The State News Bi-weekly Magazine Thursday, March 7,1966 SOUTH M CH IN A SEA Am Lagoon lhuy This is Vietnam, where Americans in growing numbers fight and die to honor a pledge. Vietcong guerrillas move along its jungle trails and even into the metropolis of Saigon, capital of South Vietnam. Seat of the Com­ munist government of North Vietnam is Hanoi. The divided country’s neighbors are Laos, Cambodia —and China. Smaller mapsshowits physical characteristics and its key position on the far eastern chess board. Map by Sentinel Artist James Gehr 2 Michigan State News, East Lansing, Michigan B O O K M A R K S Book examines issues of today B y DAVID G IL B E R T m mann as an example of the Age o f the Put-on, “an age of pragmatism, cynical but adven­ New A atoricsn Review Ne. 2 turous.” The film’s most devastating comment New A m erican L ib rary IM S 95c is not that war is hell, but that what is hellish Available At Param ount New* is that “fundamentally men love it.” Hie second annual edition o f the .Yew A m e r­ Robert Coover’s short story The Wayfarer is ican R e tie * is out As a sort of sophisticated a terrifying allegorical journey through the soul JM Cedar Rerier, it can really claim only of a Policeman and a police state. With crisp better name-writers (John Barth. Gunter Grass, clear sentences reminiscent of Stephen Crane, Nat Heataff, Stanley Kanffmann) and a defi­ Coover creates an incredible effect As the cop nite orientation to, as the blurb pats it, “the is­ interrogates an ancient vagrant who refuses sues of American experience here and now.” to speak, the reader finds himself agreeing Frankly, I was not overly impressed by the more and more with the cop until it seems in­ vohime. John Barth’s four page A u to b io g ra p h y evitable and right that the old man be shot. w a s in his typical E n d O f The R ood style, self­ There is in each of us an element of the Police­ consciously self-conscious. In a harking back to man that functions with pencil and reports, James Joyce and the theme of fatherhood, pomp and ceremony: and if the Policeman is Barth relates very strong within us, we find it necessary to F ro m m y concept! na to the present eliminate anything that refuses to conform BMOBsat Dad’s tried to ta ra m e off; to our concept of how things should be. net ardently, n et consciously, not soc- Out of the dozen or so poems, there are two cesa f y so fa r ; h a t persistently , with very good ones. David Farreily’s Border Inci­ a t le a s t h alf a h e a r t How do I know. dent is a memorable poem about the effect Tm his Moody mirror! of an enemy soldier’s death on a “de-person- with perception, but not too much concern. alized” soldier: James McCormick’s M r. T » o h a n d * A m ong That took A completely by surprise, The R une Slone* is a slightly more compelling B’s maggots out his mouth and to his eyes, account of the loneliness and isolation that pro­ and if he goes home to his child and wife duce psychotic fear in a shakily insecure tour­ B’s death, perhaps, will last him most his life ist Mr. Twohands feels that the natives regard or never even qait aatil he dies. him with contempt, and the story’s climactic And Shirley Kaufman’s Room should be point expresses man’s need to establish some read aloud ten or fifteen times. It is quietly sort of communication to preserve healthy lyric, and probes the love moment from the self-feelings, and that the blocking erf this com­ “because of any indisputable or superior stand­ outside in as well as from the inside out. The munication can have devastating results. ard of rationality but because of her own irra­ imagery of trees used is particularly effec­ Then there is Alan Friedman’s W illy - M lly , tionality.” She wishes, irrationally, to live tive, as is the suggestiveness of the water the story of a hermaphrodite who decides first within society’s constructs, and she has no images. to change from a sixteen-year-old girl to a boy, more justification for her choice than does the There is more in . Y e w . A m e r i c a n Review, and later back to a girl The idea is gorgeous: actress for choosing to live in silence. Kauff- all of it competent, but little that is exciting the extent of man-feelings in women and of mann accuses Bonnie and Clyde of being “a or new. The Rente» V o . 2 is on the contempor­ woman-feelings in m u , and the frustrated superior example of an inferior breed: the film ary scene, but seems curiously removed from attempt to realize both. Friedman handles of make-believe meaning,” that is, those films it: one gets the impression of America seen the first person style comfortably and manages with a veneer of honesty and criticism: at second sight, once removed from the actual­ to make an unbelievable story feasible. They use close-ups that are meant to ity. Most of the contributors know that they Nat Hentoff provides a dialogue within seem unconventionally truthful but are good, and this, perhaps, is what detracts himself on the pros and cons of Black Power. that dare nothing and say nothing. from the impact of the Review: its writers His final statement is that segregation is the Lester’s Ho» I Won The War is hailed by Kauff- come across as uninvolved. first step to equality, even to the degree of a national black homeland in the Andes Moun­ tains, financed by white America if necessary. What scares me about Hentoff’s article is the assumption that there can be no meaningful communication between black and white, and the sooner everyone realizes it, the better. Am I to be denied my friends (who happen to be *qperbounds on your Negro) because Tm supposed to feel (since I happen to be white) that they are inferior? reading list? Somewhere, somebody is making very little sense. EDGAR CA YCE- Neil Compton has an interesting, if slightly leufaicd litera ry biography of M arshall Mc- THE SLEEPING Lnhaa. C e n p ta a say s that M cLuhaa’s prog­ PROPHET ress from a “ straitlaced and p essim istic con­ by Jess Stearn servatism to M s present euphor ic and approv­ ing in terest to everything” stem s from Mc- Paperback . . . . Luhan’s aversion to P rotestan t and capitalis­ tic iadividnaBam and his b elief to Catholicism . Here is the monumental story Just why and to what way, Compton doesn’t of the life, the prophecies, and say, though he does illumine some of the puz­ the astounding medical "read­ zling inconsistencies and rough spots in Mc- ings” of America’s greatest Luhan’s philosophy. For example, he notes that mystic I e McLuhan’s attitude toward the Freudian un­ THE 10 BEST-SELLING PAPERBACKS conscious (as a simple product of Gutenberg Valley of the Dolls 6. Phyllis DiIter's Housekeeping Hints] technology) hai some merit, but that to The King 7. The Riot present a really convincing case, he “ought to The Sleeping Prophet 8. Case of die Worried Waitress offer at least the outlines of an acceptable al­ Capable of Honor 9. The 9th Directive ternative theory of human behavior.” The Paper Lion 10. The Adventurers Finally, there are several really fine and interesting pieces. One is Franklin Russell’s account of the mating of the capelins along the Newfoundland coast, A Modmem O f \ o - ture. Russell relates with infinite care the de­ tails of the slaughter wreaked upon the billions of mating fish by other fish, by seabirds and by men. The author is both drawn and repelled by the savage waste of life, and the story ends with the least gimmicky and most profound OOKYBReS trick ending that I have ever encountered. The bookis worth buying for this one story. Over 100 Publishers Stanley Kanffmann has some interesting Stocked In our Warehouse views to express in his L o o k in g A t F ilm * , par­ ticularly in connection with Bergman’s Per- m m m , Penn’s B o n n ie mod C lyde and Lester’s flow f W on T he Wmr. Bergman is concerned Don’t Forget. . . Revlon Products with the tremendous attraction of the truth of the “true’’ inner self as opposed to the often They w ill be coming soon to the Campus Book Stores. false standards of the outer world. The nurse in Pereomm does not reject the actress’s state Thursday, March 7, 1968 3 M O V IE S Nichols—success as director By F R E D SHERWOOD tist. Once he ate a ja r of mustard for his truth-that whatever you're doing on stage is Aside from boosting two new young talents dinner. He did not seem well suited for true to life-and also funny or pretentious or (Katherine Ross and Dustin Hoffman» into the conventional jobs such as the one he lost just ridiculous." realm of stardom, the motion picture hit I'ha at a Howard Johnson restaurant by telling The Nichols-May routines threw barbs i. r m h iiiir serves as further proof of the direc­ a customer the only flavor ice cream they at everyone and everything from phony toral gift of one-time comedian Mike Nichols. had was "chicken.” intellectuals and name-droppers ("B e rt Previously having put his energies into comic Nichols began his career with Elaine May Russell is not pushy . . . personally. I think skits which panned everything from mothers to in 1955. earning $55 a week at the Compass, a pushy philosophy is a drag.” ) to classics morticians. Nichols in The T .nulaate has now an inprovisational theater in Chicago that also such as Sophocles' ( “ Look Jocasta. employed another medium to attack that spawned such talents as Shelley Berman and sweetheart, you're my mother." > which is typical in the affluent American so­ Barbara Harris. One of the more famous Nichols-May ciety. The comic effects bear his mark, and When it folded. Nichols and May went on to sketches was the tumblings of two young the overall tone of the movie has the ring of the appearances in New York at the Village Van­ adolescents trying to both sm oke and make Nichols humor. guard and Blue Angel night clubs, bits on tele­ out at once in the back seat of a parked car Any analysis of that humor must inevitably vision. and eventual national fame. In 1960 and receiving little more than cigarette burns include