PRESIDENT THIEU'S COMMENTS ON PEACE TALKS IMPASSE AT PRIVATE DINNER PARTIES ON

Created: 11/18/1968

OCR scan of the original document, errors are possible

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DiSTEN3ER 11

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' SUBJECT ' PRESIDENT THtEU'SEACE TALKS IK PASSE

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SUMMARY: PRESIDENT THIEU

HE HAD BEEN SURPRISED BY THE PRESSURE EXERTED ON HIN. DURING THE PRE-BOMBING HALT DISCUSSIONS. HE TERMED.BETRAYAL" AND SAID VICE PRESIDENT KYUPPORTED HIS POLICY ON THE PEACE TALXS ISSUE, INCLUDINGUO-DELEGATION PROPOSAL. HE INDICATED HE MIGHT RESHUFFLE ABINET IN AN EFFORT TO PLEASE THE.

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THIEU REITERATED HIS 5 DETERMINATION NEVER TO TALK WITH NATIONAL LIBERATIONNFLSV) REPRESENTATIVES OUTSIDE OF SAIGON. THE ONLY FORMULA | FOR THE PARIS TALKS HE WILL,-ACCEPT IS ONE WHICH REQUIRES.THE ? NFLSV REPRESENTATIVES TOART OF THE HANOI DELEGATION. * THIEU THINKS PRESIDENT-ELECT NIKON WILL LET PRESIDENT JOHNSON TRY TO SOLVE THE TALKS IMPASSEOLUTlOfl BY JOHNSON ]WOULD MAKE NIXON'S JOB AFTER INAUGURATION EASIER.

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INDICATES THAT BY

COMMENT: OTHER INFORMATION

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ft OVEMBER PRESIDENT THIEU HAD RECOGNIZED THE NEED FOR AN

ACCOMMODATION WITH. AND FOR THE REVERSAL OF THE HARD LINE ON THE PARIS PEACE TALKS THAT HE TOOKOVEMBER

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SPEECH TO THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. THIS REPORT IS,THEREFORE,ALREADY OUTDATED AS AN INDICATION OF THE PRESIDENT'S POLICY ON THE PARIS TALKS. IT DOES SERVE TO SHOW, HOWEVER, THE STRENGTH OF 'THl'tlTS" RESENTMENT OVEROLICY AND SEVERAL OF THE.ON WHICH HIS OWN STAKD WAS BASED. IT ALSO SHOWS THAT, AS LATE ASOVEMBER, THIEU WAS STILL ENJOYING PLAYING THE POPULAR ROLE OF DEFENDER OF VIETNAMESE NATIONAL.

PRESIDENT NGUYEN VAN THIEU SPOKETHE UNPRECEDENTED PRESSURE TO WHICH THE IL'S. GOVERNMENTHIH (XJRINGTHE PRE-BOMBING HALT DISCUSSIMS. ACCORDINGTHIEU, THE AMERICANS HAD CITEDz OF THEIN BLOOD AND MONEY AS JUSTIFICATION FORU.S. INTERESTS PREVAIL AMD HAD CITED THE PRESENCE IN(SVN)ALF. TROOPS. THIEU SAID HETO REMIND THE AMERICANS THAT THE GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAMTO THE WAR WAS IN ?ACT, LARGER THA8 THE

HEIU CHARACTERIZED. GOVERNMENT ACTION AS A

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. "BETRAYAL" COMPARABLE TO. ABANDONMENTHIANG KAI-SHEK jjESULT OF THE YALTA, TEHERAN AND CASA3LANCA CONFERENCES. ir-HE COMPLAINED THAT THE AMERICANS HAD SENT THE AUSTRALIAN, AND KOREAN V| AMBASSADORS TO BADGER HIM INTO ACCEPTING. POINT OFHIEU OBSERVED THAT VICE PRESIDENT NGUYEN CAO XY, WHO WASRESENT, WAS FULLY IN ACCORD WITH HIS POLICY ON THE PARIS TALKS

'INDICATED HE MIGHT RESHUFFLE THE CABINET IN AN EFFORT TO PLEASE THE NEW U. S. ADM IB ISTRATION,

MENTIONING SPECIFICALLY THE POSTS OF PRIME MINISTER AND

FOREIGN MINISTER.

ii" HERE WAS SOME CONFIDENTIAL TALK- AMONG THE PRESIDENT'S

J GUESTS ABOUT ORGANIZING CATHOLICS "TO SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT

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THROUGH DEMONSTRATIONS VHEff THE TIMEHIEU HIMSELF REFERRED ONCE TO HIS "KNOWLEDGE" OF AMERICAN-PLANNED DEMONSTRATIONS FOR PEACE BY THE AN QUANG BUDDHIST FACTION. 6.

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EXPLAIN HIS

"TWO-DELEGAT ION"FORMULA, THIEU SAID HIS IDEA WAS THAT ALL POLITICAL DISCUSSION IN PARIS SHOULD TAKE PLACE,BETWEEN THE GVN AND HANOI REPRESENTATIVES, ALTHOUGH THE GVN WOULD "DEFER TO. on SUCH BATTERS AS DISPOSITION OF mILITARY BASES AND TROOPS.

8. IN RESPONSE TO ANOTHER QUESTION THIEU SAID.HE WAS firm IN HIS DETERMINATION TO TALX WITH HANOI. ke WILL NEVER TALK DIRECTLY WITH THE NA LIBERATION FRONT (KFLSV) OUTSIDE OF SUU, THIEU SAID, ALTHOUGH HE CONTINUES TO HOLD' OPEN -THEIB IL IT Y, OF I) IRALKS WITH NFLSV SPOKESMEN IN SAIGON. the OFFER OF SAFe'pASSAGE TO AND from SUCK TALKS STILL STANDS. THIEU SAIDPARTICULAR OBLIGATION TO OLDER PEOPLE TO KEEP up THEIR CONFIDENCE HE WILL NEVER RECOGNIZE THE KFLSV. TALKING WITH NFLSV REPRESENTATIVES

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OUTSIDE OF SAIGON WOULD AMOUNT TO SUCH RECOGNITION.HE WOULD WELCOME AS WITNESSES TOCOUNTRIES BELONGING TO THE UNITED NATIONS BUT WOULD.REMAINON HIS STAND THAT THE ONLY FORMULA ACCEPTABLE TO HIMWHICH REQUIRED THE NFLSV REPRESENTATIVES TO BE PART OFDELEGATION IN

% HIEU SAID THAT THERE HAD BEEN NO REACTION FROM

>; WASHINGTON TO HIS TWO-DELEGATION PROPOSAL SINCE THE RECENT

BETWEEN PRESIDENT JOHNSON AND PRESIDENT-ELECT NIXON. ;

HE EXPECTS NIXON TO LET JOHNSON TRY TO SOLVE'.THE TALKS CRISIS ;

AND TO GO AS FAR AS POSSIBLE TOWARDETTLEMENT. V;

THIS WOULD MAKE NIXON'S OWN JOB EASIER AFTER INAUGURATION

AND WOULD LEAVE FOR THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION THE OBVIOUS

MEASURES TO BE TAKEN TO DISENGAGE. FROM SVN, THUS 8

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ALLOWING NIXON TO BE THE "HERO" WHO'*DE-AMERICANIZED THE

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' | |DISSEM:"statr (AMBASSADOR BUNKER,MBASSADOR BERGER, paitical COUNSELOR) USMACV (GENERAL ABRAMS, MAJOR GENERAL DAVIDSON) 7TH AIR FORCE (GENERAL BROWN)

Original document.

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