Saigon To Run War

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31653, 13 April 1968, Page 13

Saigon To Run War

(N.Z. Press Assn—Copyright) WASHINGTON, April 12. The United States Defence Secretary (Mr Clark Clifford) said yesterday that the Johnson Administration had adopted a policy aimed at the gradual transfer to South Vietnam of the major responsibility i for the war effort, the “New York Times” ; News Service Reports, j He linked that policy with! a decision by President John-' son to place a ceiling ofj 549,500 on the number of' American troops in Vietnam.' Mr Clifford was careful not ; to make his remarks sound, like an ultimatum to Saigon, where President Thieu has' announced plans to add 135,000 men to his military! forces, to make their number 900.000. He did not fix any timetable for the assumption of I principal responsibility by South Vietnam and he did not say when American forces Would draw back from frontline positions. ' The implication of his remarks, however, was that the United States was telling Saisjon for the first time that it could no longer look forward to an unending supply of American reinforcements. If more troops were needed, Mr Clifford was saying in effect. Saigon must supply them. His remarks -nay also have been designed to assure the

American public that United States involvement in the war has a discernible end. In his first news conference since he took over at the Pentagon from Mr Robert McNamara six weeks ago, Mr Clifford surprised reporters by slipping into a discussion about plans to provide the South Vietnamese Army with more modern rifles, mortars and communications equip-

ment i He made the following statement: “Now that the policy decision has been made to turn over gradually the major effort to the South Vietnamese, we are now starting to give them a degree of preference in our most modern weapons." Asked for elaboration, he said that for some months consultations had been under way in this regard with Saigon. He referred approvingly to comments by President Thieu

last week, “in which he stated that his hope was that some time in the foreseeable future their forces could be developed to the point where they could start in and take over areas that our forces occupied so that our forces could be relieved and drawn back. “That is our programme and that is the one we are looking toward,” Mr Clifford said. Mr Clifford announced plans to mobilise within 30 days about 24,500 reservists, about 10,000 of whom are earmarked for Vietnam duty. The Defence Secretary left a loophole in his statement on the manpower ceiling by citing the figure of 549,500 and adding: “It is the President’s intention at this time not to increase those forces.” Other officials said that if the combat situation changed dramatically, President Johnson wanted to be free to reassess the troop limitation.