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Beyond the battlefields of Vietnam.

Inside the halls of power.


A different kind of war would
decide the fate of a nation.

PREMIERES SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2002, 8 PM/7C


Understanding
America’s
Longest War

P
ERHAPS THE MOST REMARKABLE FACT
about the Vietnam War is that it
was not even about Vietnam. It was,
instead, a prolonged battle of the Cold
War, fought to block the expansion of
communist power in Asia. Like the
Civil War and the Great Depression, the Vietnam War
marked a turning point for Americans: it brought not
only the first defeat for the U.S. military, but also a
profound loss of faith in government and authority. Vietnam, 1965
As the HBO film Path To War makes clear, this war Viet Cong
control
shattered President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s dreams Laotian
Communist
control
of ending poverty at home and ultimately forced Viet Cong HQ
L.B.J. out of the White House. But how and why did HQ Saigon

the U.S. become so deeply embroiled in Vietnam?

The Early Years: The Domino Theory


The U.S. commitment to defending democracy in South
Vietnam was sealed in 1954, when Secretary of State John
Foster Dulles went to Geneva for a nine-delegation
conference on Indochina. This conference set the terms
for ending the war between France and the Viet Minh, the
North Vietnamese communist forces that had declared
independence from French colonial rule in 1945. The
conference participants agreed to split Vietnam into two
countries, with a demilitarized zone dividing North from
South. The U.S. supported the new government of South
Vietnam, just as it had supported France in its failed

line M i l e s t o n e s o n t h e P a t h to W a r
Sept. 2, 1945 May 1950 April 7, 1954 May 7, 1954
Communist leader Ho President Harry Truman President Dwight D. Communist Viet Minh
Chi Minh declares sends 35 U.S. military Eisenhower predicts that forces defeat the French
Vietnam independent of advisers to Vietnam and if the communists gain in a historic battle at
French colonial rule; war promises to aid the control of South Vietnam, Dien Bien Phu, which
breaks out in 1946. In French military in its war then the other countries becomes known as the
1920, Ho had been a with Ho Chi Minh. By of Southeast Asia would “French Waterloo” in
founding member of the 1952, there are 400 fall to communism “like a Vietnam. France with-
French Communist American military row of dominoes.” In this draws its armed forces
Party. He later lived in advisers in Vietnam. They world view, the forces of from Southeast Asia,
both Russia and China are part of a military communist aggression, in setting the stage for U.S.
as an agent of Russia. mission called the U.S. the form of Russia and involvement.
Military Assistance China, seek to take over
Advisory Group (MAAG), free democracies in order
established in Saigon in to tilt the balance of
the fall of 1950. power away from Europe
and the U.S.

2
1945 1950 1954
“Our Position Hasn’t Changed At All”
efforts against the communists, pump- and the Viet Cong—a term used to

FROM HERBLOCK: A CARTOONIST’S LIFE (TIMES BOOKS, 1998)


