L,\lVl Augusr 5i 1969 i'1!MORAI,IDUI,I
XO'XHS PRESTDENT
rRol,l: ?atrick J. Buehod
of l€qis1alive Lademhip ueeling held Ionday, AnqGt 4, 1969, A:30 a.fr.
one observolts Notes
The centerpiece of tne tueting qae a hoologE by the Pf,esident on his just completed !!ip to soutneast asia, south A6ia dd Rordia. The Prcsid6lt beqe the reeting irith a discussion of anElican policy in Asia. He 6aid that if you qentleren are soreknal confused b,, the Beeron! cd !/aalctid beLreen ny stacrenLs in valious Asidn coutries. thrs i6 quile dellbela!€. Aretican policy i.n Asia i3 in a tlasition slage. I,J€ have to lealize that these are diffeenl co@tlies
lequiring dj,ffelent aFoaches, the u.s, nust @c avaY fror a nonolithic apploach to a countly-by-coutry approach in the rhat alproach sill work dly if {e ha@ so@ genelaf opelaliE principles. The llesident tnen E@rted to hi6 o@ nackgloud, I ca@ from lhe "e!a of pa.ts,rr he said. r suppolted this apploach in lhe past, but n@ 25 yeals nep situation. It is itrportant this be done srbtty and gladua1Iy. The lEsidenl said tha! his visits with Yahta xhd in Palist& dd ceawescu in RoMia ue@ vortn soing half way said thei! Epotts were extle@Iy alound lhe wolId helpful, reqardi.g tne sihesovlet p!ob1en, d thai re ha@ difficulfy selling hald intelltgen.e d this beca6e ,e sinply poticy ee should have no agats ltr sore of those begin to fol,Ld .@t be indicated. is txis. The u.s. ms! keep lhe comitrenLE it has made tnus fa!, lhe t@aties it has Ede, because a failure tE& would brirg drastic reper.Esions both in t6!E of ,hat ,ou1a haptEn to tne people and in telc of A@rican .redibility in tne arear xoreve!, ,e shoulil nol e)eand ary tEaty, u1e tire has co@ to exmine ou! comitrents he said, it is on a eoutry by coutry ba6is. not !n ouf, intelest to haw an agreerentr 1 donrt bel,ieve e sho!1d becore involved in sore of these aleas if ve cd possibly avoid ic. H@e@r, tre Eiterated tnat he felt that hislory would viDdi.ale the decigions in vietNam and that the war there ls In lhe baEic inlerest of peace iD tne Pacifld, fhe !resident reaffi!red his convlction tnat ere it not to! i}le u.s. keepinc
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tbe corL in the botlle in VietnaE, the 115 mitli@ people in Indonesia would n6w be ude! comhuist n1e. These then ,e!e the basic. of the @ policy: To Minlain the cledibility of Arelica's e*isting comitrents dd to rak. no ne, .omitrenrs in tne area. Bdever, if a Ejor p@e! should nore acloss a boarde! openlyr tnis {oufd be a aiffelent balt gare, but since that would invofve a cdflonration of so@ kind \dth lhe u.s., rhe presidenr felt the likelihood of thar kind of activiay â‚Źo be snaIl. ou! policy in the futule, he 6aid, dilt be ro help tnen fight the qar ed not fighr lheoar fo! them. xhis iefelled ro other n@-Com$iEr A6i lations. In lhe erent chat the difficdties in a Asid coutry arise from a intelnat Chlear, these countlies ui]1 be call,ed upon co hadle it ertirefy on !hei, d!. Ir the event that the aglession -ithitr is subsidized frch the outside, ,e ,i11 plovi@ rhen wirh A@lica asgistace in tne fom of,Il,rs alm and mteliaI, but ,e ,i11 not plovide Lhe Er6ops. is Ene new apoiodch: ue ritt hetp tnen in a Etelial ,ay so nol a ldp@er way, ne said. The ,lesi(Gnt theD ralked abour the need fo! Japan to pfay d iDcleaing role in t-rre a!ea, thefuhich he has touched upon befoft. H@eve!, he said, he had foud iD ta*ing irith the non-.onn6ist staies of Asia, that uhen .rapan iakes a deaf, it is t\ro foi theto and ore fo! the otbe! felId. 1!e Plesidetr! talked about viernm brieflw- Ee said he ie not quile ce.Lcin but iL seec LhaL the roIitory 3ituation has substanlial}y inploved ow! the past fev rcntns, The casEfties he said, but the late of casualties is s!i}I too high. rhele is a 1u11. bur rhe 1u11 could red sevelal. thilgs. we had etpecteit d offensive for sore tire duling the leriod late,Jse stil ea!1y Augsr, but that offeneive di6'L core. \erJ possibll lhe recson !s he ef ecLj@ tactics of cenela1 AbraN. .,e hcre baen dolng drngs EhaL are not publicl, kn@n, said the President , to keep the enefty off batance. fiooever, rhe lutt coutd re sorething else. pelhaps the eremy (ats to Leep Arelica calattles at an intolerable leEL fo! si but yet a! a feret tlat,o!1d not invite Gjo! fetali-ation of sore Lina. The Presidenr said tnat cenerat Thieu cdtin@s to inrpless nin as the roet arrb &d sophisticaaed Vietnarese leade! he has foud, but adite'1, of couEe, lhat this lsn't saying a gleat dea1, ite said that thieu has olened up the electids to tlre viel Cons becaEe he Ea112es tnat this war is a lo1itical ,a! as nu6\ as a military one. rn public,
