spartans_in_darkness

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(U) Fourth Interlude: Grasping at the Straws ofVictory, 1968-1970
CU) After Tet, the political landscape of the
war changed dramatically. Robert McNamara
resigned as secretary of defense. On March 22,
General Westmoreland was relieved as commander
in Vietnam and named Army chief of
staff. Nine days later, President Johnson, in a
nationwide TV address, announced that there
would be an unilateral, partial bombing halt for
most of North Vietnam. He ended this speech by
announcing his refusal to run for president. The
ensuing u.s. domestic political scene descended
into chaos.
•
CU) On 10 May, American and North
Vietnamese negotiators sat down to begin formal
talks in Paris. At first, both countries agreed to
exclude the National Liberation Front and Saigon
from the discussions. From the beginning, little in
the way of progress on ending the war was
achieved. American and North Vietnamese positions
hardened around the intensification of the
bombing in the north and Hanoi's continued
aggressive prosecution of the war. Both Saigon
and the NLF refused to meet anywhere where the
other was present. Some of Saigon's politicians
wanted just North and South Vietnam to meet
and exclude the u.S. and the NLF. Washington's
policy of backing Saigon militarily only aggravated
Hanoi. In truth, no progress was ever made at
Paris in the first set of talks. Neither side was willing
to concede anything.
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