ing more than $1 billion in military describe communist guerrilla fighters in
and economic aid into South Vietnam the south—launched a major surprise
between 1955 and 1961. attack on more than 30 South Viet-
Dulles, Dwight D. Eisenhower namese cities during Tet, the lunar New
and Lyndon B. Johnson all used the Year. Watching at home, Americans
“domino theory” as a rationale for the saw the televised attack on the U.S.
U.S. presence—and, later, military embassy in Saigon, the massacre by
intervention—in Vietnam. Under this Viet Cong soldiers of civilians in the
theory, if North Vietnam succeeded city of Hué and other atrocities. This
in imposing communism on South attack helped turn the tide of popular
Vietnam, then other countries in sentiment against the war as Ameri-
Southeast Asia, including Thailand, cans realized that the prospects for
Cambodia and the Philippines, would victory were far more remote than
all topple to communism, like a row of L.B.J. had acknowledged.
dominoes. Said Eisenhower in 1954:
“You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the The War at Home
first one and [the last one] will go over quickly.” Few issues in recent history have polarized the American
people as deeply as the Vietnam War. While student pro-
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution testers were the perceived leaders of the anti-war move-
By early 1964, the U.S. had 16,300 military advisers in ment, opposition eventually spread to almost all segments
Vietnam; their task was to train and support the South of the population. Opponents of the war charged that in
Vietnamese army. On August 2, 1964, the U.S. destroyer its crusade against communism, the U.S. was attempting
Maddox, patroling international waters in the Gulf of to impose an American solution on a foreign people; that
Tonkin, reported an attack by North Vietnamese forces. In Vietnam was of little strategic importance to the U.S.; that
response, L.B.J. asked Congress to pass a resolution the conflict had turned into “an endless war”; and that the
allowing him “to take all necessary measures to draft system was set up so that
repel an armed attack against the forces of the poor men did the fighting while
United States and to prevent further aggres-
The U.S. Presence the privileged got deferments.
sion.” This resolution, approved overwhelm-
in Vietnam (During most of the war, college
Date U.S. force level U.S. killed
ingly by both the House and Senate, was seen as in Vietnam in Vietnam students were exempted.) By
the start of full-scale U.S. involvement in the war. to date 1968, Democratic presidential
12/61 3,205 25 candidates Robert Kennedy and
The Tet Offensive: A Turning Point 12/63 16,300 195 Eugene McCarthy had both
In January 1968, following nearly three years of 12/65 184,300 2,264 come out against the war, to the
bombing by the U.S., the North Vietnamese 12/67 485,600 19,560 delight of student supporters.
12/69 475,200 47,768
12/71 156,800 56,206
12/73 50 57,015
12/75 0 57,354
July 1954 July 8, 1959 November 1963
Geneva Conference Two American service- Source: Department of Defense On November 1,
partitions Vietnam at the men, killed during a Viet Diem and his brother,
17th parallel: Ho Chi Cong attack, become the Ngo Dinh Nhu, are
Minh becomes the first first U.S. soldiers to die in August 24, 1963 murdered in a successful
president of North Vietnam. By the end of U.S. diplomats urge that coup by the South
Vietnam, while Ngo Dinh 1959, 760 U.S. military Diem be replaced as Vietnamese military.
Diem is named prime advisers are stationed prime minister of South On November 22,
minister of South in Vietnam. Vietnam. Diem, notes President John F.
Vietnam, under Emperor historian Stanley Karnow, Kennedy is murdered in
Bao Dai, who is consid- January 1961 “was less interested in Dallas, Texas; Lyndon
ered a puppet to the President John F. Kennedy building an army to fight Baines Johnson, who had
French. The CIA estab- orders an increase in the Viet Cong guerrillas than served as Vice President
lishes a military mission number of U.S. military in forming conventional under Kennedy, becomes
in Saigon; President advisers in Vietnam. The units” to protect himself. President of the U.S.
Eisenhower pledges aid U.S. presence reaches
to South Vietnam. 11,300 by late 1962.

3
1959 1961 1963
end, the urgency of funding the war took precedence over
longer-term spending on social programs. Faced with sharp

The Best and criticism over his handling of the war, Johnson stunned the
nation when he announced that he would not seek re-election
in 1968. Richard Nixon, a Republican, succeeded Johnson

The Brightest as President. L.B.J. died in 1973, at the age of 64.

ROBERT McNAMARA, Secretary of Defense from 1961


Even the wise men who to 1968, served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War
surrounded L.B.J. couldn’t find II, learning how to use numbers and quantitative analysis to
wage war scientifically. He and other “whiz kids” from his
a strategy for victory in Vietnam unit went on to apply the methodology at Ford Motor
Company, which he briefly headed before being named
Secretary of Defense by John F.
ASSOCIATED PRESS

LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON— Kennedy. Lyndon Johnson’s