something about his female counter­ they opened on Broadway wuh In T im in g and bruised egos. part and partner for seven years. Elaine May. n ilh M ike \ic h o ls and M a in e May, which For fun they did 10 second radio spots for a The two were the dynamic duo of the new won considerable acclaim. In a review of regional brewer that went something like sophisticated, urbane satire that sprung up in Fr m in g a critic described the Nichols-May this: the late '50s. Their minds worked so sim ilarly satirical style as Horation rather than Ju- Elaine: I have something to tell you that they were able to build their comic rou­ venalian." darling. tines by improvisation, trying out one thing “ They take their revenge on society by Mike: Fine, darling, can I have a while discarding another. reproducing it instead of whipping it with rods glass of beer please? The first Nichols and May routine may have and scourges,” he said. “ They locate the Elaine: Of course, darling, here is a been witnessed by some unsuspecting bystand­ cliches of conventional middle-class life glass of cold, extra dry, sparkling er in a Chicago train station in 1954. Nichols and strip them down to their essential ab­ Jax. encountered Miss May there and sat next to surdity.” Mike: Thank you. her, pretending to be a secret agent making a The Nichols-Mav satire was a different Elaine: You’re welcome. Phyllis contact. This was not quite as insane as it may kind of commentary on modern life. Their shaved the dog today. seem, for the pair had both appeared in theatri­ comedy departed from the traditional one- “We weren't really a comedy team ," cal productions at the University of Chicago. liners about Eisenhower's golf game or M a ri­ said Nichols, looking back after they went Before Chicago. Nichols enrolled in New lyn Monroe's bustline. They presented their separate ways. "W e did little scenes, York University, but not finding it to his lik­ sketches painfully close to reality, with that's all. We were actors, and we were ing he tried his hand at being an assistant enough artful inflection and style to create writers, and directors all at once. We didn't costume jeweler. His job was to glue stones satire by reproducing banality. They dealt with tell jokes. We d think up a situation and into their settings. The stones usually fell out. everyday subjects: a mother calling her then play it just like it would be in real life. and he moved on to the University of Chicago missle scientist son at Cape Canaveral, the If either of us broke up laughing, we knew where he appeared in amateur productions in insensitive nurse at a hospital, the little man we d hit something true, so we'd keep it .” his spare time. with only one dime at the mercy of a tele­ After E vening finished its run in 1961. Following that. Nichols studied the Stan­ phone operator. the two broke up to pursue individual careers. islavsky Method at Actors Studio in New “ It's recognition that makes people Nichols directed his first Broadway play. York under Lee Strasberg. He led the life laugh,” said Nichols. "People don't laugh of the stereotyped “ struggling, starving" ar­ unless they have already recognized the (continued on page 111 4 Michigan State News, East Lansing, Michigan Record of U.S. intervention By LA W R ENC E H. B A T T IS T IN I complices,” and sympathy for the insur­ the Administration's political and m ilitary gents, many of them their own relatives, forecasters. By 1962 perhaps 69 to 70. per cent of the who were regarded as the true patriots, The assassination of President Kennedy rural population sympathiaed with the Na­ more recent attempts to carry out the es­ in November 1963 did not alter the mo­ sentials of the Staley-Taylor Plan, under mentum of the United States toward com­ tional Liberation Front of South Vietnam (NLFSV) and a jwery substantial pro­ the more candid term of “ pacification," mitting its fuller power for a m ilitary portion gave direct assistance. The Front’s have sim ilarly proved to be ineffective. solution of the Vietnam problem. For a effective control had in effect extended The NLFSV-North Vienam offensive of while the new president, Lyndon B. John­ over so much of the countryside that January-February of this year has again son. seemed to play the role of a Texan President Kennedy, acting on the advice of demonstrated that Vietnamese may be Isaiah who preferred reasoning to bullets. his “experts,’’ decided to step up military placed behind the bayonets of American and On March 23. 1964, for example, he de­ assistance by increasing the number of Saigon troops but they cannot be counted on clared with a ll the mellowness he was American military advisors to some 23,- to have discarded their sympathies and capable of exuding: "The people of the step that accelerated the fatalistic plunge loyalties. world, I think, prefer reasoned agreement of the United States into the Vietnam Despite the steadily mounting American to ready attack. And that is why we must morass. Actually this step had been pre­ assistance to the Saigon regime and the follow the Prophet Isaiah many times be­ saged in December 1961, when the State concentration-camp programs, the for­ fore we send the Marines, and say. Come Department issued a two-volume white tunes of w ar did not improve for the U.S.- now and let us reason together.' And this paper which unconvincingly tried to es­ Diem alliance. There were many reasons is our objective-the quest for peace and tablish that North Vietnam was threaten- for this, but two seem basic. not the quarrels of war. In every trouble ing the peace by trying to “conquer South First, the Diem regime, which had never spot in the world this hope for reasoned Vietnam.” really enjoyed popular support, was be­ agreement instead of rash retaliation can Without a declaration of war from Con­ coming increasingly more unbearable to most bear fru it.” Y et the same President John­ gress, President Kennedy authorized those South Vietnamese. Actually it was only son had a few days previously declared American military “advisers” to partic­ supported by landlords, merchants profiting that while the United States supported the ipate- in combat operations. Actually, how­ from the w ar and m ilitary officers, many Geneva agreements on Laos, in Vietnam the ever, these “advisers” had been engaging of whom were “ tainted” from having served situation was different. “ Let no one doubt," in combat operations long before President with the French in the previous w ar against he fulminated, “ that we are in this battle Kennedy increased their number to 23,000. the Vietminh. This contrasted with the as long as South Vietnam wants our support By 1963 Americans were operating more steadily mounting popularity of the NLFSV and needs our assistance to protect its than 200 helicopters and scores of recon- among the peasant masses and to some freedom.” naisance planes, and perhaps more than extent among certain sectors of the in­ By and large, however. President John­ half of the bombing and strafing missions telligentsia. son maintained an “ Isaiah posture" several of the Saigon regime's air force were Secondly, the NLFSV was fighting a guer­ weeks after the presidential election of being carried out with Americans serving rilla w ar in a context of oppressive social 1964 was over. During the presidential as pilots and co-pilots. Although American conditions which strongly favored it. The campaign of that year he took sharp issue boys were being wounded and killed, Wash­ expensive and sophisticated American m ili­ with the position of his opponent, B arry ington persisted in sustaining the fiction tary equipment and the large masses of Goldwater, who brandished the “ big stick" that American military men in South Viet­ troops utilized by the Saigon regime were and wanted m ilitary solutions to the prob­ nam were there only as “advisers.” At more adapted to conventional warfare lem that was besetting the United States the same time, the cost of the adventure than to counter-guerrilla operations. In in Vietnam. Goldwater’s campaign sug­ in dollars was rising sharply for the Amer­ most instances also, the Saigon regime's gestion that the United States should de­ ican taxpayer. It was unofficially estimated soldiers had no idea of what they were foliate the forests and jungles of South that from mid-1960 to 1962 alone, the f i t t i n g for or how the cause they were ' Vietnam and bomb North Vietnam with United States had poured into South Vietnam serving benefitted either their own or their a ir strikes was represented by Johnson as about $2 billion in military and economic fam ilies’ interests. Most of them were ac­ reckless and irresponsible ideas that might tually fighting because they were forced expand the Vietnam w ar into a nuclear aid. * Washington now took the position that the into the arm y and were compelled to fight. holocaust. “Vietcong” was a 160-per cent Communist The fighting men of the N LFSV, on the President Johnson fully backed the De­ organization, , directed and controlled by other hand, consisted of large numbers of fense Department’s actual position that the North Vietnam. However, in 1962 Philippe volunteers, and believed they were fighting war in Vietnam was America's w ar and Devillers, a highly respected specialist on tyranny, social injustice and the return of that it could be won only by the United contemporary Vietnam, wrote: “The insur­ the white man’s domination in the form of States. F or public consumption, however, rection existed before the Communists de- “ U.S. im perialism .” In the spring of 1963 the position of the Defense Department was cided to take part . . . And even among Diem tried the expedient of broadcasting that the w ar could be won simply by the the Communists, the initiative did not orig­ an amnesty offer to those guerrillas who United States assisting the Saigon regime inate in Hanoi, but from the grass roots, would lay down their