0 - The Black Vault

THE BDM CORPORATION
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the collapse of "Sunflower" and sowed the seeds of disillusionment 'n
official Washington.
of i i l Wa h n t n "Sunflower" was followed by L-BJ's San Antonio Formula--
an offer to again stop the bombing if the action would lead to prompt
productive talks.
The president also sweetened the ante by acquiescing to
the idea of direct contacts between the GVN and NLF,
done some good much earlier in the conflict, The DRV
a move that might have
responded by brushing
the US initiative aside. Australian communist journalist Wilfred Burcnett
described the DRV attitude when he wrote that "Hanoi was in no mood for
concessions or bargaining," and that "there is an absolute refusal to offer
anything except talks for the cemsaticn of the bombardment."69/
The San
Antonio Formula was soon forgotten when the Communist forces launched their
suicidal Tet Offensive.
6) The Breakthrough: the Start of Talk About Talks
Tet lEd to the resolution of a year-long debate within
the Johnson administration over deciding on a unilateral halt to the bombing
of the north.
Those in favor of a cessation argued that a bombing halt
would promote negotiations; those against, that it would prove too great a
risk to take with the lives of US GI's in RVN. LBJ's new Secretary of
Defense, Clark Clifford, after a thorough re-appraisal of the US role in
the war, concluded that because the MVR was not interested in negotiations,
a Dombing halt would not produce them,
and that in any case, the US would
be hard pressed to enter such talks from a position of strengtil.70/ Nevertheless,
President Johnson called off bombing north of thie 20th paralel
and stAted that "even this very limited bombing of the North could come to
in early end . . if our restraint is ,,atched in Hanoi."71/ Hanoi
responded promptly (in 4 days), calling the US action "a perfidious trick",
however, they made it ,uite clear that they wanted to establish contact
with US representatives, The DRV, after suffering severe losses during
Tet, was seeking ar unconditional end to all bombing of the North (and
other US "acts" of war), because tne bombing was beginning to interfere
with their ability to resupply NVA elements operating ir the South. Hanoi
was finally ready to talk, but only about talks and not atout a cessation
of hostilities.
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