Path to War Page #10

And if Hanoi won't talk,

it will only make our position

with the American people stronger

and they will be more likely

to accept these kinds of loses.

We could have a thousand casualties

a month

if we do this, Mr. President!

It's my job to protect our troops,

every truck,

every sampan that gets through

means more dead Americans,

they'll send down missiles,

anti-air craft guns,

it'll set us back a year!

All right, wait a minute now,

all right...

It seems to me

that if we're this pessimistic,

winning battles,

yet predicting stalemates

just five months after going in,

we should pause the bombing

and see what results.

I'm sorry, George,

but I must disagree.

If we pause the bombing and it fails,

the President will be under

irresistible pressure

from the right-wing hawks

in Congress to bomb Hanoi,

to bomb the Red River dikes.

That'll flood the country

and create a civilian disaster

of such magnitude

I do not believe

that North Vietnam will talk

until they come to the realization

that this will be a stalemate

that they cannot win

Now they're not there.

They're unrelenting buildup

in the South clearly indicates

that they believe they can win.

Are you now sayin

that we have no choice

but to continue

to match them man for man?

Well, you made that decision,

Mr. President, we are there,

you have convinced

the American people

that we should be there.

I see no alternative

but for you to make your best effort

to win.

I couldn't believe my ears!

Clifford about-facin,

McNamara goin soft!

They're all changin their tune now.

And Ole George McBundy got

with the Soviet Ambassador,

got a little vodka in him,

and those Harvard types that'll

believe anything outta diplomat!

I don't believe for a minute

that Moscow wants peace.

You don't have to take his advice

if you believe it will fail.

Didn't you hear anything!

Don't you know if I don't pause

the bombing now,

the Kennedys'll all shout

from the mountaintops

that the Russians held out a big fat

olive branch

and I snapped it in two and now

I've missed my chance for peace!

So how's academic life?

Not nearly as challenging.

But I can say I've been getting

a lot more sleep.

Well, someone has to deal

with these things.

You certainly have the floor space.

That I do. That I do.

You know the guy in that portrait?

James Forrestal.

That's right.

Truman's Secretary of Defense.

The guy went absolutely nuts.

When Truman finally got rid of him,

he pinned him with a service medal,

he just stood there mute,

his throat clamped God knows what

demons going through his mind.

A couple days later he jumped out of

the 16th floor of Bethesda Naval.

Sometimes, you can wrestle too much.

Bob, we both came in

with Jack Kennedy.

We were around when this started.

Vietnam started with Eisenhower

and neither of us were here.

I know, and it was Kennedy who put

in all those socalled advisors.

But, I can't believe that had

he lived we'd be in this ditch.

You sound like you've been talking

to Bobby.

He's your friend,

what's he telling you?

If you told the President to stop

the bombing he'd stop it.

We have stopped the bombing,

under my recommendation.

You paused it.

Hanoi knows that you're gonna

start up again

if they don't agree to talk,

and they have said a hundred times

they won't knuckle under to that.

Now, if you told the President

that you no longer

believe the bombing can work...

I never said I believed that.

Bobby says you told him it's

not worth a damn.

Well, that's between Bobby and me.

And as far as my influence

with the President is concerned,

I think you over-estimate my pull.

I don't see how that's possible.

Peace Talks that's the only way

out of this thing now.

You stop the bombing for thirty days,

the brass is ready to hang me,

God, I sure hope Hanoi wants

to take the bait because...

I just don't think we're going

to be able to beat these people.

So, are you going public

with your views?

I'm thinkin about it.

Well, you are free to do that now,

aren't you?

Is that where it happened?

Yep. It's incredible.

Absolutely incredible.

For twenty days now,

we and our South Vietnamese allies

have dropped no bombs

on North Vietnam.

We seek neither territory, nor bases,

economic domination

or military alliance in Vietnam.

We fight for the principle

of self-determination,

for the people of South Vietnam

to be able to chose their own course,

chose it in free elections

without violence,

without terror, and without fear.

We have said all this

and we have asked

and hoped and we have waited

for a response.

None has come.

I believe that we can continue

the Great Society,

while we fight in Vietnam,

yet there are those who cry out,

We must sacrifice.

Well, let us rather ask them,

Who will they sacrifice?

Are they gonna sacrifice the children

who seek their learning,

or the sick who need medical care,

or the families that dwell in squalor

now brightened by the hope of home?

Will they sacrifice opportunity

for the distressed,

the beauty of our land and the hope

of our poor?

Vietnam has been fighting for

it's independence for 4,000 years.

We have defeated the Mongols

three times

and despite all of his bluster

and all his bombs,

Emperor Johnson is not nearly

as terrifying as Genghis Khan.

Ho Chi Minh s statement over

Hanoi radio this morning.

Thirty-seven days.

Thirty-seven days now,

not one bomb has fallen,

this is our answer.

This is our answer.

What now, Bob?

Hanoi and Haiphong harbor.

As you can see,

they're in very concentrated areas.

The tanks and refineries

are within a short distance

of residential sections.

What about the Russian oil ships?

They offload with a 250 foot

floating pipeline.

That's why we're targeting

the distribution tanks,

some 1500 feet from the vessels.

But still quite close

to the residential areas.

That's correct.

And I understand that they purposely

situation strategic

targets close to neighborhoods.

What about those ships,

can they shoot back?

No, sir. They're unarmed.

But the tanks are protected

by surface-to-air missiles.

The Russians sent them down

during the bombing pause.

How many planes will we lose?

Twenty to twenty-five.

How many casualties?

Fifty.

And if the bombs miss,

it could go as high as 12,000

with 50% of these civilians

and 50% of those killed.

Of course we don't plan these strikes

to miss our targets.

But you do miss sometimes.

And this time you could hit

a Russian ship

and the bomber pilot,

he'll be a kid from Johnson City,

Texas.

That'll be the kid

that starts World War III,

thank you very much.

All right,

so what great things

will result from this plan?

With no oil,

their entire infiltration effort

will grind to a halt,

from manufacturing to transportation.

Their war making capability

will be destroyed

and they will have to negotiate.

Dean?

The Chinese and the Soviets

will step up aid.

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