arms. The maneuver in winning it itself. Winning the w ar was where the people were literally driven by was a complete failure, as practically none necessary, according to the Defense De­ Diem to take up arms in self-defense.” of the guerrillas came out of the jungles partment, because vital U.S. interests were Almost a year earlier, one of the top to surrender. at stake. As McNam ara put it. the situation reporters of The New York Times had On October 2, 1963, the Kennedy Ad­ in South Vietnam “ continues grave” but astutely and prophetically observed: “The ministration issued an optimistic state­ "the survival of an independent govern­ Vietcong movement is capable of developing ment to the effect that the w ar in South ment in South Vietnam is so important to into the same kind of broadly based popular Vietnam could be won by the end of 1965 the security of Southeast Asia and the uprising that the French were unable to de­ if the political crisis of the Diem regime free world that I can conceive no alternative feat in nine years of bitter fighting.” In did not significantly affect the m ilitary other than to take all necessary measures many ways, he wrote, “the Vietcong re­ effort. The statement also expressed con­ with our capability to prevent a Commu­ bellion appears to be a continuation of the fidence that most of the American m ilitary nist victory.” colonial wars against the French.” personnel serving in South Vietnam could On Jan. 30, 1964, another m ilitary coup As a result of the mass defections of be withdrawn by the end of 1965. The led by General Nguyen Khanh had over­ peasants to the NLFSV and the assistance statement was based on the judgments of thrown the junta headed by General Minh. they gave to the guerrilla fighters, the so- Defense Secretary McNam ara and General This junta was subsequently also over­ called Staley-Taylor Plan was adopted with Taylor, who had just returned from a thrown by a coup, which in turn was fol­ great fanfare for thè “pacification of Viet­ mission to Saigon, and Henry Cabot Lodge, lowed by several other coups. Notwith­ nam in eighteen months.” This was the who was then serving as ambassador to the standing the phenomenon of "government notorious strategic hamlet program, given Saigon regime. The overthrow of the Diem by m ilitary coup" in Saigon, and the mock- the ironical code name, “Operation Sun­ regime a month later seemed to resolve the “ political crisis" to the satisfaction of (continued on page 5) rise.” In effect the program provided for the establishment of concentration camps to prevent peasants from defecting to the NLFSV and to make it impossible for them to make food, shelter, intelligence or any other form of assistance available to the NLFSV. It was generally represented in the American press as an operation de­ signed to protect the peasants from the attacks of the guerrillas. Actually most of the peasants who did wind up in these camps were literally forced to do so. The program envisioned the uprooting of some 9,000,000 peasants and placing them in fortified camps under heavy military guard. The Staley-Taylor Plan turned out' to be a failure. It failed because although villag­ ers could be rounded up at bayonet point and placed behind barbed wire, there was no way of changing what was* really in the hearts of most of them-resentment against the alien white man and his native “ac- Thursday, March 7, 1968 5 Juggling lives, nations check to widen the w ar as he saw fit. ists. Even the conservatively oriented Wall (continued from page 4) Ho Chi Minh claimed that the Johnson Street Journal raised strong editorial doubts erv it made of allusions to "freedom " and version of the Tonkin incident was a pure about the possibility of a military victory "democracy," American policy hardened fabrication to cover up its own aggressive and recognized that the “Saigon govern­ more and more in the direction of a purely activities and intentions against North V iet­ ments, that is what they should be called,” m ilitary solution based on escalation of the nam. Even at the time, it appeared to many had been unable to win the support of the war and a willingness to run the risks of objective foreign observers that the action people or even govern. “To say that we significant armed intervention in the South of the U.S. Seventh Fleet in the Gulf of might lose in Vietnam is not defeatism but by North Vietnamese forces and increased Tonkin was “ calculated” and “directly political realism,” it declared. material assistance by the Soviet Union associated” with naval attacks made by However, the Johnson warhawks, while and China. vessels of the Saigon regime's navy within willing to admit that the war was not going On March 26, 1964, McNam ara crystal- North Vietnamese territorial waters. The well, were unwilling to concede that it could lezed the reasons for increasing the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has not be won Their faith in the superiority m ilitary involvement as follows. First, as recently probed into the facts of the Tonkin of weapons and massive incinerating power he put* it, South Vietnam was under attack incident and has come around to the cau­ over man was boundless. They recognized, from Communism, the United States had tious view that the Administration’s orig­ of course, that if the war was to be won, been asked to give assistance, and the inal version was only part of the truth, it would have to be won by U.S. military United States was giving this assistance. and most of its members now have serious forces taking on the major, if not entire, Secondly. “ Southeast Asia has great stra­ doubts'1 about the “ innocence" of the Amer­ burden. They also believed it was neces­ tegic significance in the forward defense sary to carry the war to North Vietnam, ican destroyers' missions. of the United States." And thirdly. “ South which they erroneously but stubbornly be­ With the presidential election coming up, Vietnam is a test case for the new Commu­ lieved to be responsible for the civil war however. President «»Johnson was tempor­ nist strategy" for fighting wars of "na­ arily content to retaliant simply with a and the successes of the NLFSV. By tional liberation." Hence, the war of “ na­ applying massive U.S. air power against naval bombardment of the North Vietna­ tional liberation" being f *ught in South the North Vietnamese, who practically had mese coast. Nevertheless, the incident Vietnam was to be made a test case by no airforce, they were convinced, the war had served its purpose as far as the “ war- the United States, that is to say, it would could be speedily ended. President Johnson hawk" advisers of the President were con­ demonstrate that through the employment confidently accepted this assessment. cerned. Congress seemed to have given the of all necessary m ilitary power such a war In February 1965, the Johnson Admin­ President a free hand and the national could not succeed. istration made what it thought would be temper was sufficiently inflamed and pre­ Throughout the first half of 1964 the war pared for a dramatic escalation when the the decisive move that would break the in South Vietnam seemed to be going along presidential election was over. So Presi­ will of the North Vietnamese. On Feb. 7, in a routine way-continuing successful dent Johnson and the warhawk advisers 8, and 11, American warplanes bombed guerrilla attacks by the NLFSV and the apparently believed. Actually for many selected targets in North Vietnam slightly bombing of villages and forests with na­ weeks after the election. President Johnson above the seventeenth parallel. Such an palm in the hope of killing as many “ Viet- seemed almost to have forgotten Vietnam action needed a pretext. The pretext was cong" as possible and inhibiting the vil­ as he talked tenderly about his “G reat that NLFSV guerrillas had made a “sur­ lagers from assisting in any way the Society" and of the progress to make it a prise attack" on U.S. military installa­ NLFSV. On Aug. 2, however, the Tonkin reality. Meanwhile, however, grim m ilitary tions in Pleiku, located in the northern Bay incident occurred, which the Johnson preparations were being made. part of South Vietnam, which had resulted Administration was able to exploit in its At the same time, the shooting w ar in in the death of eight Americans and the larger plan envisioning m ilitary victory. South Vietnam was still going on, and the wounding of 109 others. On that day. according to the Administra­ m ilitary position of the Saigon forces con- McNamara, in commenting on the guer­ tion. the American destroyer Maddox had timed to deteriorate. In the closing months rilla attacks against U.S. military installa­ been attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo of 1964 the N LFSV forces won a series of tions. described them as a “test of the will, boats 30 miles off the North Vietnamese snashing and demoralizing victories over a clear challenge of the political purpose coast. Two days later the Administration the Saigon m ilitary forces. Actually they of both the U.S. and South Vietnamese announced that the same Maddox and an­ were on the verge of winning on the field Governments.” The air raids on North other destroyer, the Turner Joy. had again of battle the long and bitter struggle against Vietnam, however, were not really simply been attacked, this tim e 65 miles off the the Saigon regime's U.S.