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PRESI

PRESIDENT

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President HO CHI MINH

answers
President L. B. JOHNSON

PRESIDENT

HO CHI MINH
ANSWERS
PRESIDENT

l. B. JOHNSON

FOl~EIGN

LANGUAGES

PUBLISHING

I-lOUSE

HANOI-1967

CONTENTS

Pa ge

Publisher's .Ya le President

]-\0

Ch i Minh's R eply t o C .S .

President L y nd on B. John son Letter to P resi de n t H o Ch i Minh by Tho

D r Xg uye n
A Com men ta rv Appendix U.S.

HUll

13
19

President

L yn don Presiden t

B.

J ohn son 's

Xlessagc to

E o Ch i ;,Iinh

PUBLISHER'S

~OTE

I II early F ebruary J96 7, a ill JJoscow ask ed jar a me eting ocrat ic R epublic oj Vi etnam [rout Presid ent L. B. [ohnson

repr esentati ve oj th e U ni ted States w ith a representati ve oj th e Dentto whom he handed over a lett er t o Pres id ent H o Chi JVIinh.'"

On F ebr ua ry 15, H)67, th e rep resen tati ve oj th e D emo crat ic Republic oj V iet na m handed over Pr esid ent Ho Chi M inh's rep ly to the repr esentat iue oj th e U n i ted Stat es. H erei n we publi sh P resid ent H o Ch i M inh 's reply al on g

u-ith ou r comme n tary and a leit er t o th e Pres id ent oj th e D emocratic R ep ubl ic 0/ V ietlla m [rom Dr N guy en HUll Tho ,
President oj th e P resid iu m o] t he So u th Vi etnam Xot ional Fr ont for Liberation. The presen t bookl et , we believe, will help th e read er t o bett er understand t he view poi n t oj th e I' ietnamese p eopl e and that oj the aggresso r ag ains t w ho m t hey ar e fighti ng j ar th eir i n depe n dence and ja r p eace.

FOHE IG X LA . GGAGES PCRLISHL 'G HOUSE -

HA 1T OI

'" Sec Appe nd ix

President HO CHI MINH'S Reply to U.S. President LYNDON B. JOHNSON

TO HIS E'{CELLJ7.XO" J iN L)'SDOX H. jOHX50X, ]'RI : ' SIDE.\'T,

U X IT E D STATES OF A J JJ:RJCA

Your Exce llency, On February 10, 1967, I received your Th is is my reply. Vietna m is thousa nds of m iles away from the Un .t cd States. Th e Vietnamese peopl e ha ve never don e any harm to the Uni te d Sta tes . Bu t cont ra ry to th e pledges made by it s repr esen t at ive at t he 195-1- Gen eva Conference, th e C .S. Go vernment has cea sele ssly inte r vened in Vietnam, it has unl eash ed and inte nsi fied th e war of aggressi on in South Vietnam with a v.ew to pro long ing t he par ti t ion of Vietnam and t urni ng South Vietnam in t o a nco-col ony
2.

message.

President

and a military base of the United States. For over two years now, the U.S. Goverment has, with its air and naval forces, carried the war to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, an independent and sovereign country. The U.S. Government has committed war crimes, crimes against peace and against mankind. In South Vietnam, half a million U.S. and satellite troops have resorted to the most inhuman weapons and the most barbarous methods of warfare, such as napalm, toxic chemicals and gases, to massacre our compatriots, destroy crops, and raze villages to the ground. In North Vietnam, thousands of U.S. aircraft have dropped hundreds of thousands of tons of bombs, destroying towns, villages, factories, roads, bridges, dykes, dams, and even churches, pagodas, hospitals, schools. In your message, you apparently deplored the sufferings and destructions in Vietnam. May I ask you: Who has perpetrated these monstrous crimes? It is the U.S. and satellite troops. The U.S. Government is entirely responsible for the extremely serious situation in Vietnam. The U.S. war of aggression against the Vietnamese people constitutes a challenge to the countries of the socialist camp, a threat to the national independence movement, and a serious danger to peace in Asia and the world.

