Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Thursday, September 9, 1971 Pentagon documents reveal secret war str ategy (EDITOR'S NOTE: The follow- ing is a summary of the former- ly secret. Pentagon study on the Indochina War.)} Publication this summer of a, secret Pentagon study on the Indochina war has given new dimensions to the charge of a "credibility gap" leveled at the government by war critics. Commissioned -in 1967 by Rob- ert McNamara when he was sec- retary of defense, the study re- vgals much of the behind the scenes maneuvering in the gov- ernment. The study was leaked to the New York Times by former de- fense analyst Daniel Ellsberg. The Times began publication of a series of articles based on the study on June 13, but was en- joined from further publication of the series two days later. Copies of the study, however, soon spread to other publications; and the government gained in- junctions against several of them. Although the Supreme Court ruled on July 1 that the enjoined papers could resume publica- tion, Ellsberg was arrested and now faces prosecution for posses- sion of secret documents. Early reports in the study in- dicate that the United States, con- trary to public pronouncements by the government, had worked to undermine the Geneva accords since their signing in 1954. The Geneva agreement, which provided for the creation of two countries in Vietnam, a com- munist state in the north and a noncommunist state in the south, was viewed as a "disaster" by National News of Summer By Chris Parks PAGES 2 and 3 high U.S. officials, the report says. Attempts to sabotage the agree- ment, the study charges, included paramilitary operations against the newly formed Democratic Republic of North Vietnam. Guerilla teams, it states, were sent to Hanoi to undertake oper- ations against bus lines and other means of transportation. The U.S. government, accord- ing to the study, also strongly op- posed the provision of the agree- ment providing for free elections throughout both Vietnams, for fear that the communists would gain control. The papers reveal a mounting U.S. military involvement in or- der to prevent the communists from gaining control. President John Kennedy, the study concludes, transformed a "limited risk gamble" of the Eis- enhower administration, into a "broad committment" to pre- serve noncommunist government in the south. The papers reveals that as the size and extent of the American military committment increased, there was a corresponding in- crease in official deception of the public concerning military opera- tions in Vietnam. For example, the study states that in April 1965, President Lyn- don Johnson decided to move to greater use of ground troops after becoming disenchanted with the progress of the war. At the time this major policy decision was being made, how- ever, he said, "I know of no far- reaching strategy suggested or promulgated." In so saying, the study concludes, the president was being "less than candid". In 1966, after receiving a re- quest for a troop increase of over 200,000 from Gen. William West- moreland, then commanding U.S. forces in Vietnam, Johnson told the press "we do not have on my desk at the moment, any unfilled request from Gen. Westmore- land". 7 .r - I WELCOME from BACK STUDENTS As the conflict wore on, and American casualties rose with no end in sight, more and more gov- ernment officials became disaf- fected with the war. As early as 1967, the study reports, McNa- mara was urging the president to de-escalate the war. The government determined to fight on, however, spurred by what the study calls a "colossal misjudgement" of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese. In a one year period between 1965 and 1966, Westmoreland tripled his request for troops due, according to the study, to "con- stant underrating" of his oppo- nent. It was this "underrating" the papers suggest, which caused the government to believe that a con- centrated program of intensified bombing could "bring Hanoi to its knees". Instead, the report concludes, the bombing had the opposite ef- fect. After the papers were pub- lished, in June, former Secre- tary of Defense Dean Rusk de- fnded the Johnson administra- tion, saying the documents told nothing essentially new. ! In a sense this is true. The documents merely lend support to many of the charge that anti- war activists have been making for years. War critics who have charged the United States government un- derrated the North Vietnamese, adeceived the public, and in some instances thwarted democracy in Vietnam, can find support for their allegations in the pages of the secret Pentagon papers. * I aTSV, RENTALS $10.50/mo. NEJAC T.V. 662-5671 'Secret' documents surface 4 Pressure increases for Viet war solution v if it's for a VOLKS WA GEN we have /t! 201 E An AUTOMOTIVE SUPPLY . HooverN i Arbor i i , ' " ' a n a R A yolks wagon replacement parts and S AET RGNLEUPETSEIIAIN As the Indochina war slogged on through another summer, pressure at home continued to mount for a settlement of the longest war in American his- tory. For those who still hope to salvagetan American victory from the struggle it has been a bad summer. Despite the spring offensive into Laos, designed to cripple the North Vietnamese' ability to make war in the south, com- munist military operations both in Cambodia and near the De- militarized Zone (DMZ) have been both extensive and rela- tively successful. 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The major blow to war ad- vocates however, came June 22 when the Senate passed an amendment urging the presi- dent to withdraw all troops from Indochina within nine months. Passage of the amendment- sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (D- Mont.) - came at the conclus- ion of a long battle between senate hawks and doves over a bill to extend the draft for two years. The major conflicts over the bill came on a series oframend- ments, proposed by war critics, which were designed to hasten U.S. disengagement from Indo- china. 4 For the most part anti-war senators were the loosers in these battles. For example, amendments which would have excluded draftees from combat service in Indochina, and limited the draft extension to one year were de- feated. In subsequent weeks the stronger Hatfield-M c G o v e r n amendment to cut off war funds by December 31, 1971, and Childs amendment which would have set an April 30, 1972 cut off date met with defeat. With the passage of the Mansfield amendment, however, war critics finally scored a vic- tory. The amendment called for an immediate ceasefire and ne- gotiations with the North Viet- namese and Viet Cong. These negotiations would determine a timetable for the simultane- ous withdrawal of U.S. forces and repatriation of American prisoners of war, to be complet- ed within nine months. Pressure placed upon the Nixon administration by the passage of this amendment was increased on July 1, when the Nat io n al Liberation Front (NLF) introduced a peace pro- posal with striking similarities to the Mansfield amendment. The NLF proposal calls for release of prisoners and with- drawal of troops on a six month schedule. The plan further calls for the establishment of a coalition government in the south to re- place the Thieu-Key regime. Despite the similarities be- tween this proposal and the one approved by the senate, t h e Nixon administration rejected the NLF plan as unrealistic. Meanwhile, beyond all the negotiation and legislation, the war in Indochina continued this Fosummer. For the most part it w a s See GOVT., Page 7 4M A. 1'J WELRY A 1 06 11 13 South University, Ann Arbor 208 South Main, Ann Arbor -mm-----, wowm ---- i208 W Huron SEI ODYSSEYBUR( HAM & SWISS HOME-MADE peppers a ITALIAN GRI Italian Ha r 0% & l 4 RUING 11 A.M.- GER CHEESE-with import ITALIAN SAUSAGE- nd onions NDER-Genoa Salami om, and more k An! i A am f 1 [ iinklA n u~ Food, Liquor, w and Entertainment Nightly -2 A.M. ed ham - -served with grilled i, Provolone Cheese, Hundreds of Accessory Items I I