-supported m ilitary retaliatory measures for the attack on North Vietnamese coast. ’ The Administra­ tion asked Congress and the American establishment. The w ar might very well Pleiku. Senator Wayne Morse, who at the have ended within a few more months but time was one of the few senators critical people to believe that thise warships had been illegally attacked, w-thout just provo­ for the m ajor escalation of the U.S. m ili­ of the entire Vietnam adventure, had as a tary role beginning in early February 1965. matter of fact alerted the American people cation. while on "routine patrol." Both the Congress, with few exceptions, and the In January 1965 talk of the w ar being vir­ nearly a year previously, on May 18, 1964, public as a whole im plicitly believed the tually lost became increasingly prevalent when he declared: “I wish to warn the among t knowledgeable American journal­ (csatimed on page 8) Administration. This was before the "cred­ ibility gap" had become a commonly rec­ ognized characteristic of the Administra­ tion's “ officialdom." The day after the second attack. Presi­ dent Johnson asked Congress for its support Lau rence II. Hallislini. professor of norial science al MSI m u in taking " a ll necessary action to protect educated al Brown I niversity and Trinity College, lie received our Armed Forces and to 'assist nations hi* I’h.lt. al Yale. Specializing in I .S.- isian affair*, he i* the au­ covered by the SEATO Treaty ” At the thor of *ix hook* in thi* area. Ili* experience include*four year* 0 same time, he assured Congress that. "The a* professor of hi*lory al Sophia I niversity in Tokyo: extemsire United States intends no rashness, and travel in Europe and l*ia: and service a* an intelligence officer seeks no wider w a r." An arjused Congress, during II orki I I ar II. which almost to a man accepted in its entirety the Administration's version of In the pant four issues, Collage ha* presented article* b y the incident, on Aug. 10 passed the now Hnttistini dealing with the history and psychology of the I ¡el­ celebrated Tonkin resolution which sup­ imínese people. Beginning a* far back a* 400 H.C.. he ha* ported the President in taking all neces­ traced the historical root* that hare flourered in the current sary action to repel attacks against U.S. tear. In this, the last of the fire installment*. Hnttistini gire* forces and to defend nations protected by the SEATO Treaty. President Johnson ap­ hi* evaluation of the ( ailed State* presence in I ielnam. parently interpreted the resolution to mean that he had been virtually* given a blank 6 Michigan State News, East Lansing, Michigan T H E W A R Into the Vietnam morass it, should have some influence on the tune the duty-especially as it affects advisers, in­ B y M IT C X M IL L E R piper plays. telligence personnel and officers in whose case In the increasing polarization of opinion The lack of such control has been in large it prohibits effective development of informa­ about the U.S. involvement in the war in part the cause of permeation of graft into every tion and fam iliarity with the country and the Vietnam, one position has been almost ig­ sector of Vietnam ’s life. From peasants who enemy. nored out of existence. sell their daughters, to province chiefs who sell The vaunted U.S. mobility is in large part This is the belief that, in principle. Amer­ their allegiance, to commanders who sell their an illusion: helicopters’ require huge support ican involvement is good, but that the effort units the vast amounts of unsupervised U.S. facilities and cannot go everywhere. They has been conducted so badly as to have ruined money is mainly responsible for the destruction are also extremely vulnerable in take-off any chance of accomplishing the purpose for of the social system and the economy. I t can or landing. Allied forces are road and which the intervention occurred. also account, for the sapping of the national maintenance bound. They are increasingly This view, held almost universally by ex­ will, and the contempt the people feel for the tied up in fixed logistical installations, as perts in foreign policy and Asian affairs, has government. This loathing makes itself felt as were the French during their occupation of been ignored in surveys, referendums and panel aid fo r the V iet Cong, either as acceptance, the country. discussions. And this neglect of a reasonable active participation, or through the direct trans­ fer of U.S. money and supplies to the Viet The w ar is just too big. There is too much point of view has forced an artificial division Cong-surely the most humiliating reaction of everything-except combat troops with lead­ of such experts into those who think a possibil­ of all. For it is a fact that much (no one can ers competent in the special problems of ity of saving the situation still exists and those who think the time for such a possibility say for sure exactly how much) of the Viet revolutionary war. Out of the 525,000 Am eri­ Cong's resources are stolen from USAID or can m ilitary personnel in Vietnam, perhaps has passed. In spite of the necessity for lining up for or other funds. Without the huge U.S. presence, 60,000 are there to fight. The rest are there in against the Administration, critics are almost the ability of the V iet Cong to act would be support roles, which means they provide the unanimously agreed that the U.S. has botched limited by the money they could tax from the soft and poorly prepared Americans with all the job incredibly. Most would like to see it people or obtain from North Vietnam. It is the the comforts of home, make them less w ill­ United States which provides most of the phys­ ing to fight and provide easy targets for the start all over again if possible. They see the wrong war being fought in the ical m aterial for its enemies, just as it does Viet Cong. wrong wny by the wrong people. They see a long the psychological and political m aterial for series of fanlty decisions J>ade with a lack or them. That is why the Koreans and Australians, disregard of information. They see certain without all the equipment and the huge sup­ decision» that were never made for the lack of port “ ta il." are fa r more effective than the Despite official statements from Washing­ Americans. Most Americans in Vietnam are someone willing to take the responsibility to ton and Saigon, it is the Communists who are simply along for the ride~"They are overfed, make them. winning the war. Their ability to conduct the The decision of the U.S. to support the Diem oversexed and over here." The lean and hungry massive assaults in the cities without any­ Tigers and Royal Australians are there to regime without expecting consessions in re­ one informing against them is a most drama­ fight. turn is an example. tic example of this success. But their control Similar instances of stupidity are being over the populace and ability to move at will The prevailing philosophy in Vietnam dic­ repeated on major and minor scales in Viet­ is shown every day by the ease aad freedom tates shelling or bombing rather than undertak­ nam today, and it is to this stupidity that with which they siwll large installations and ing the arduous business of infantry action. much of American’s plight can be traced. fire heavy anti-aircraft weapons at planes But if a man on the ground cannot tell who is There is, on the part of people in charge of leaving Tan Son Nhut Airport, near Saigon his friend and who is his foe. how can a bomb the conduct of the war, no real perception of the itself. or a shell? To expect to win over the people nature of this war, or of the consequences of by destroying their homes in order to save them its handling. Very few policy decisions or The fact must be faced that the war is going is the ultimate result of this thinking. announcements have been made with an badly because it is being conducted badly. The To be effective, the American effort in eye towards international views of the United same mistakes the French made are being Vietnam would have to be reduced to a small States’ side or toward the effect of such poli­ made, a ll over again, by the Americans-only scale with advisers and a few combat troops cies on the attitudes of Americans about the on a much larger scale. only. The emphasis should be placed on separ­ war. ating the enemy from his base of support and The bombing of North Vietnam is a perfect There is no overall strategy in the war. The supply, on developing the nation rather than illustration of an ill-thought out politico- only large-scale goal is “ K ill Cong" and that destroying it and on restoring the national life military move. Supplies and men have not is not being done very well. No one has yet rather than degrading it. slowed down in their movement from North explained how the V iet Cong are going to be Operations should involve small and con­ to South Vietnam. On the contrary, they have defeated because no one knows how. increased. Whether this can be braced to a 1 stant harassment of guerillas, ambushes unifying effect of the bombing or not, bombing Nothing is known about the VC economy and raids and patrols rather than infrequent the North certainly has been counter-produc­ and nothing has been done to disrupt it. The massive “ search and destroy” missions which tive and should at least be reviewed in the light guerilla says. “ A grain of rice is a drop of seldom yield results because everybody knows of the advantages a cessation would bring. blood" but no steps have been taken to seize exactly where and when they are coming off. First, a bomb bait would dry up the grist for control of the rice producing areas. Instead, Once allied forces enter a village or area and the propagaads nulls aad end the basis for troops are sent to defend the new Dien Bien declare they are there to stay they should never the c—tinning foreiga aad domestic charge Phu a t Khe Sanh, where every m ilitary prin­ leave without making sure the people w ill be agaiast the UA that it is “the murderer of ciple is being violated to back a foolish defended. I f necessary, the forces should take laaoceat ViBagers.” ccnunitment to a position in a virtually value­ the people along. And the same applies to re­ Second, it would place the burden of appear­ less area which is ridiculously expensive, settlement areas for ordinary peasants and ing at peace negotiations on the North Viet­ if not impossible, to defend. Communist defectors. namese,, who have stated that they