The Viet na mese peopl e deeply lov e ind ep enclen ce, freedom and peace. But in th e face of th e U .S. aggression, they have risen up, unit ed as one man, fearless of sacrifices and hard sh ips; th ey ar e det ermined to carry on t he ir R esist an ce until they hav e won genuine inde pende nce and fr eedom and tru e peace. Our ju st ca use en joys strong sympath y and support fro m t he peopl es of th e whol e world inclu ding broa d sec ti ons of th e American peopl e. The U.s. Governm ent h as unl ea sh ed th e war of aggression in Vie tna m. It mu st cease th is aggr ession. T hat is t he only way to th e restoration of peace. The U.S . Gove rn ment mu st st op defin iti vely and unconditiona lly it s bomb ing raid s and all oth er act s of wa r aga ins t th e Demo crati c R epublic of Vietn am, withd ra w from South Vietn am all U.S. and sa te llit e troops, recog nize th e South Vietn am National Front for Liberation , and let the Vietn am ese p eopl e settle t he mse lves their own affairs. Such is th e basic con te nt of th e four-point st and of th e Government of the Democratic R epublic of Vietn am , which embo dies th e esse ntia l principl es and provisions of th e 1954 Geneva Agre em ent s on Vietnam . It is th e basis of a correct political solution to the Vietn am problem. In your message, you between th e Democratic suggested direct talks Republic of Vietnam

and the United States. If the U.S. Government really wants these talks, it must first of all stop unconditionally its bombing raids and all other acts of war against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. It is only after the unconditional cessation of the U.S. bombing raids and all other acts of war against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam that the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the United States could enter into talks and discuss questions concerning the two sides. The Vietnamese people will force: they will never accept threat of bombs. talks submit to under the

Our cause is absolutely just. It is to be hoped that the U.S. Government will act in accordance with reason.

Sincerely,

HO CHI

l\lI~I-1

letter to President HO CHI MINH by Dr NGUYEN HUU THO President, C entr al Committee Presidium, South Vietnam N ational Front for Liberation

Esteemed Pr esid ent, On beh alf of th e fourt een million South Vietnamese and t he Sout h Vietnam Xational Front for Lib eration, I wou ld like to ex press to you and our . .or the m k ith and k in t he deep emoti on of th e South Vietn am ese armed forces and peopl e on hear ing your reply to U.S . President Johnson. Your lett er voices th e deep h atred of our entire people for the aggressors . It br ings in full reli ef th e ju st stand for inde pende nce and peace as well as th e indomitable spiri t of our whole nat ion: it is a ste rn reply to the insole nt attit ude of th e U.S. chie f aggress or who
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h as gone th e length of laying down cond it ions to our peopl e. Your lett er is a h amm er blow at th e U.S. warm ongers, foilin g th eir "peace " swindle, caus ing bewilderm ent and emba rrass ment to th em whil e inspiring our peopl e throughout th e country and winning mor e suppor t for our ju st cau se from th e world peoples. Th e South Vietn amese armed forces and people , h ighly sati sfied and ent husiastic , wish to express to you and th eir brother s and siste rs in th e _.orth th eir absolut e confidenc e, th eir profound gr atitude and iron-l ike det ermination to respond to th e call of th e Fatherland -push forw ard our sacr ed war again st U.S. aggression for n ati on al sa lva t ion till comp lete vict ory . Th e U.S. imperi ali st s h ave been sus ta ining repeat ed and heavy defeat s in both part s of our coun t ry and are severe ly cond emn ed by worl d publi c opinion. Neverth eless, belli cose and obdurat e by n ature, th ey do not want to give up th eir d ark design of aggr ession. In South Vietnam th ey ar e throwin g all t he Amer ican, pupp et and sat ellite troops into terr or ist raids, ma ssacring our countrymen in rur al and ur ban areas, in the hills and th e plains, even in th e demilitar ized zone, piling up th eir crimes agains t our people. In the Korth, th ey have st epp ed up war escalati on to an ever mor e seriou s degr ee, int en sified att acks on various indu strial centres, towns and oth er popul ated