known as L.B.J.—became the enormous faith in McNamara
36th President of the United meant that the Secretary of
States on November 22, 1963, Defense was largely responsi-
upon the assassination of ble for U.S. policy in Vietnam.
President John F. Kennedy. Born in After an exploratory trip to
the remote hill country of Texas in Vietnam in 1963, McNamara
1908, Johnson served four years optimistically projected that
in the House of Representatives American involvement could be
and then 12 years as a Senator. over by 1965. As the U.S.
Johnson was a “New Deal” moved toward committing
Democrat in the tradition of ground troops, McNamara
Franklin Roosevelt—a persuasive supported first bombing strikes
and colorful legislator with a long history of helping poor and and then massive troop deployments. Yet he also called for a
working people. He assumed the presidency in the midst of pause in the bombing in December 1965, in an ultimately
the social revolution created by the civil rights movement. futile effort to bring North Vietnam to the negotiating table.
Following a landslide victory in the election of 1964, L.B.J. Between 1966 and 1967, he gradually became skeptical
was responsible for shepherding both the 1964 Civil Rights about the possibility of prevailing in the Vietnam conflict: he
Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act through Congress. saw no end to the guerrilla war and became doubtful that the
In 1964, Johnson announced his ambitious plans for the bombing missions in North Vietnam would ever resolve the
“Great Society,” a group of social programs centered on conflict. Amid widening differences over how to proceed with
the “War on Poverty.” Initiatives such as Head Start and the war, L.B.J. replaced McNamara as Secretary of Defense
Medicare did expand the safety net for those in poverty, but in 1968. McNamara’s 1995 memoir, In Retrospect, focuses
Johnson’s plans for the Great Society were ultimately over- on mistakes that the U.S. made during the war and conveys
shadowed by the escalating war in Southeast Asia. In the the former Defense Secretary’s strong sense of regret.

line
August 2, 1964 Nov. 3, 1964 Feb. 24, 1965 April 6-8, 1965
The U.S. destroyer Johnson and Vice Sustained U.S. bombing of President Johnson
Maddox reports being President Hubert North Vietnam, called authorizes the use of U.S.
attacked by North Humphrey defeat “Operation Rolling ground forces for
Vietnamese patrol boats Republican Barry Thunder,” gets underway; offensive operations in
in the Gulf of Tonkin. In a Goldwater in a landslide the operation lasts until South Vietnam. He also
televised address to the presidential election. October 1968. offers aid to North
nation, President Johnson The President convenes Vietnam in exchange for
asks Congress to approve the Working Group to March 8, 1965 peace, an offer immedi-
the Gulf of Tonkin examine policy A battalion of Marines, ately rejected by the
resolution. The Senate alternatives in Vietnam, the first American communists. Later in
passes the measure by a launching a series of combat troops, arrives in April, Secretary of Defense
vote of 88 to 2; the House internal debates that Vietnam with a mission Robert McNamara states
approves it in a unani- continue through to protect Danang that the U.S. is spending
mous voice vote. the winter. air field. $1.5 billion per year on
the Vietnam War effort.

24
1964 1965
Attorney CLARK books, the evidence suggests that Goodwin had lost faith in
CLIFFORD, an adviser to President Johnson. Goodwin has indeed authored a number of
Presidents Kennedy and books, including Remembering America: A Voice from the

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Johnson, joined the govern- Sixties, but has stayed away from public life.
ment as a naval aide to
President Harry Truman and DEAN RUSK, Johnson’s Secretary of State, served in Asia
then became Truman’s during World War II and was Assistant Secretary of State
special counsel. Clifford’s for Far Eastern Affairs during the Korean War. Rusk was
views on the war shifted several times between 1964 and known to be a good diplomat: hard-working,

WALLY MCNAMEE/CORBIS
1968. While he initially expressed skepticism about U.S. patient, steady, not flashy. As L.B.J. made a
involvement in the war, reasoning—with great foresight—that series of decisions to escalate the war in
it would destroy Lyndon Johnson’s legacy, by 1965 he publicly Vietnam, Rusk resolutely stuck to his hawk-
supported L.B.J.’s decision to widen the U.S. role in the war. ish, mid-century State Department position.
Yet by January 1968, when he succeeded Robert McNamara He opposed settlement efforts in 1964 and
as Secretary of Defense, Clifford had again grown skeptical 1965, arguing that Viet Cong control over
about the possibility of achieving American objectives in much of South Vietnam would leave the U.S.
Vietnam. By that point, he doubted that the war was actually in a weak bargaining position. Rusk
winnable. Clifford urged Johnson to stop all bombing north of earnestly believed in the “domino theory”
the 20th parallel; Johnson accepted Clifford’s advice and and feared that if the communists took over
announced the policy change to the Vietnam, the country would ultimately fall
BETTMANN/CORBIS