would at­ An intelligence drought exists on the allied There is nothing new in any of these concepts. tend if such a halt occurred. side, while a flood exists for the V iet Cong. They are taught as standard counter-insur­ Third, it would serve to show, once and for P art of this is due to the causes mentioned gency doctrine by service schools of “ special all, if North Vietnamese infiltration does above, part to the absurd one year tour of w arfare." The problem is that they are taught increase during bombing pauses. There are to people, most of whom w ill promptly forget many other advantages to a cessation, so many them, by the people who should be implement­ that one may occur as soon as President John­ ing them. Kicked upstairs and safely out of the son feels he is not under pressure to order it. way into non-command posts, the knowledge­ But it already may be past the time when the able w atch-as did Liddle-Hart. M itchell and President can claim the initiative. South Vietnam itself is the site of much polit­ The Christmas countless others-as those in command try to fight the last war a ll over again in a situation where most of its lessons no longer apply. ical activity which never materialized. Much of the complaint of the South Vietnamese If the cause of the Vietnam problem is a lack of strategy and some very poor tactics, what against their government is due to the govern­ ment’s unwillingness or inability to take steps Truce is its cure? Circumstances with strong parallels arose to remedy some of the country's basic social problems, such as land distribution, the reset­ H i s e n t r a i l s s t r a n g lin g , during the American Civil W ar when President tlement of refugees and squatters and clear­ t h is s o l d i e r c a n ’t a p p r e c ia t e the t r u c e . Lincoln was also faced with a commander ing up the vast amount of graft and corruption (Gen. McClellan) who was an excellent ad­ L y i n g in t h e ir te n ts, h i s b u d d ie s in the government. Some of the government's ministrator but not a good combat leader. Lin­ t a lk o f g e ttin g d r u n k and m a k in g lo v e . policies, suc^as the intervention in village coln cast about among his generals until he affairs, are Wtterly resented by the people found, in Gen. Grant, the man who could get B u t t h is s o l d i e r 's death the job done. and contribute to the support for the Viet Cong. e n g e n d e r s the h a te o f the t w is t e d b a y o n e t President Johnson, too. should cast about The situation (MMands that the United States abandon its policy of not dictating to in the e n e m y ’s b r e a s t , among his generals until he finds the man a government which it aids what that govern­ in the r e c r o o m who knows what is required and makes sure ment can do with the money received. In this w h e r e a p l a s t i c - c a s e d r a d io r e l a y s it is done. case the United States pays for the operation th e P o p e ’s p le a f o r p e a c e . And if the President does not realize that of the South Vietnamese government almost new m ilitary leadership is required if the entirely-salaries, materials, and projects By J E F F J U S T I N United States is to successfully conclude the in every area. Surely the U.S., having paid for i , war, his leadership remains in question. Thursday, March 7, 1968 7 T H E W A R 'Our boys’ innever-never land of war By LEE ELBINGER Saigon, Dec. 12,1967 The key word in Saigon is corruption but. fel­ low citizens, do not be alarmed. It is not the outrageous, wild-eyed corruption that at first comes to mind where sneaky, unscrupulous devils steal rice from the bowls of starving chil­ dren. Oh no. It is unconscious corruption--a of softness of the frontal lobes, if you know what I mean--where waste and inefficiency are tolerated because, hell. man. everybody is doing it and why shouldn't I? It is war profiteer­ ing in small ways, petty luxuries, minor dis­ crepancies which contribute greatly, when added up. to the fact that 1 > we are losing the war and 2 ) our civilization is collapsing in much the same way that (you should excuse the ex­ pression ) ancient Rome did. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not an alarm ­ ist. But the simple fact is that the average American soldier in Vietnam does not give the proverbial tinker's damn whether the Vietnam­ ese people live or die. He does, however, worry about 1 ) the availability of cigarettes, 2 ( the availability of R and R (Rest and Relaxation- the Army's way of saying a cfrunken spree in Hong Kong. Taipei, or Sydney» and 3) letters from home. The average American soldier has not changed, one might say. and one might be correct. But the average American war has changed, and so much the worse for those who are unfortunate enough to get caught in its path (or its d raft). The idealism with which wars are generally fought inspires no great acts can be found in one of two places: out in the so one sees a more realistic picture of Viet­ of heroism in Vietnam: dollar signs dangle field fighting desperately to stay alive or on top before the eyes of professional soldiers here. nam from the countryside rath er than from of the Rex Hotel in Saigon, drinking whisky, the Continental Cafe in Saigon. This fact As one man told,m e in Nha-Trang (he was playing the slot machines, and swimming in is borne out by soldiers who work in the drinking beer in the Press Club-fighting Charlie an outdoor pool. If the m ilita ry is found in the countryside (and, incidentally, a more in his own small w ay): “ You can have the F a r field, chances are it is a kid, between 18 and 24, realistic view of the average soldier can be East. A ll the girls here have slanted eyes and from some place like Indiana o r South Dakota found in the “boonies” also). no hair on their you-know-whats." (Before you who got drafted because he didq’t get around The soldiers/kids (the phrase “our boys get shocked, remember this is War, and War to filling out his college application or he is in­ in Vietnam” is quite descriptive s f the situa­ brings out what is elemental in M a n .) credibly unlucky. These kids are green. likable, tion) have evolved an entire liago, manner, There are a few more things to get shocked scared, unsure of themselves, but fast becom­ and (non-)way of looking at life to cape about if you consider the w ar in Vietnam. One ing worldly. Most of them have never been so with the situation in which they find them ­ thing is the length of this war, the frustrating fa r away from home before and are well pre­ selves. Liquor and marijuana play an impor­ lack of progress, the staggering cost, and the pared to kill Vietnamese people but poorly tant part in numbing the minds of “our loss of American lives. Another thing is the equipped to deal with them. So the kids stick to boys” to the brutality, violence, aad inju stice increasing bitterness of the Vietnamese people, themselves, count the number of days they of duty in Vietnam. Marijuana is a new devel­ the terror and brutality on both sides (please have left in the service, and seek to do as little opment for the army, and officials a re baffled consider for a moment what it means to be as possible. They rarely discuss (or even think as to how to handle it Soldiers a re relu ctant strung up by the thumbs and methodically about) the w ar and politics: the only subject to talk about it (understandably so, because the beaten to death: this is the sort of activity that that really interests them is girls. The discus­ penalty for getting caught is a m axim um 25 goes on here). But one of the most surprising sions of our troops in Vietnam must be like years in the brig), but it is no s e c re t that pot is activities in Vietnam (and one of the most discussions among troops a t a ll times and in cheap, available, good, and in use. Conse­ potentially dangerous) is the establishment all places: they are coarse, rude, brusque, quently, records like “Sgt. P epper’s Lonely and entrenchment of a vast m ilitary welfare lacking in information or depth, but necessary Hearts Club Band” are banned in Vietnam . state. Such a condition means nothing to to establish camaraderie and a semblance of Some of the soldiers talk bravely about “get­ Vietnam: Vietnam is remarkable for its normality. (We must ask ourselves if discus­ ting Charlie" and “zapping the Coug,” but ability to remain the same no m atter what hap­ sions in college dormitories are significantly most are scared and quite willing to adm it pens. But the “ police action" in Vietnam can different.) The soldier is treated by the Arm y it. A television programmer in Nha-Trang mean a great deal to America, which stands as a number, and it does not take long before said that the favorite TV program In Vietnam a good and frightening chance of going the way he begins to adopt the same attitude toward is “Combat” (called “the other w ar” by the of Nazi Germany. himself. Friendships seem to be forced here: soldiers) because “Combat” is about a war The observer in Saigon sees the American barracks are filled with a ll sorts of men from where idealism is the motivating fo rce and J presence in Vietnam divided into two cate­ different backgrounds and places and they are the good guys never get killed. This pro-1 gories, m ilitary and civilian, and these two compelled by circumstances to mingle and grammer described a su rrealistic scene/ categories can be further broken down into live together. The experience is a valuable one (surrealistic scenes are common in Viet-* "good" and "bad." I t is possible to wander in terms of introducing Americans to one nam): he recalls watching the VC mortar through the never-neverland of Saigon-from another, but the effect it has on the Vietnam­ a Special Forces camp in Nha-Trang while the press centers (where history is being re­ ese is not particularly positive. Americans have “Combat” blared away on the television written daily) to Tu Do Street (where bars a tendency to