NIXON’S SPEECH ‘Cambodian Action Most Successful Of War’

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32315, 5 June 1970, Page 13

NIXON’S SPEECH ‘Cambodian Action Most Successful Of War ’

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright)

WASHINGTON, June 4. Another 50,000 American troops are to be pulled out of Vietnam by October 15 as a direct result of the military thrust into Cambodia—described by President Nixon last night as the most successful venture in a long and difficult war.

In a defence of his decision to send United States forces into action against Communist sanctuaries in Cambodia on May 1, the President told the American people he had been right, despite what he called an unprecedented barrage of criticism from his opponents. He said in a nationallytelevised address that the operation had achieved all its major goals and had thus enabled him to order a resumption of troop withdrawals. The President also gave a guarantee that all United States troops would leave Cambodia by June 30 and said he could report with confidence that he could carry out his plan, announced on April 30, to withdraw 150,000 men from Vietnam by next spring. The 50,000 to be pulled out by mid-October are part of this cut-back. Mr Nixon did not disclose when South Vietnamese troops would leave Cambodia, saying that “their activity in Cambodia in future—after their withdrawal from the sanctuaries—will be deter-

mined by the actions of the enemy.” But he made it clear that American air and logistic support for them in Cambodia would ,end as soon as American forces had left. Aims Of Speech

The President’s speech—described by the White House as an interim report until he addresses the nation on IndoChina again towards the end of the month—apparently was aimed at blunting a Senate drive to curb his war powers and to restore confidence to a battered stock market. Mr Nixon gave a highlyoptimistic review of what had been accomplished in Cambodia and its effect on his programme to disengage from the Vietnam war without abandoning the Government in Saigon. But his readiness to continue 852 bombing of the Cambodian sanctuaries conflicts with the demands of Senate “doves” that all American military activity should end by June 30. Although Mr Nixon was clearly encouraged by what United States and South Vietnamese forces had achieved in Cambodia, he displayed caution by resisting any moves to speed up the pull-

' back from Vietnam and retaining a free hand to deal : with any Communist escala- ■ tion of the Indo-China war. i The announced withdrawal of 50,000 troops by midOctober will proceed at a slower rate than the withdrawal of 115,000 men between the start of the Viet- ’ namisation programme in ! August, 1969, and the time it ! was suspended on April 15. ' It means that the pull-back ‘ of the remaining 100,000 men ’ mentioned in the April 30 an- ! nouncement will have to be ! accomplished in six months 1 —a task which might be complicated if the military situ- ‘ ation deteriorates. • But. the President empha- ’ sised last night how he had 8 kept every previous pledge on 1 troop withdrawals and said 1 he was determined to “Viet- • namise” the war in a way which would bring peace to ’ South-East Asia and unite 5 the American people. I War Booty i Stressing the claim that the Cambodian operation had s been an outstanding success, t Mr Nixon ticked off the large ■ quantities of war booty cap--1 tured by American troops. I President Nixon said that ■ it would take the Com- • munists many months to re-

place their stocks and rebuild their shattered bunkers and other military installations.

In a document made available to the prtss shortly before he spoke, the President issued a complete inventory of Communist weapons captured or destroyed in Cambodia between the time the operation began on May 1 and 4 p.m. yesterday.

This was the inventory: Individual weapons, 15,251: large weapons used by groups, 2114; bunkers and structures destroyed, 8296; small-arms ammunition, 10,178,924 rounds; grenades. 34,813; mines, 3961; explosives, 36,6001 b; anti-air-craft rounds, 132,694; mortar rounds, 48.320: large rocket rounds, 1587: smaller rocket rounds, 26,191: recoilless rifle rounds, 22,202; rice, 11,080,0001 b; vehicles, 359: boats, 40; generators, 36; radios, 186: medical supplies, 50.8001 b.

The list also reported that 9145 Communist troops had been killed in action and 1916 prisoners taken.

He said that the United States and South Vietnamese forces last month had captured almost as much arms, equipment, ammunition and food as they had taken in all of Vietnam last year, that casualties had been lower than expected, and that the operation would reduce future casualties in Vietnam itself. Warning Given Mr Nixon put the Communists on notice that they faced strong retaliatory measures if they interfered with the troop withdrawal programme and jeopardised the security of the remaining United States forces in Vietnam. He reminded them how he had sent troops into Cambodia 12 days after he had issued a similar warning in a televised speech announcing the pull-back of 150,000 men by next spring. More details of the Cambodian operation and the outlook for the Vietnamisation programme are expected when the Defence Secretary (Mr Melvin Laird) and General Earle Wheeler, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appear in an hour-long television interview tonight, a special edition of “meet the press.”