areas, dropped min es into riv er s and can als, and used n aval and ground ar t ille ry to fire at th e th e territory of th e Dem ocr ati c R epublic of Vietnam. Johnson and h is associate s hav e just held a conference in Gu am to dev ise mea sures for the int ensificat ion and expa nsi on of th eir aggr essiv e war again st our count ry . Yet, th ey cont inue reiterating their protest at ions of " peace " in an attempt to deceive public opinio n. But how can th ey conceal th eir dark design of ste pp ing up th eir aggr ession in the South, intensiying th e war of destruction in the North to cow our peopl e into su bm iss ion , and realize th eir plot to br ing th e Sout h under th eir domination, perman ently partition our beautiful country, and sabotage pea ce and secur it y in Indochina and Asia. Th e whole armed forces and people of South Vietnam, bo iling with hatred for th e U.S. aggressor s, ar e of on e mind with th eir compatriots in th e Xorth. Th ey are resolute to translate your words into brilliant deed s and to mak e th e Johnson cliqu e und erstand th at th e us e of armed for ce to subdue suc h a h eroi c people as ours will bring them nowhere. Th ere is only on e way for th em to a void ignominious failure, that is, to stop aggr ession, end their air raids and all other acts of war against the Democratic R epublic of Vietnam, withdraw all American and
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sate llite troops from South Vietn am, recogn ize t he South Vietnam Xat ional Front for L iber at ion as th e only gen uine representative of th e Sout h Vietn am ese peopl e and let th e Vietnamese peop le se t t le t hemse lve s their own affairs. Th e South Vietnamese arm ed forces and peopl e,
wh o are en joy ing wh oleh eart ed as sistance from th eir

cou nt rymen in th e Xorth and sy mpathy a nd sup port from the peop le a ll over the world, have be en recording gr eat victories, dealing repeated ham mer b lows at th e U.S. aggres sors and th eir henchm en. I n th eir irr esistible mar ch toward final vict ory , th e ar med for ces and peopl e of Sou th Vietn am w ill sure ly mete out still hea vier pun ishment to th e U.S. aggressors for eac h ste p of th eir war esca la t ion. Th ey arc read y to foil all th e new plans of th e U.S. aggres sors and w ill dri ve th em out of our country. W e prom ise to you and our compatriot s in the Xor th tha t , how ever frenz ied t he C.S . imp er ial ist s may be , and whatever brutal means th ey may usc, th e armed for ces and peopl e of South Viet nam, un der th e leader ship of th e ~atio na l Fr ont for L iber ation, will fulf il th eir pledge never to shrink before d ifficulties and sac rifi ces , and will fight shoulder to shou lde r w ith th eir Nort hern br ot hers and sis ters through to th e end w ith th e de ter mination to accomp lish as best th ey ca n t he sacred t ask
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of

liberating the South defending the

:\orth, in

advance toward national reunification. Please accept the most respectfllI greetings from the entire people and liberation armed forces of South Vietnam.

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Right in the first lin esof his letter to Pr esident Ho Chi Minh, President L.B. Jobnson delib er at ely erased the 1ine bet ween th e aggr essor an d th e victim of aggressi on. He brazenly said th at " we both have a heavy obliga t ion" , and pr etended to sorrow at the war calami t ies in Vietn am . Th e whole world knows th at it is t h e Unit ed St at es administration, it is J ohn son him self, who ) in violation of the solem n pledge mad e by th e United States delegate at t he 1954 Conference on In dochina, have sent America n and satellite troops to South Vietna m, and ord er ed Americ an air craft and warships to attack ~ or th Vietn am, perp etr at ing monstrous cri mes aga inst th e peopl e in both parts of our count ry . Th e Ameri can people ar e also aware that it is J ohnson, wh o has push ed
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ten s of thousands of Amer ican you th s on to the path of death to carry out th e si n iste r aggressiv e design s of the Unit ed St at es adm inistration. And he, who se hand s ar e sta ine d w ith blood, spoke of humanity! The truth is as clear a s daylight. Th e Unite d St at es has dispatch ed it s troops to invade Vietnam and used bom bs, bull et s and toxic che mic a ls to sow destructions on th e Vietname se soil daily and hourly. As Presid ent Ho Chi Minh h as po int ed out, "tile U. S . Governm ent lias committe d war cri mes , cr imes a gain st peace and a gain st mankind ", and ' r ilie [ T.S. Couer n me nt is ent irely respon si ble jar th e extremely ser ious situation i n V ietnam ". Th e V ietnam ese people do not enc roac h up on an inch of th e Uni te d States t erritory. Th ey ar e only waging a se lf-defe nce st ru ggle on th eir own land. Th ey ar e resol ved to defeat th e American aggr essors for t he sake of their own ex iste nce . Th ey th ereby a lso d isch ar ge th eir respon sibiliti es t oward th e nat ional liber ation mo vement of th e oppressed peopl es, to wa rd t he defen ce of th e soc ia list cam p of whic h t he ir countr y is a memb er, and th e safe gua rdi ng of peace in Sout heas t Asia and t he worl d. J ohn son 's conte nt ion th at (( we bot h hav e a heavy ob ligat ion " mea ns t ha t he wan t s to pu t t he aggressor and th e vict im of aggress ion on t he same foot ing in or de r to defe nd h is ga ngster's viewpoint in the se tt lement of th e Vietnam prob lem . Joh nso n a lso clai med t ha t he had made ((efforts" ove r th e past se vera l yea rs t o a ttai n a (( peacef ul set t lerncn t " of the V ietn am iss ue , and t ha t (( these