remain Americans when they set. The men at his station watched both per­ and bar-girls flourish) to the outdoor cafes travel in foreign countries, so rather than adapt formances with rapt attention. Another favor­ (where intellectual Vietnamese students to Vietnamese customs and culture. South ite of the soldiers (and, I fear, soon to be re­ daringly and secretly discuss p olitics)- and Vietnam is being transformed into a little vived in the U.S.) are the old Blondie and Dag- find the ubiquitous American influence work­ American State. Needless to say, the V iet­ mar movies (don’t feel bad: I’ve never heard ing in one of four ways, always at cross-pur­ namese are not happy about this develop­ of them either) from the 30’s. T hese movies poses. always confused and reaching for contra­ ment. are ultra-camp and represent an unreal return dictory goals, always snarled, tangled, like Life in Saigon is significantly different to reality. One supposes that the popularity the many-headed hydra that traditionally sum- from life in the countryside. Saigon has tradi­ of Blondie and Dagmar is due to the fa c t that bolizes the country of Vietnam. tionally been a country within a country ( “ The they offer yet another chance to avoid flunking The m ilitary Paris of the Orient” as the French liked to about the dangers and fears of the “real" F irst and foremost, there is the m ilitary. The say) and this separatism has not diminished world. good old American khaki-green give-'em-hell today. The life of the Vietnamese peasant is , (continued on page 1 1 ) bang-bang-you re-dead m ilitary. The m ilitary centered around the hamlet, not the city. 0 Michigan State News, East Lansing, Michigan America: an imperial power without an air force, without a navy, without (continued from page 5) armor, without sophisticated offensive wea­ American people from the floor of the pons. could go on resisting without the support Senate this afternoon, that I am satisfied received from the Soviet Union, China, and a the plan is on the way to eventually escalate few other countries. However, this assistance this war into North Vietnam." does not include fighting men, but only food The decision to carry the war to North and materiel-to the extend of about $1 billion Vietnam was allegedly "based on a soul- worth in a year. This contrasts with the more searching decision by President Johnson than $25 billion which the United States is now and Ids advisers." These advisers appar­ spending in one year to prosecute the war ently assured President Johnson that the against the Vietnamese, plus more than half North Vietnamese could not withstand sus­ a million of the best armed men in the world, tained air attacks and that they would together with the support of the armies of the “ chicken out" and make an "honest effort" Saigon regime, dispirited and ineffective as to disengage themselves from operations they may be, also equipped with superior U.S. in the South. Military and diplomatic in- weapons. Most of the world sees this as an un­ tefligence reaching Washington is supposed equal contest between a mighty colossus and a to have convinced President Johnson, Sec­ pigmy, and frankly marvels at the courage retary o f State Rusk, and Defense Sec­ and dedication of the pigmy. retary McNamara that the fear of China * • * * * dominated the flunking of the North Viet­ nam ese and that they would not permit 3 We were mistaken in the first place and CMnese troops to come to their aid. In seriously damaged our national image in Asia view of the subsequent escalations that have Saigon regime supported by the United States and elsewhere when we assisted the imperialist foBowed the initial bombings of North -it is still a civil war, for the Vietnamese are French in their military effort to retain Viet­ Vietnam , what Edwin A. Lahey of the Knight one nation. From the standpoint of the NLFSV nam. We were mistaken again when we de­ ncwRiapm wrote at the time seems starkly and the government of North Vietnam, and also cided to fill the power vacuum created by propheti c : “If the gamble we launched with from the viewpoint of a substantial part of France’s withdrawal and to attempt the im­ an a ir strik e in North Vietnam proves world opinion, it is also a kind of colonial war- position of our will on the people of South wrong, thousands of young men now planning a war also being fought to expel a foreign in­ Vietnam. Despite years of ingenious camou­ their liv es may be in military graves in a vader, the United States, from the soil of an flage and platitudes about “freedom,” “de­ couple o f years. And their parents will Asian country with a long history of national mocracy” and other honorific abstractions, our have n e a t little citations saying that their identity and independence. And this is so not­ primary objective has been clear for some withstanding the Johnson-Rusk sophistries time. We did not become militarily involved boy died in the defense, of freedom.” By M arch o f 1 9 0 , nearly 15,000 American about North Vietnam not leaving its neighbor because a “brave people” had asked for our as­ “young m en” had in fact died in Vietnam alone, the shadow of China and a host of other sistance. It was we ourselves who created and worn-out cliches. If “aggression” has been made possible the first regime in Saigon, the and more than 100,000 had re­ committed from the outside, it has not been Diem regime, even though it turned out to be ceived som e kind of a wound. “aggression from the North" but aggression a kind of Frankenstein and had to be destroyed. from the West-represented by the U.S. uni- Every regime since then, to be perfectly candid At the timer of the Tonkin resolution, the laterial projection of its political, financial about it, has been a client regime, entirely White House solemnly used the phrase, “We and military power in the internal affairs of dependent upon U.S. power and money for seek no wider war.” It was repeated with the Vietnamese people, its role as an accom­ monotonous regularity in subsequent months, survival. plice in preventing the crucial parts of the Ge­ Althouth the cliches and slogans of the past while the Administration at the same time neva accords from being carried out. and its are still being parroted by some spokesmen and step by step further escalated the war by in­ self-given right to exclude Communism as an apologists of the Johnson Administration, they creasing the range and intensity of its bomb­ option for the people of South Vietnam. Not a were long ago discarded by the franker spokes­ ings of North Vietnam, expanding the list of single regime which has existed in Saigon men. Our primary aim, unmistakably dis­ targets there, bringing in more and more ground since 1954 could have been established or could closed in Santo Domingo in 1965, but clearly troops to participate in the fighting going on in have maintained itself in power without U.S. disclosed also eleven years previously in Gua­ South Vietnam, and expanding its use of na­ •approval and: support. No Saigon regime since temala, is to prevent the establishment or sur­ palm and chemicals. The response of the North 1954 has been representative of, or supported vival of regimes “too far to the left” wherever Vietnamese was to step up its assistance to the by, as much as a fourth o f the total popula­ we think we can succeed and by using what­ NLFSV and also to infiltrate a sizable number tion of South Vietnam. ever means we regard as necessary. As Walt of its own regular army troops into the South. As the distinguished authority on interna­ Rostow, a leading adviser of the Johnson Ad­ At the same time, the Soviet Union and China tional law, Quincy Wright, has made it quite ministration, has in effect expostulated, the re f unded by markedly increasing their mater­ clear: “Neither the Charter (of the United Na­ crucial role of the United States to play is the ial aid to both the NLFSV and North Vietnam. tions) nor customary international law rec­ part of a great counter-revolutionary power As for the NLFSV, its military power instead of ognize any right to intervene in civil strife which is prepared to preserve the status quo weakening, as the Administration would have at the request of either the recognized gov- and in interdict change by revolution, espe­ the American public believe, actually con­ oernment or the insurgents. The right of cially by leftist elements. This is substan­ tinued to increase. ‘self-determination’ and independence gives tially the role that the United States has in B y the end of 1965, the United States had in­ states the privilege of changing their system fact been playing for nearly two decades. This creased its military forces in Vietnam to 185,000 of government or economy, even by violent has meant that the United States has allied By 1999 these forces had swollen to more than revolution, without outside interference, as itself with the privileged and oligarchic ele­ half a million men, a very substantial part of we asserted in 1776 and 1823." ments of troubled countries, usually under­ the U .S. airforce was in action bombing both Moreover, the rebellion in South Vietnam developed. and in effect made itself the ene­ South and North Vietnam, and a considerable had actually been underway for several years my of the poor, the disadvantaged and the op­ portion of the U.S. navy was employed in sup­ before North Vietnam committed itself to pressed. It is a strange role for a nation to be porting a war effort which with each passing assistance. The so-called Vietcong insurgency playing which itself owes its birth to a revolu­ month remained as distant as ever from “vic­ is still, despite the increased military assist­ tion which at the time the “respectable” so­ tory.” The successful NLFSV-North Vietnam­ ance of the North Vietnamese, essentially a cial classes of Europe considered to be “too e se a tta c k s of January and February of this South Vietnamese coalition