Error: Making Americans Madder

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363-04772.pdf
Digital Object Identifier
363-04772
Title
Error: Making Americans Madder
Description
Article published in the New York Herald Tribune about the American reaction to the Việt Cộng's attack on the Biên Hòa Air Base, page 8
Transcript
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- Page 1
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Error: Making Americans Madder
By Beverly Deepe
A Special Correspondent
SAIGON.
The Viet Cong Communist
attack on the United States
B-57 jet-fighter bombers a
week ago was a brilliant tac-
tical victory but a major stra-
tegic miscalculation.
For the mortar bombard-
ment of the Bien Hoa airfield,
only 18 miles from Saigon,
highlighted for officials in
Washington the fact that
with the current policy, the
war is being lost.
Very forcefully, the Bien
Hoa attack points to the need
for a change in policy-and
soon. Major post-election pol-
icy changes were to be antici-
pated anyway, but the Bien
Hoa attack, according to ob-
servers, at the least "will
shorten the time in which
policy decisions can be post-
poned."
In Washington yesterday it
was made known that Am-
bassador Maxwell D. Taylor
would return for talks in a
week or so.
In Saigon yesterday, the
sound of explosions rattled
windows and shook up citi-
zens.
The Vietnamese Air Force
was carrying out massive air
raids on Communist strong-
holds near the city.
NO MEDALS
Whether the noise that
startled Saigonese stemmed
from these raids, or from.
army troops blowing up old
ammunition, was not known.
What was known was that
the Vietnamese Air Force in
eight hours dropped 120 tons
of bombs on a variety of
Communist targets, some no
further than 15 miles from
the capital, in retaliation for
the Bien Hoa attack.
Although that attack on
Nov. 1 demolished or dam-
aged 20 American jet-bomb-
ers, and inflicted the heaviest
American casualties tolls in
a single incident in the war
-four killed and 72 wounded
-observers here predict that
the Communist planners will
not receive any medals for
the feat.
Observers believe the at-
tack-a psychological shock
to Americans and Vietnamese
here-created the impression
"The Communists can take
over the country now-but
why don't they?" The effect
may well mean the Commu-
nists may lose some of their
mass support by promising
something that is still years
away in reality.
Hence, the Bien Hoa at-
tack is considered too early
it was a small-scale Dien
Bien Phu without the im-
mediate prospect of final
military or political victory.
"Bien Hoa has made the
Americans madder," ex-
plained one reliable source.
"The Americans have not yet
decided to change their
strategy but Bien Hoa attack
makes that time come closer.
This is the significance of the
attack."
The attack came only days
before a new Saigon govern-
ment had been announced-
a government which Ameri-
can policy officially backs.
"But the Americans are back-
ing a weak and inept govern-
ment," according to one re-
liable source. "I'm not say-
ing it's weak and inept as a
criticism. It's a fact."
The American policy is to
think that the American con-
cepts of prosecuting the poli-
tical and economic war, of ad-
ministering the American
multimillion dollar aid pro-
gram, of implementing the
American-backed pacification
program that all of this
must be done through the
machinery of the Vietnamese
government. The choices fac-
ing the Americans are to con-
tinue working through this
weak and corrupt-govern-
ment, to change that govern-
ment or to work around it,
principally by using the Viet-
namese army and its leader,
Maj. Gen. Nguyen Khanh, as
a substitute for the govern-
ment apparatus.
The weeks to come should
reveal which choice Washing-
ton makes in reality, although
American policymakers may
in effect officially continue to
support the newly-named
government.
Officially, the American
I view is to work for an effec-
tive Vietnamese government
-and build all policy on
that. However, as long as
the
Communist - oriented
Buddhist movement is ca-
pable of attacking any Saigon
regime, there appears to be
little chance that the coun-
try will ever have a strong
government. Thus, there may
well be in the offing a shift
in the American tolerant
attitude toward the Bud-
dhists, and the Vietnamese
government might decide to
crack down on known Com-
munists within the move-
ment.
The instability of the
three-day-old civilian gov-
ernment of Premier Tran
Van Huong was underlined
yesterday when the High Na-
tional Council refused to
throw its prestige behind the
cabinet, under fire from stu-
dents and Buddhists for not
reflecting their political pow-
er.
The Council limited it-
self to stating support of the
Premier "in order to solve
this unrest with him." It also
confirmed the resignation of
its acting chairman, Dr.
Nguyen Xuan Chu, who feels
the same way about the cabi-
net as the students and
Buddhists.
Premier Huong, facing the
gathering opposition, took
care to note yesterday that
his government would not
tolerate any demonstrations.
His regime received support
from the man who counts,
Gen. Khanh. In a statement,
he said "only working in
union can we defeat the dan-
ger of Communist dictator-
ship."
In the most general terms,
American policymakers are
faced with two sets of
choices: to contain the con-
flict within South Viet Nam
terinsurgency war but to at-
tempt to save Viet Nam by
making the conflict more of
a conventional war.
Fragmentary evidence sug-
gests that the conflict will be
carried outside of South Viet
Nam and that the war will
become more conventional-
ized. The arrival of a high-
ranking Filipino foreign min-
istry official in Saigon last
week has increased specula-
tion that Asian combat troops
-Filipino, Thai, Formosan
and South Korean-might be
the next step forward en-
larging the war. This may
or may not mean that Amer-
ican combat troops will be
I sent to Viet Nam, principally
for garrison duty to secure
provincial capitals and major
military installations- thus
releasing South Vietnamese
troops for offensive opera-
tions.
This decision would have
the effect of making Viet-
nam a "little Korea," with
multi-national troops called
in to support the anti-Com-
munist government-a United
Nations command without
the United Nations.
Vietnamese observers also
believe that American policy
changes may well include
massive aerial bombardment
of Communist supply bases
outside South Viet Nam. This
would probably be centered
in the southern-tongue of
Laos, through which run the
key infiltration and supply
routes from North Viet Nam.
Observers in Viet Nam be-
lieve this scheme to block in-
filtration from southern Laos
may well be connected with
the current offensive of
right-wing troops against
Communist Patnet Lao
forces on the Plain of Jars.
Date
1964, Nov. 8
Subject
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Aerial operations, American; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Guerilla Warfare; Mặt trận dân tộc giải phóng miền nam Việt Nam; Biên Hòa (Vietnam)
Location
Saigon, South Vietnam
Coordinates
10.8231; 106.6311
Container
B4, F6
Format
newspaper clippings
Collection Number
MS 363
Collection Title
Beverly Deepe Keever, Journalism Papers
Creator
Keever, Beverly Deepe
Copyright Information
These images are for educational use only. To inquire about usage or publication, please contact Archives & Special Collections.
Publisher
Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries
Language
English