efforts had not achieved any results. " Bu t what is the truth? The t r ut h is th at in th e last tw o year s [ohnson has consta nt ly paid lip service to " peace" ~hile escalat ing very quick ly and fr anticall y. Si nce he began his" pea ce negot iat ion s " hoax in hi s Bal t imore speech in Apri l 1965 , the Uni te d States admi nistration has raised the strengt h of its expedi ti ona ry force in South Viet na m from 50,000 to ove r 42 0,000 men (more than eightfold), and esca late d its a ir war fro m the 17th para lle l to a ll pa rts of Nor t h Vietnam , at tacking bridges, vi llages, pagodas, churc hes , ho sp it al s, dam s, industria l ce ntres, and major cities incl udi ng Hanoi - cap ital of t he De mocra tic R ep ubli c of Viet-

Every time J ohn son pr ep ar ed for new esca la ti on steps, he inva ria bly talk ed of "peace " to cover up his and the United States adm inistrat ion 's cr imes and fool public opi nio n .
Right after sendi ng h is letter t o Pr esident Ho Chi Minh, he made t hree new success ive esca la ti on ste ps by lau nchi ng large-sca le military oper ations in Sou t h Vietnam, and res uming t he bombing of North Vietnam even before t he Lunar l ' ew Y ear cease-fir e ord er ed by the South Vie t na m National Front for L iber at ion came to an end ; second ly, by us ing artiller y base d south of t he de m ilit arized zon e and on Amer ican warships to shell 1\orth Vietnam and dropping min es into its rivers and cana ls : and thirdly, by in ten sify ing and expanding at t acks on industrial centres of th e Democratic Rep ub lrc of Vietnam, such as Vietri, Th ainguyen, Ho nga i, Haiphong and bombing pl aces along the Red River ins ide Hanoi.

A few days back, Johnson summoned his associates and Saigon henchmen to Guam for a "war council .. meeting to speed up the aggression against Vietnam. Th e Western press has disclosed that the United States would" step up military pressure on the Korth", "add more targets to those already under attack in Korth Vietnam". "bring in another 40,000-jO,OOO men apart from 470,000 planned for 1967", " introduce troops into the Mekong delta" "give Westmoreland more responsibilities and an enlarged staff" etc. A communique was issued, claiming however that Washington would continue the earnest search for peace in Vietnam!
J

Washington responsible representatives have again and again repeated the word" peace" but theirs is a sham peace. Because while doing so they go on ,Htacking the Democratic Republic of Vietnam with greater intensity. Because far from withdrawing American and satellite troops from South Vietnam, they keep increasing them. Because they persist in refusing to recognize the South Vietnam National Front for Liberation - their opponent - who has inflicted upon them heavy defeats on the battlefield, and is the real master of the situation in South Vietnam. Because they continue trampling upon the sacred national rights of the Vietnamese people, refusing to let them settle themselves their internal affairs. It is crystal-clear that the path being followed by the U.S. administration is that of war and aggression. In his letter President Ho Chi Minh has clearly shown the only way to peace in Vietnam. He said,

"Th e U .S . Govemment has u nleash ed the wa r 01 agressi on in Vietnam, I t niusi cea se th is a ggr ession . That is th e onl y W: 1 Y to the restorat i on 01 peace. Th e U .S . Government must stop defi nitively a nd un condit ionally its bombing raids and all othe r acts 01 wa r ag ai nst th e Democratic Republic 01 Viet nani, wi thd raw from So uth Vie tnam all American and satellite tr oops , recogn ize the South Vietnam Nationa l Fr ont l or L ib erati on, let th e Vietu:l 'nese people settle themse lve s the ir own a l ia irs. Suc h is th e basic content oj the lo ur-poi nt st a nd 01 th e Government 01 the Demo cratic R epu blic oj V iet nam , which em bodies the essential prin cip les and provis ions oj the 1954- Geneva Agreelltt;uts on Viet na m . It is the basis 01 a correct political solution to th e Viet nam pro blem . "