against the Sai­ far to the left.” It is a role that would be­ y ear on the cities and towns of South Vietnam gon regime and the U.S. presence. South Viet­ wilder and dismay Thomas Jefferson, Thomas which were believed to be “secure” rudely namese Communists now perhaps play a de­ Paine and the other patriots of the American shattered many illusory premises of the Pres­ cisive role in leadership, strategy and tactics, revolution. ident’s warhawk advisors. An increasing and in liaison with North Vietnam. But this In Vietnam we have in effect been trying number of them for the first time became was not so before the United States substan­ to impose our will on the Vietnamese people, iM im m of the possibility of victory through the tially escalated its military involvement. and at the same time to make an example strategy of a “limited war.” For many of them But even if South Vietnamese Communists'did for other countries to note. The Administra­ the Jan aary -F eb ru ary developments seemed play a decisive role from the beginning, the ar­ tion seeks to demonstrate in Vietnam that the to indicate that a vastly expanded U.S. war gument that the rebellion in South Vietnam awesome power of the United Sates, sustained e ffo rt was required, perhaps necessitating as was indigenous remains valid, for South Viet­ by an annual gross national product of more m any a s a million men and the possible use of namese Communists are, after all. South Viet­ than $800 billion, can and will be used to de­ ta ctic a l nuclear weapons, no matter the risks. namese. feat decisively any revolutionary movement Y e t the Soviet Union and China, notwithstand­ President Johnson has in the past spoken not to our liking, and especially one we believe ing th eir bitter ideological quarrel, had both about South Vietnamese “participating in at­ to be linked with “communism." repeatedly stated that they “recognized” their tacks on their offii Government,” as though this Today it is Vietnam that is feeling the shock obligation to assist North Vietnam, “a frater­ were criminal behavior. A government which of American military intervention. But the nal so cia list state,” and that they would not is alienated from the people it governs de­ truth is that since 1947 the United States has p erm it h e r to be defeated by “U.S. imperalist serves to be attacked, and even overthrown maintained an enormous military power be­ aggression." by force if there is no other way. This is the yond purely defensive needs and has utilized • * • • * sacred right of people to revolution, enshrined some of it time and again to intervene with CONCLUSION in our own Decaration of Independence. force or the threat of force in the internal af­ T he con flict raging in South Vietnam up to Since 1965 the civil-war nature of the conflict fairs of other nations. What are the sources 1991 w as essentially a civil war. Whether it is in Vietnam has been almost completely of this kind of international behavior which thought o f a s South Vietnamese N LF forces eclipsed by its international characteristics- is something quite new in the American ex­ fighting over South Vietnamese loyal to the brought on by the richest and most powerful perience. excluding the period of the armed A m sriran qw niorcd Saigon regime, or wheth­ nation in the world, made up of more than 200 interventions in the Caribbean area during e r i t is thought of as North Vietnamese assist­ million people, combatting a little Asian peo­ ing the South Vietnamese N t F against the (continued on page 19) ple. It is doubtful if the North Vietnamese, Thursday, March 7, 1968 JMC project: contact learning By JAMES SPANIOLO and LA R R Y W E R N E R A visitor enters one of the huge executive of­ fice buildings in Washington D.C. enroute to Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s office. The visitor is checked by a security guard. “ M r. Hoffman, please,’’ the visitor re­ quests. Finally, in the vice president's office. Max Hoffman greets his guest. Meanwhile, in the Lebanese embassy, M arilyn Bombrys addresses a package to Secretary of State Dean Rusk's daughter. In the package is a wedding president. Later in the day. Miss Bombrys is a t the Capitol, where she meets President Johnson. Max and M arilyn are juniors in Justin M o rrill College. They are two of 14 JMC students who are earning 12 credits while working in various positions or simply doing independent re­ search in the nation's capital, fulfilling their field study requirements for M SU’s first resi­ dential college. M a x H o ffm a n ( c e n te r ) d i s c u s s e s h i s p r o j e c t in W a s h in g t o n D . C . w ith H a r o ld Justin M o rrill, which admitted its first J o h n s o n (left) h i s s u p e r v i s i n g p r o f e s s o r , a n d E i l e r R a v e n h o lt , a n a s s is t a n t to freshman class in the fall of 1965, empha­ V ic e P re sid e n t H u b e rt H u m p h e ry . sizes a liberal education, with a greater amount of freedom given to the students in course selection, while at the same tim e providing as social secretary on Fridays, when her supe­ “The most important part ot m y stay in for personal contact between students and rior has the day off. In this capacity, she con­ Washington is not what I ’ve done but the con­ faculty supervisors. Consistent with this trols the ambassador’s calendar on that day tacts I ’ve made,” Miss Neal said. philosophy is the current Washington field and sees that protocol is correct if the am ­ She has attended a number of OAS m eet­ study program. bassador should have an appointment. ings and has recognized some w eaknesses Students are for the most part left on their Five students are working with H arry T. in what appears otherwise to be “ ideally a own to find apartments and to secure non­ McKinney, director of the JM C field study good organization.” paying jobs or positions which w ill help program and associate professor in Econom­ “ There are many complications and them utilize the resources of Washington to ics. political implications in everything which is prepare a w ritten report due at the te rm ’s end. Ed Barnes, a Grand Rapids junior in eco­ done,” she said. “ The organization is not too So that the students receive some direction nomics, is working in Minority Leader Gerald efficient, and there is political favoritism . in their projects, each is assigned a faculty Ford's office and doing research for a paper The real problem is that many of the questions supervisor who remains in contact to give on the gold drain and the balance of payments. come down to interests of the larg er nations help, when needed, and who evaluates the Through Ford, Barnes is allowed to sit in opposing those of the smaller ones.” research project. on hearings of the House Ways and Means About the field study program , M iss Neal Hoffman chose to study the party structure Committee and obtained a ticket from Ford said: and operation as it prepares for a m ajor cam­ to attend the Republican State of the Union “ I have gotten a t least a s much o at of this paign, with special attention given to the me­ appraisal meeting. program a s I have from attending a ll my thods of campaign strategy. He is working Four students under McKinney’s supervi­ classes a t MSU to d ate.” under one of Humphrey’s assistants, E ile r sion are attending the hearings of the Joint About Washington: “ You can learn so much Ravenholt. Hoffman’s duties and hours are Economic Committee. by just trying to figure out what’s going on flexible to allow ample tim e for utilizing the “ We call them each night after the hearings here.” resources and contacts made available to him. and record the conversation on tape.” Mc­ Another Spanish m ajo r, Cathy Owen, a ju n­ “ In m y position. I have access to many Kinney said. “ This forces them to get together ior from Wayzata, M ian., is also working in the people and many offices,’’ Hoffman said. “ I after the meeting to discuss what went on. Pan-American Union. She is doing research am working directly under M r. Ravenholt, “ The general idea was to send them to the in Spanish and is writing the Social A ffairs who is a political liaison with the people in committee meetings to acquire reports which Dept, report on Peru for the annual Alliance for Minnesota for the vice president. ” w ill be used in the classroom.” Progress Report. Hoffman said that he is in- a position to These students are equipped with a 35mm M ille r is conducting a series of interview s obscure the development of issues and how camera and a tape recorder. relating to the Amicus Curiae B rief (Friend of the issues are related to grass roots support. Besides attending committee hearings, the Court). He became interested in the topic “ I make anything I find available to the Barnes has been answering letters which reach while taking Political Science 320 from Ja m e s vice president's office,” he said. Ford’s office "concerning events of the day.” Levine, who advised M ille r in planning the Hoffman has just completed a study on the “JMC feels that the experience you gain project and who w ill criticize the final report. possibility of the presidential race being has much to do with the educational process,” Through his congressman. M iller acquired thrown into the House of Representatives, it Barnes said. “ This gives you a completely dif­ a spot in the Congressional Reading Room. no candidate receives a m ajority of the elec­ ferent experience than you can get a t the Uni­ When not doing research reading, he interviews toral vote. versity.” pressure groups-such as the N AACP-w ho have A political science m ajor from Haslett, he Barnes suggested that JMC structure the had cause to utilize the Amicus Curiae Brief. has also observed the involvement of the exec­ program slightly more in order to improve the Unlike most of the other JMC students in utive branch with its constituency. field study. Washington, M iller is not tied down to a