nation in a March 1968 speech. In under the control of communist China. After leaving public
interviews, Clifford said the work he office, Rusk served as a law professor at the University of
did to extricate the U.S. from what he Georgia. His autobiography, As I Saw It, was published in
called that “wretched conflict in 1990; he died in 1994 at the age of 85.
Vietnam” was his most important
contribution as a public servant. As Undersecretary of State, GEORGE BALL was among
Clifford died in 1998 at 91. L.B.J.’s principal advisers on Vietnam—yet most of his advice
went unheeded. Ball believed American involvement in
Speech writer RICHARD GOODWIN Vietnam was a mistake and wrote a now-famous 1966 memo
helped draft John F. Kennedy’s in which he advised L.B.J. that by bombing North Vietnam,
legendary “Ask not what your country the U.S. would be more likely to
FRANCIS MILLER

can do for you” inaugural address, strengthen than weaken the commu-
and later came up with the phrase “The Great Society” while nists’ determination to keep fighting.
working in the Johnson administration. Before becoming a Persuaded that he could not change
speech writer, Goodwin served as a lawyer for the House White House policy, Ball resigned
Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight and investigated the from the State Department in 1966.
rigged game shows of the 1950s. Though he insisted that he He went on to write several books,
did not leave the White House because of his opposition to including Democracy for a Crowded
the Vietnam War, but rather because he wanted to write World, prior to his death in 1994.

April 17, 1965 Dec. 25, 1965 Jan. - Dec. 1966 August 1967
Students for a President Johnson A major escalation of the Secretary of Defense
Democratic Society (SDS) suspends bombing war occurs; American Robert McNamara
holds the first major rally sorties in an effort to allies Australia, Thailand, testifies before a Senate
against the war, in convince North Vietnam South Korea and the subcommittee that U.S.
Washington, DC. to negotiate. The Philippines join the war bombing of North
overture is rebuffed, and by sending troops. By the Vietnam is ineffective.
July 28, 1965 bombing resumes on end of the year there are
President Johnson January 31, 1966. more than 400,000
approves General William American soldiers in the
Westmoreland’s request Southeast Asia theater
for 44 additional of operations.
battalions. By December,
there are 185,000
U.S. soldiers on the
ground in Vietnam.

5
1966 1967
Lessons of
C The Lost War
The tight limits that the U.S.
imposed on itself in the Vietnam era
have yielded to a new approach

W
HEN LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON
committed American troops to BATTLE FATIGUE:
L.B.J. is overcome
fight in Vietnam, he believed he by grief as he
was following the lessons of World listens to a tape-
War II. If Hitler had been chal- recorded account
lenged early, he was convinced, of U.S. losses.
then the carnage of World War II might have been
avoided. By challenging Chinese and Soviet aggression the war on the ground in the South, and Washington

JACK KIGHTLINGER/LYNDON B. JOHNSON LIBRARY


in Vietnam, Johnson hoped to head off World War III. was reduced to hoping its soldiers could kill North
But because Vietnam was a “hot war” in the midst of Vietnamese troops faster than Hanoi could move them
a cold war, it was afflicted with serious contradictions. onto the Southern battlefield.
On the one hand, L.B.J. assumed According to that scenario, the
that the U.S. had to fight; at the same “Lives must not be risked U.S. would attempt to arrange a stale-
time, he believed we had to fight until we can face a parent or mate similar to the one it gained in
within tight, self-set limits, fearful a spouse or a child with a Korea, where the U.S. had last fought
that too much force would prompt clear answer to the question a limited war to keep a country divid-
China to intervene. of why a member of that ed. “We had a plan of sorts,” says
Vietnam was important enough family had to die.” McGeorge Bundy, National Security
to the U.S. for Johnson to commit —Colin Powell Adviser to Presidents Kennedy and
more than 500,000 troops. Never- Johnson. “Grind up the other guy’s
theless, he was unwilling to risk invading the North, army until he would presumably not take it anymore, and
blockading its coasts, threatening the existence of its then we would get a political settlement.” Dean Rusk, who
government or even bombing close to its border with was Secretary of State for most of the Vietnam years,
China. American commanders were ordered to keep wrote in his memoirs, “I thought North Vietnam would