The United Sta tes administra ti on, h owever, is stubbornly opposi ng th e ju st sta nd of the Government of the Democra t ic R epublic of Vietn am. Th e very condition laid down by Johnson for an end to the bombi ng of th e Democrat ic Republic of Vietnam shows his u t ter obdur acy and impu dence. Without calling it by n ame - and everyone understands why - Johnson demand ed recipro city, claiming that in return for an "order " on his part of "a cessa tio n of th e bombing agai ns t your country a nd t he stopping of further augmen ta t ion of U.S. forces in Sou t h Vietnam" th e peopl e in North Viet na m should not support th eir Southern compatriots in resis ti ng U.S. aggr ession. That is indeed utter absurd it y. Th e Un it ed States has no rig ht wh at soever to bomb the Democratic Republic of Vietn am - an ind ep end ent and sov ereign country - and conseque nt ly, ha s no right to
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put an y cond ition whatsoever to it s bomb ing. It has no r ight to send an expe d iti ona ry force to commit aggressi on again st South Vietnam, and mu st bring it hom e uncond iti onally. Wa sh ington , how ever, does not only refu se to withdr aw it s troops, but cynical1y lay s down conditions for th e " stopping of further au gmentat ion of U.S. for ces in South Vietnam". To acce p t th e recip rocity pr opo sed by Johnson would amount to a llowing him freely to u se a tremendous war mach ine comprising more than on e m illion Ameri can, puppet and sat ellite troops to ma ssacre our coun t rymen in th e South while their brothers and sist ers in the North should st and by w ith folded arm s, refrain ing from help ing th em in th eir self-de fence strug gle. That is a gang ster's log ic. In fact, th e Un it ed St at es admin ist rat ion' s claim for re cipro city con stitut es th e conde nse d and most braz en express ion of th eir aggr essiv e stand and deceitful" peac e" man eeuvr e. It is also a perf idiou s tr ick aim ed at cov er ing up new ac ts of war esca lat ion . On th e other hand, Wash ington spre ad rumours about "existing contact s " between it and Hanoi to gen erate th e bel ief that actual talks took pla ce whil e Ameri can aircraft con ti n ued bomb ing Xort h V ietnam. Obviously, this was int end ed to placate and misl ead public op inion , th ereby creating favourabl e conditions for th e Unite d States to make further escalation steps in it s att empt to for ce the Vietnamese people into accepting it s own terms by mean s of bomb s and bullets.

lIIoreo\'er, Johnson p osed condi ti ons to th e " ex te nsion of the Tet truce" on t he occasion of th e Lun ar :'\ew Year Festi\"a l a nd set a tim e-limit for a response from Ha noi. Th is is obviously an ultimatum. Our peop le who und er bombs and bull ets do not submit to th e aggresso r will not be intimidated by such a th rea t. For the Viet na mese people as well as for th e peace- and just ice- loving peopl es all ev er th e world, the on ly sensible recipr ocity in th e Vietnam problem is t ha t th e Uni te d Sta tes who has started aggressio n mu st st op it. It stands to reason that they have to fight resolutely against the invaders un til th ey driv e t hem out of th eir country. That is our respon se to Wa sh ington's ultimatum. President Ho Chi Minh has clearly sta ted : " The Vietnamese people deeply love inde pendence, freedom and peace. But in the lace of the U.S . aggressio n. they have risen Itp, united as one man, fearless of sacrifices and hard SrI ips; they are determined to carryon their Resistance until they have won genui ne independence and freedom and {rile peace ." The Vietnamese peopl e will resolu tely mater ialize these words and are firmly con fiden t th at they shall defeat the America n aggress ors milit arily and break their will of aggressio n. They are conf identas their own experience h as amp ly testified - t hat the longer they figh t the greater successes they will achieve, and that fin al victo ry will be t heirs.

