democratic elections and Vietcong happiness so why not let them all forms a noise they have to go back to the north

and then to Vietnam by themselves can decide if they are fake. And if China tea leaves anybody alive who opposes him I mean even the some opposition. Parties. So here's a column of this I know you of course has to be it's called the authentic voice of Vietnamese people we are going to farm equalisation government I think these 14 members of the Vietcong and the 11 members of non Vietcong Packers and you can imagine what kind of life would be in to embrace of Soviet Kong of course you know a Viet Cong participant would be suffocated. It is a serious problem which by some way was a problem which you ordered to go into agreements like a set of the nations of Eastern Europe which he said steak and ice no possibility at the moment for any kind of compromise or you know possibly find a compromise at all because you do

see is a democratically elected government which most likely would be if they were really free elections a communist dominated government a Viet Cong dominated government or would would be a coalition government after idea often knowing it would be an outright Vietcong problem and from beginning. So since the state of war is severely Hooshang point all this out. And since the negotiations have been frustrated by some impossibility of creating a consensus we got was this problem. I think negotiations have they're unlikely to succeed. They are so unlikely to succeed. For another they use them for his eyes to see for a minute. In the short term military sense ph indeed of being successful in South Vietnam. There is no doubt the stock see my seeds bomb and to massive destruction

of villages has made it impossible for Soviet Cong to continue to see attacks of phase two of the GOING TO WAR off master carcass in battalion strength upon which they had engaged to excess for six months ago. So you are now did you lose to see the first state of cigarillo war that is to cease they must disperse into a smaller undetectable gulps. Trying to meet surprise attacks on a small scale to commit sabotage to assassinations. That is to say it's a classic part. Of the US that they love war so we have been successful in a tactical sense. But of course they say is success has no political meaning at all what we have started and what we are into process of doing is to

destroy some social fabric and you may say see the economic topic of South Vietnam to occupy a sick country to govern succumb to and to defend ourselves continuously again. So you got to love warfare of the caracter to which I have preferred that is to see to be in a position very similar to that in which the British found some sense. Doing so about the part of say occupation of Ireland if they had it by military force but against a condition yours and sometimes open rebellion of the native population. Now the name of our presence in South Vietnam. It's not self that our biases might cease by so it's inevitable effect of our policy. Why do sic cantare So same South

frustrated by. For why in Vietnam we are in Vietnam for the same reason we are investing in Europe in general has to say in order to contain come in this room by military means I shall not yet end up again in a question as to how feasible the supervision of the military and containment of China is so by against the success of S. military containment of the Soviet Union. I want only to say such a firestorm containing China in its place and fun Piers. So you do start of South Vietnam and it's a dark truth to an American colony. You say but the condition foresee extension of Chinese influence into South Vietnam for its form Say on. It's a China Town pose we said. Appearance of fools. AC liberate of South Vietnam from foreign oppression

was saying he would be the NPV of the NDP says success and not be possibly wanted to be. But we beat the Arctic by force of circumstances. The success of the final was the best of intentions was argy idea listen we are capable of what the act of only doing is to continuously colonialism of stiffened under sea and banner of national self-determination and it's only is it Chinese Communists which merely profit from star. Wars the destruction of the social fabric of South Vietnam. So your adoption of we had an American colony. See Chinese inexactly superstition in which they want to be so you can see the executors of sin national destiny of Vietnam to liberate herself from a CPP era of foreign oppression. Now let me say in conclusion about the CIS new

nationalism which is very intimately connected. We see revolutionary situations in which I have referred to revolutionary movements of foot today. One is a social revolution. Directed against domestic and foreign exploitation in favor of the use of modern technology for the betterment of human conditions and zero they see the delusion of nationalism of nations or of peoples who want to be Nations and who want to Vic's themselves of foreign domination. Now by looking at it in in nothing but terms of a communist conspiracy you completely miss the nature of those two converging that pollution era movements and more sense that we all know that we not only miss

the nature of those revolutionary movements by too forward we allow the communists the Soviet Union and more particularly China to oppose a see only authentic defenders and promoters of the social and national Lucian's in Surat. So it's our silos and so it's actually inevitably tragic results of an unsound policy based upon a mythology about other than offensive facts of experience. Thanks.