partic­ “ There is a vital concern with feedback “ They could give us suggestions before we ular position. and polls,” Hoffman said. “ The executive come down here," he said. “ We were kind “I didn’t particularly want to be in my con­ branch is responsive to its constituents and of dropped on the town." gressman's office a ll of the time,'” he said. it goes deeper than just political expediency.” However, McKinney countered, this assum­ “ I have more free tim e.” About the Washington field study program, ing of responsibility by the student is desirable. M iller reiterated statements of his fellow Hoffman said, “ This is o n a o f the things that “ M y inclination would be not to do very students in Washington concerning the oppor­ makes JMC so worthwhile-the practical ex­ much in this regard,” McKinney said. “ Going tunities this program offers. perience.” into a strange city to find an apartment is a “ In a 15-minute conversation with someone Miss Bombrys, an anthropology m ajor from pretty meaningful experience. We want to give here, I can learn m ore than in a whole term of Petoskey, is assisting the social secretary at these students a chance to accept the respon­ a poli sci cou rse,” M iller said. “ These people the Lebanese Embassy. sibility. I would be reluctant to structure these have to be responsible for what they sa y ; a poli programs more.” sci prof doesn’t .” She plans to w rite her paper on the Lebanese Eight students are supervised by Harold S. M iller said that he is particularly impressed American. Miss Bombrys is learning about Johnson, assistant professor of political sci­ by how hard congressmen and other govern­ Lebanese culture while working at the embassy and had planned to spend tim e living with ence. Included in this group are Hoffman and ment figures work. He said that both radical a Lebanese fam ily. two others who were contacted by the State and conservative groups complain about Fauzi M. N a jja r, associate professor in News. the lack of work being done in Washington. social science, has studied Middle East affairs Cindy Neal is a sophomore Spanish m ajor “ It isn't just fun on the H ill," M iller said. and is supervising Miss Bombrys. from Port Huron. She is studying the Organ­ M iller feels that the JMC program is worth­ " I have learned so much about the opera­ ization of American States (OAS) while work­ while. but says that the individual student tion of the diplomatic service that I want to ing in the Pan American Union. Jeff M iller, must assert himself to reap the benefits avail­ an Independence, Mo., junior, is in political able. switch my m ajor to foreign relations. " she said. "This experience has given me great p e r ­ science and working on an independent re­ “Simply because you are here, you are learn­ sonal satisfaction." search paper concerning pressure groups and the ing about your government and about the Miss Bombrys cited learning the diplomatic Supreme Court. world." M iller said. “ But we are on our own. Miss Neal is interviewing representatives We could drink beer all day if we wanted to. language and protocol as the m ajor challenges from Latin American countries and w ill com­ JMC must be careful of the kind of people they of her job and meeting the President as her pile a written paper. She is studying the work­ send." greatest thrill. ings of the Pan-American Development Foun­ Both McKinney and Johnson are pleased “ I was so awed that I couldn't speak." she dation, which was created to assist private with the Washington project. They hope that said after meeting the President at the Presi­ investiment in Latin America in conjunction the field study experience w ill aid the individ- dential Prayer Breakfast. Recently, Miss Bombrys agreed to serve with the Alliance for Progress. (continued on page I I ) 10 Michigan State News, East Lansing, Michigan Alienation at home, abroad of m ilitary power and contempt for the opin­ our history, comparable in many ways to the (continued from page 8) ions of mankind, seem to be part and parcel of period the German people entered in the 1930's. the earlier part of this century? The National the general decay of the moral fabric of Amer­ In this Germany the new leadership launched Council of Churches may have substantially ican society. Affluence for the many has by its great crusade against "Communism" and identified the sources of this behavior. As re­ no means produced a more moral or more placed its faith not in God or humanity but in ported in The New York Times of Feb. 22 of humane society. On the contrary, it seems to Power. We launched our crusade against "Com­ this year, they are: have nourished a widespread arrogance, cyni­ munism" even before World W ar I I had ended. 1. A oversimplified view of the world divid­ cal pragmatism, self-seeking, and moral cor­ We might well ask ourselves. Where w ill the ed into two camps, one “ free" and the other ruption. extending from top to bottom. As Ken­ idolotrous worship of Power by our leaders take Communist. neth Boulding has put it. “ The problem of us? 2. A false and even “ arrogant" concept that America is pollution-m aterial and m oral." Whether many Americans realize it or not. the United States has a special mission to It is not without relevance to note that among the United States has become the greatest -repel aggression throughout the world, thus those most blood thirstily calling for the most imperial power of all time. We have millions fostering false moralism and self-righteous­ ruthless use of m ilitary power are those who of armed men overseas, more than 3000 m ili­ ness. have most consistently demonstrated the tary bases and installations scattered around 3. Reliance on m ilitary power as the chief most intense feelings of racial superiority the world, and hold in the palm of our hands as means of keeping the “ peace." thus submerg­ and bigotry in its various forms. clients scores of nations, many of whose gov­ ing social and economic development at home It is historically incorrect to blame Presi­ ernments we could topple overnight by the and abroad. dent Johnson entirely for the m ilitary involve­ simple expedient of withdrawing our econom­ 4. The making of unilateral decisions con­ ment of the United States in Vietnam. Three ic aid. Many of these client states are governed cerning the use'of power, although collective other presidents must also bear some share by corrupt and oppressive oligarchies, whose action is really needed. of responsibility. President Truman in reality major attraction for us is their m ilitant "an ti­ 5. The employment of U.S. power to pre­ set the stage by making available to the communism." This is not the kind of future serve the status quo, with the frequent result French the m aterial aid which helped them the founders of this Republic, created by the of discouraging the social change needed in to reestablish themselves colonially in V iet­ flames of revolutionary war. envisioned for Asia. Africa and Latin America. nam. This was done in the name of anti­ their descendants. Imperialism ultimately The Administration, in its frantic search communism. President Eisenhower must bear completes the corruption of the moral fiber of for an elusive m ilitary victory, has more than responsibility for permitting the Geneva ac­ a people and begets its own destruction. The merely escalated the "size" of the war by cords to be flagrantly violated and to have real future of America lies not in exercising im ­ dispatching hundreds of thousands of Amer­ obstructed, also in the name of anti-Com- perial dominion over alien peoples but in mak­ ican boys to kill and maim and to be killed munism. what might have been the relatively ing the American dream a reality for the m il­ and be maimed in a distant land which in no peaceful settlement of the Vietnam problem lions of poor people we have abandoned in our way actually threatens the security or welfare by the Vietnamese themselves. Speaking of own country, and in contributing of our re­ of the American people. It has also escalated the Eisenhower Administration's decision sources and talents, to the limits possible, for the “ techniques" of warfare, causing death to support the Diem regime, for example. the elevation of the condition of mankind in and mutilation to tens of thousands of help­ General Gavin recently declared. "The fact general. We can take a giant st$p in this direc­ less civilians, which deserve to be candidly that this was contrary to the Geneva accords tion by giving reality to the slogan of the anti- recognized as being even more ruthless and in­ seemed irrelevant." President Kennedy must imperalists of the turn of the century--"the flag humane than any employed by H itler in his also bear responsibility, notwithstanding his of a Republic forever, the flag of an empire m ilitary campaigns to bring recalacitrant na­ platitudes about the necessity of the South never." tions to the "conference table" on his terms. Vietnamese "doing it themselves." for hav­ We might well hearken to the voice of Sen­ The techniques of w arfare being employed in ing ordered the first m ajor escalation by in­ ator Hoar of Massachusetts when he spoke out Vietnam, such as the wholesale napalming of creasing the number of American m ilitary against the acquisition of empire after the villages and the spraying of forests and fields “ advisers" from a few hundred to 23.000 and victorious w ar with Spain. That voice cried with toxic chemicals, have already alienated enlarging their combat role. However, the out that the fathers of the Republic had never America from a very substantial part of the greatest responsibility of all undeniably rests dreamed that their descendants "would be “ decent opinion of mankind." The ruthless on President Johnson, who solemnly prom­ beguiled from these sacred and awful verities and pitiless use of m ilitary power is no less ised the American people peace but gave them . That means :.