Pentagon Pressure For Attack On N. Vietnam

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30453, 29 May 1964, Page 11

Pentagon Pressure For Attack On N. Vietnam

(From FRANK OLIVER, N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent) WASHINGTON, May 27. The betting here is that before long this Administration will decide to carry the war against the Communists into North Vietnam. Mr Johnson is going to be compelled to do this because victory in that area is essential and it looks as if the Vietnam situation hovers not between victory and defeat, but between defeat and disaster.

The demand of Governor Nelson Rockefeller that forces in South Vietnam from now on engage in hot pursuit is catching the public eye and the public imagination.

South-east Asia is not an area in which the Administration can afford to let the opposition take the initiative. South-east Asia is the most vulnerable area of Administration foreign policy and will be mercilessly attacked no matter who wins the Republican nomination this summer.

Americans generally are very conscious of the vast sums of money and the many lives so far invested in keeping the Communists out of

South Vietnam and nowhere is there a sign that any considerable body of citizens is in favour of cutting losses and getting out. Victory is the almost universal demand, and to attain victory it is now clear much more must be done than has been done so far. This country and its South Vietnamese allies have been made to look slightly silly—an aircraft carrier damaged at a Saigon dock and relief columns ambushed and wiped out. The natural reaction here is to have such matters “put right” and prevent any recurrence.

But there are other disturbing factors. First, a number of South Vietnamese are deserting which indicates a rising spirit of defeatism. These deserters of course take or sell American arms to the Viet Cong enemy.

The other factor is Laos. Communist success in that country was just as disturbing as the recent news from South Vietnam. The Secretary of State (Mr Rusk) put it on the line when he expressed fears that these developments might persuade a lot of people to jump on the Peking bandwaggon.

That is what troubles a lot of people here, that not just South Vietnam is in grave danger, but that the whole position of the free world in South-East Asia is in danger, danger that is a threat to Thailand and even threatens the Malaysian unity which has been forged by the tactics of Sukarno.

Small wonder then that the House Foreign Affairs Committee swiftly voted for another 125 million dollars for use in South Vietnam after it had heard the Secretary of Defence (Mr MacNamara) in secret session. The idea of expanding operations in the Vietnam area is still obnoxious to liberals and

moderates. The Washington “Post,” which usually speaks for such elements, said recently “the country is not ready either to give up the South Vietnam fight or to enlarge the war by offensive operation against North Vietnam.”

Maybe the Washington “Post” is not, but a lot of other people feel differently, including what one writer terms a substantial part of the “top brass” at the Pentagon, which includes General Curtis Le May, the Air Force Chief of Staff, and General Thomas Power, chief of the Strategic Air Command.

There officers are arguing that there is much that can be done. More advanced aircraft than now being used could pulverise North Vietnam while still staying within the range of conventional weapons. Anyhow, a powerful drive within the Pentagon is under way with the idea of compelling President Johnson to carry the war into North Vietnam.