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THE BATTALION
Page 2
College Station, Texas
Tuesday, April 2, 1968
Peace Could CADET SLOUCH byJimEarle
Bombing Pause
Result From
Futile Attempt
LBJ Decision
In a dramatic 40-minute speech Sunday nig-ht the Presi
dent told the nation he had ordered the cessation of bombing
in all areas of Vietnam except that area just North of the
Demilitarized Zone.
“We are prepared to move immediately toward peace
throug-h neg-otations,” he said.
The President challeng’ed the North Vietnamese to se
riously consider negotations but warned “If peace does not
come now through negotations, it will come when Hanoi
understands that our common resolve is unshakeable, and
our common strength invincible.”
The timing of the announcement made the probability
of its success doubtful.
A bombing pause was applauded by many “doves” as
an important first step toward peace, and for the time being
it has placated those seeking an alternative to the administra
tion’s previous war policy.
According to the South Vietnamese government they
were not consulted before the President made the move, and
have apparently interpreted the pause as a sign of weakening
U. S. determination.
The Soviet government said Monday it would make no
effort to aid the British in their attempt to arrange negotia
tions between the U. S. and North Vietnam.
A North Vietnamese official in Paris unofficially said
that his government would reject the offer because the
United States had not completely stopped “all acts of aggres
sion” against the North.
This would include any air action along the DMZ, any
ground movement or any naval bombardment.
The President had stated that he could not “in all con
science stop all the bombing” because it would endanger the
lives of Allied forces along the DMZ where continuing enemy
buildup continues to threaten Allied forward positions.
The area free from attack includes “almost 90 per cent
of North Vietnam’s population, and most of its territory,”
including heavily populated and food producing areas.
The President did not set any time limit on the bombing
pause but the administration will probably allow three weeks
for some sign of de-escallation from the Communists.
The move appears to be a sincere attempt by the Presi
dent to begin negotiations, and a political move to demon
strate to our foreign critics and those critics at home that
this country has taken the first step.
This is the tenth time in three years that there has
been a bombing pause. The enemy has always taken advant
age of the situation to regroup and resupply.
Pilots who regularly fly North are disappointed and
from their personal viewpoint it can only mean rebuilt missile
and anti-aircraft sights.
For the next three weeks the Ho Chi Minh trail will
probably look like a Los Angeles freeway with fresh supplies
moving South—after this country expended so many lives to
effectively leave the foe rice and gun hungry.
The most important psychological reason for failure is
that the President used the same speech to announce that
he would not run for reelection.
Why should the enemy negotiate now when a new ad
ministration next January might give them a better opportu
nity—a peace on their terms?
If the same pattern of rejection follows this latest
announcement, the result will be a bloody May with enemy
troops in the South well supplied and bridge, railroad, and
manufacturing sights in the North rebuilt.
President Johnson’s twin bomb
shells, his withdrawal from the
presidential race and his cutback
in the bombing of North Viet
nam, come at a time when there
are suggestions that the North
Vietnamese population has be
come bone-tired of the war and
perhaps more difficult to handle.
If that is the case, the President’s
actions could lead to peace ne
gotiations.
One way or the other, the
President’s announcements prob
ably landed with stunning force
in Hanoi.
IN ONE WAY the Communists
are likely to be discomforted. The
announcements lob the peace ball
into their court, and world opinion
will await their response. The
President’s decisions present a
challenge to Moscow — he has
asked it to use its role as co-
chairman of the 1954 Geneva
conference to further the cause of
Vietnam peace.
The President’s suspension of
bombing of 90 per cent of North
An AP News Analysis
Sound Off
Editor,
The Battalion:
I am Charles Hoffman and I
am a run-off candidate for Vice-
President of the Class of '71. I
feel qualified by past experience.
I have served in numerous leader
ship positions in various organi
zations.
As for our class, I advocate
class meetings where class mem
bers can express their ideas and
can participate in the planning
of class activities.
Often, we find ourselves on
campus over a weekend with not
much to do that is entertaining.
I believe it is time for our class
to plan some extra activities for
some of these long weekends.
Specifically, if elected, I pledge
my efforts to carry out the
voters’ wishes and to work with
them so that more class members
will have a voice in their student
government. I need each member
of the class of ’71’s' vote and
support in this Thursday’s run-off
election.
Charles Hoffman ’71,
Candidate for Vice-Pres.
Vietnam goes a long way toward
meeting a major condition laid
down by Hanoi for talks. The
pause is open-ended. It provides
a lever, if they choose to use it,
for the Russians, and perhaps the
French, to apply pressure on
Hanoi to respond.
Only two weeks ago, in the
name of President Ho Chi Minh,
Hanoi published a 22-article de
cree promising Draconian punish
ment for North Vietnamese op
ponents of the war.
The decree listed as punishable
“counterrevolutionary crimes”
such activities as “opposition to
the fatherland and the people’s
democratic power, sabotage of So
cialist construction, undermining
national defense and the struggle
against U.S. aggression.” Activi
ties against “security and order,”
defecting or abetting defection to
the enemy, attempts to destroy
the political power in the North,
“counterrevolutionary propagan
da” and a long list of other
offenses are punishable by death
or long imprisonment.
THIS WAS NOT the first time
that North Vietnamese internal
announcements indicated trouble
arising from weariness with the
war. Others in the past have
dealt with manpower shortages
plus transport and distribution
problems.
The question now is whether,
in the light of the dramatic de
velopments in Washington and
the new pressures likely to be
generated by them, Hanoi will
begin to see possible long-range
profit in responding to the Ameri
can overture.
The removal of President John
son from the American election
campaign might encourage Hanoi
to hang on and accept the hard
ships of the next seven months
until after the U.S. balloting, to
see what that might bring.
Meanwhile, Hanoi propaganda
could claim that the U.S. Presi-
APRIL 6 DEADLINE FOR
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THE BATTALION
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