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APPENDIX

U.s. President LYNDON B. JOHNSON 'S Me s s ag e to Preside nt HO CHI MINH

HIS EXCELLEJ.,CY HO CH I M J.VH , PRESIDEST, DE1HOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF V IE TNAA I

Dear :'IIr. President,
I am writing to you in the h ope th a t th e conflict in Viet-

nam can be brough t to an en d. Th e confl ict h a s a lready taken a heavy toll - in lives los t , in wou nds inflicted, in property destroyed, and in simp le h um a n mi ser y . If we fai l to find a just and peaceful so lu tion, his t or y will jud ge us harshly. 27

Th erefore, I b elieve th at we b ath have a heavy obl igation to seek earnestly the path to pea ce. It is in response to t ha t obligation that I am writing dir ectly to you. We have t ried ov er the past several years, in a v ariety of ways a nd throug h a number of channels, to conv ey to you and your co lleagues our desire t o a chi ev e a peaceful settlement. For whateve r r easons , these efforts have not achieved any results. It may be that our thoughts and yours, our attitudes a nd yours, have b een distorted or misinterpret ed as th ey passed through these various cha nnels. Certainly that is a l wa y s a danger in indirect com m un ica t ion . Th er e is one good way to overcome this problem and to move forward in the search for a pea ceful settlement. That is for us to arrang e for d irect talks b etween trusted repre sen tatives in a secur e setting a nd a wa y from th e gla re of publicity. Such t alks sh ou ld not be used as a propaganda ex er cise but should be a ser ious effort to find a workable and mutually a ccep t ab le sol ution . In th e past tw o week s , I hav e not ed publi c stat ements by r epr esentatives of your gov ernment sugges ting th at you would be pr ep ared to ente r in t o dir ect bilater al talks with repr esenta t iv es of th e U.S. Go ve rn men t , pr ovid ed th at we ceased "uncond iti ona ll y" and perman en tly o ur b omb ing op era t ion s aga inst yo u r co un t ry a nd a ll militar y ac t ion s aga inst it. In the last days , se r iou s a nd re sp onsible parties h av e assured us ind irectly th a t thi s is in fact yo ur pr op osal. L et m e f ra ukl y st at e th a t I see t wo grea t di fficulties with t h is p ropo sal. In view of y our public p osit ion , such ac tio n on our part would in evitabl y prod uce worldwide speculatio n th at d isc uss ions wer e und er way a nd would impair t he privacy a nd secr ecy of those d iscu ssions. Secondl y, th er e would in ev it ably be g rave con cern on ou r par t whe t he r your go vernment would m ak e u se of such ac tion by us to improve it s milit ar y p osition.
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\\"it h these prolJ lems in m ind, I a m pr ep ar ed to m ove ev en furthe r ro wnr rl a n ending of th e hostilities th an your gov er n men t has pr op os ed in ei t h er public st atements or th rough prin.te dip lomatic channels. I a m prepared to orde r a cessation of bombing aga in st yo ur co u n t r y an d th e st opping of fur t her a ugment;tt io n of U.S. for ces in South Vietnam a s soon as I am ass ure d th at infilrration into South Vietnam by land an d by sea- h as st opped. Th ese ac ts of restraint on both side wou ld, I b eli ev e , m ak e it possible for us to conduct you now wi th a specific sens e I se e no serious and p r ivate di sc ussions leading toward an early pe ace o I m a k e t hi s pr opos al to of ur gency a-ris ing from the imminent New Yea-r holida-ys in
Viet nam, If you a re ab le to accep t this proposal

reason why it co uld not take effe cts a-t th e end of the X ew Year , or T et , h olidays. The proposal I h ave made would be greatl y st ren gt he ne d if your mi litary a-uthorities a-nd tho se of the gove rn me n t of South Vietna-m co .ild promptly negotiate an ex tension of th e T N truce . .\ s to th e si te of th e bil a-ter al dis cussions I propose, th ere a re seve ra l po ssibilities. \Ve could, for example, have our r epr esentatives meet in l\Ioscow where contacts have already occurred . T hey cou ld m eet in som e other countr y such as B ur ma. Y ou m ay h av e other arrangements or sites in mind, and I would try to meet your suggestions . The import ant thing is to end a conflict that ha s brought burde ns to both our peoples, and above a ll to the people of Sou t h Vi et nam. If you h a-ve any though ts about the actions I pr op ose, it would b e most important that I r eceiv e them as soo n as p os sibl e.

Si ncerely, L Y N DON B. JOHXSON

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