line
Oct. 21-23, 1967 Americans kill more than March 31, 1968 November 5, 1968
An anti-war rally in 300 unarmed civilians, on L.B.J. announces a Richard M. Nixon
Washington, DC draws the presumption that the partial bombing halt, defeats Hubert
50,000 people. villagers are actually Viet and tells a stunned Humphrey to become
Cong soldiers. Commander nation that he will not President of the U.S.
January 31, 1968 Lt. William Calley is later run for re-election.
Tet Offensive begins with court-martialed and
major attacks by North sentenced to life in prison May 1968
Vietnam on the cities of for the crime of murder, North Vietnamese and
South Vietnam. Fierce though he wins release in American delegations
fighting continues for a 1974. Calley testifies that arrive in Paris for
month. During February, March 16, 1968 he was carrying out the peace talks.
Viet Cong and North In the aftermath of the commands of Captain
Vietnamese massacre Tet Offensive, members of Ernest Medina, who had
2,800 civilians in Hué. the U.S. Army enter the ordered the entire village
village of My Lai. The slaughtered.

6
1967 1968
reach a point when it would be unwilling to continue Assessing the

ASSOCIATED PRESS
making those terrible sacrifices,” and negotiate a settlement.
But that point never arrived, as the U.S. was on the Mistakes of War
strategic defensive for the entire war. It didn’t always look Robert McNamara, architect of the
that way because U.S. forces roved far and wide on vast Vietnam War, talked with TIME in 1991
about the lessons of Vietnam.
search-and-destroy missions to root out communist bases.
But those were tactical efforts; the Americans were not Q: Did you ever imagine anything like the large number of
casualties that the U.S. experienced in Vietnam?
allowed to march north to face the enemy at its source. The
A: Certainly at the beginning there was no anticipation of
North kept the initiative, choosing when to attack and
that. That is correct.
when to lie low and rebuild its strength. Although 1.1
million of its soldiers were killed in the war of attrition, the Q: Did Lyndon Johnson feel that you’d misled him,
North continued to sacrifice them until the U.S. negotiated that you had led him to believe the war could be won?
its own withdrawal in 1973. A: No. No. No. No. He never felt that. I know that. To this
day I don’t know if I quit or I was fired as Secretary of
“No More Vietnams” Defense. The reason is that Johnson and I had an
Ten years later, after 241 American troops on a mission in extremely close and complex relationship. Toward the
Beirut were killed by a suicide bomber, Secretary of end there was tremendous tension between us over Vietnam.
Defense Caspar Weinberger offered a checklist for eval- But I loved him and he loved me.
uating the future uses of U.S. military forces abroad. Such But he expressed the frustration. He’d say, “Why in the
hell, McNamara, are you being so goddam difficult?”
actions should be necessary to protect vital national
It was that kind of feeling. All the way through to the end.
interests, he advised, and permit the use of powerful
You know, he had dreams for the country. The war had
force to achieve a decisive victory. The objective must broken his dreams. But I think history will record that that
be clear and attainable by military means, and it must be man contributed immensely to this nation. In a sense,
supported by Congress and the people. Johnson’s objectives in the civil rights bill and Vietnam were
During the Gulf War, Colin Powell—the former the same. He was passionate about human liberty and
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who went on to freedoms and believed he was advancing their cause in both
become Secretary of State—embraced and extended instances. In hindsight it looks absurd to say that, perhaps.
Weinberger’s guidelines. According to the “Powell But without that civil rights bill—if he did nothing other than
Doctrine,” U.S. troops should never be sent into battle that, and he did a lot other than that—where would we be?
without clearly stated political objectives, an exit strategy
and an iron-clad commitment to give them whatever
resources it takes to achieve overwhelming superiority— recently, in President Bush’s war on terrorism—there
thereby ensuring that there will be no more Vietnams. would be no Vietnam-style limits. “Lives must not be
As a young officer, Powell served in Vietnam and saw risked,” Powell insists, “until we can face a parent or a
firsthand the impact of the limitations that L.B.J. spouse or a child with a clear answer to the question of why
imposed on U.S. forces. In the Gulf War—and, more a member of that family had to die.”

To find out more about Path To War, visit www.hbo.com/films/pathtowar


March 18, 1969 Nov. 15, 1969 May 4-6, 1970 January 27, 1973 refugees and thousands
Nixon orders secret 250,000 demonstrate National Guardsmen kill The U.S., North and of Vietnamese orphans.
bombing of Cambodia. against the war in four unarmed students South Vietnam sign the South Vietnam surrenders
Defense Secretary Washington, DC. protesting the war at Paris Peace Accords, to North Vietnam, ending
Melvin Laird calls for Kent State University. ending active U.S. the war and creating a
the “Vietnamization” Riots break out at military involvement in the unified country under
of the war, a strategy by hundreds of colleges. war. The draft is ended— Communist rule.
which the U.S. reduces five days after L.B.J.’s
its troop levels in death on January 22.
Vietnam and turns over
control of the war to April 29-30, 1975
South Vietnam’s army. The fall of Saigon. The
last U.S. military and
September 2, 1969 diplomatic personnel are
Ho Chi Minh dies at evacuated by the U.S.
age 79. Navy, along with
American journalists,
South Vietnamese
7
1969 197019731975
in notebook
Path To War:
Verbatim
“Kill ten of our men and we will kill one of yours.
In the end, it is you who will tire.”
—Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese Communist leader, 1946

“I could conceive of no greater tragedy than for the


U.S. to [fight] an all-out war in Indochina.”
—President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1954

“We do commit the U.S. to preventing the fall of


South Vietnam to Communism.”
—Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, 1961

“We are not about to send American boys 10,000 miles


away to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for
themselves.” —President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964
Vietnam by the
“Hell no, we won’t go!” —Antiwar chant
Numbers
19 Average age of U.S. combat soldier in
“You let a bully come L.B.J. and Vietnam: Vietnam, 1968.
into your front yard, Public Opinion 21 Average age of U.S. soldier in
the next day he’ll be Q: Do you approve or disapprove of Afghanistan, 2001.
on your porch.” the way the Johnson Administration
—L.B.J., on several is handling the situation in Vietnam? 26,800,000 Total number of U.S. men
occasions DATE APPROVE DISAPPROVE NO OPINION
eligible for the draft during Vietnam War.
9/1965 58% 22% 20% 15,410,000 Number deferred,
2/1966 50% 33% 17% exempted or disqualified.
“We were wrong,
terribly wrong.” 9/1966 43% 40% 17% 8,720,000 Enlisted voluntarily.
7/1967 33% 52% 15% 2,215,000 Drafted during Vietnam era.
—Robert McNamara, 171,000 Conscientious objectors who
in his 1995 memoir 2/1968 35% 50% 15%
refused to serve based on moral grounds.
Source: Gallup Poll
58,193 American military personnel
killed during Vietnam War.
1,100,000 North Vietnamese military
line personnel killed during Vietnam War.
Nov. 11, 1982 Summer 1995 Nov. 16, 2000
“The Wall,” the Vietnam Communist Vietnam In the first presidential $24 billion American aid to South
Veterans Memorial promises full cooperation visit to Vietnam since Vietnam between 1955 and 1975.
designed by Maya Lin, is in locating all Americas 1969, Bill Clinton and $165 billion Direct American
dedicated in Washington, still listed as missing in his family arrive in Hanoi expenditures for the Vietnam War.
DC on Veterans Day. action; the U.S. re-estab- to discuss relations
lishes diplomatic ties between the two nations.
AP/MARK WILSON

with its one-time enemy. “I think it is time to write 80 Percent of Americans who approved of
a new chapter here,” L.B.J.’s performance as President in
says Clinton. December 1963.
To learn more about the making of Path To 38 Percent who approved in June 1967.
War, visit www.hbo.com/films/pathtowar
Additional resources for students Copyright © 2002 Time Inc. inTIME is a trademark of Time Inc.
and teachers are available at Published in association with HBO. Printed in the U.S.A.
Path To War artwork © Home Box Office, a Division of Time
www.timeclassroom.com/vietnam Warner Entertainment Company, L.P. All rights reserved. HBO®
is a service mark of Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P.
8
198219952000

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