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he said, we aE frakinq no ploqress wxatsoever rith tne talks !n Pads. ire have mde conession afre! conceEsion to tne vietn@se ad tne viet co!q, bur Lhey have not froved a inch. We {j,11 be slad to reljotiare without condirions, he said, but we canrt ad the erefry sits \yift lts fee! pldt€d in conclete wailing fo! E to go further. He said
thele is a c\oce that lhe IuIf in the fighting fray indicate inat lhe eneny ls hulting and wants to bring e end to the cdflict. Tbele is a che@, he said. Hore@r, lf rhe enemy sits thele fo! fou! rcle months dd d@s.oc talk selioEty, they ale laLinq "the L@q ,oad,,r a road he indicate.l {e wo!1d not accept eal}ier. the PEstdeDts said it was his sdess rnat the ener!,, if he d@s negoLiate. it vifl not be done lubli.Iy in Paris. irhat qe have offeEd then, he saldi ts a pea@ with justice ed a peace $iur hono, fo! both sides. If they dort tahe that, then oe will ba@ !o look in orhe! dilecrions, ae said the tlick is to end t]\e ,a! in a day as to ploduce the best chdce of elihinatinq future wars dd a way tnat ,i11 not leave India od ?haildd ed lndoDesia sith the impression that the Lrhited slates went in with its ren ed rcney ed material dd vas defeated. That eould leave a vacus of power iD Asia uhich would bbe filled onI, by the chinese or the soviers, If the vletna@se settlerent.esults in a comuist govemrent in one o! two years, the Arelicd people would sinply th!@ up thei! haDds od get out of asia. I,Je cant! have that happen; *e cdrt hare chiDa o! the soviel union o! comuisn doninate Asia becaGe thatts vhere 60t of t5e wolldls people five. Hovrere!, he reiterated aqain ihe leessily fo! '!a limit on comitrentsr' lre said everJ AsiaD leade! did ask hin whet]let he ageea vitb the ploposal of the soviet leadership about a collective securily pact fo! kia, He said his dswer fo! tnat ,6 a catecolical !o. Iirst, if the united states entered into d anti-chinese security pact wiih rhe soviers in Asj,a, it would enorrcsly enhance soviet infl@nce !n Asia. it vould slre.guretr the comuist party in non-@Mutrlsr countries in Asia, od il {ould leave the chinese in the position of chargirg that the soviets dd Anerices had joined logether in a white alliance against lhe coloed lae and eneble the Chinese !o tal<e tne kade!6hi! of the no!-uhite peoples cf Asia. tle 6houl,a Dot qo al@s with the Soviet-Arelica condoniniur on ]\sn, he said. $e have !o tind a way to comuicate rith tne Chinese, rhe Presiae.! ne tumed to Buchelest. so@thing happened there, he 6aid. Ive erQecled a qood Eception, lut re eeived sorething we had not dticipaled at aIl. In Easteo Eaope, ve have 150 niUion people lrho like the trhited stateg ad se shoufd hare comuicatio! with tnem. l,iberation is impossible .ov, he saidi but comuicatton with the peoples of rhese
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counllies ia in ou! intelest. lre lecomrerded that tne senator. 4d congressren in tneir visits llogra tire for Eastem IuloPe. rie sald if rne soviets are put on notie that light i! lheir back yalal they hare 150 nillion people they catt re1y on, then tne likelihood that they ,iII talk resp@sib1y lises. The Pesiden! said he tbough! tbe @ception fo! an Arerica Plesident in suchelest ri11 not be 10st on the ren i! }r oi. That coupled ith the Apollo brcugh! a tleendous incEase in Arelicd prestige in the wolld, re said trhe ren itr Eanoi My yet ge! the inpression tnat ue aE on the right road ed rhey arc m lhe wr@q one, fle said E\is {as the first trip by an arelica preslden! duling which no dmit@nts were nade aDa !o @ney had been passed @t.
At this poin!, congles5lrB Boggs sPole up. what is tne Pre.identrs position on !ast-I{es! lrade? As far as an exchange of pelsons goes, the Presideot said, he woufd build a file unde! it. He qenerally thinks this is qood. As for lrade with rastem Euf,oped costlies dhich flnish alM to the enehy in Nolth vietnam, he would not favor this. once we gel vietnan out of the vay' re cd open up East- e6t !!ade dlamtically. rhar ,ar is going to be oveli ed tnen aaded, we hote. rle said he used t hold the opirion that ecry tine you trade {ltn a comuniet coutly you st@ngttren its hold on a a@n_tlodden peopter He said ue should tlade eith tler iD otder !o open these counllies up. The President also nade a prediction that rthose soviet lroops sdrt rcve iolo nortuia." ar increase of trade is iD o!de!. ihe President also inaicated that lte favoled joint @rlules between arerica ed Roruian corpanies. Iie sald that adding .on.urer goods to s\ese e@nosies ould 6nd to leacn thei! societl,. Boggs said that Last Year !residst ,rohEon asked him to irtrcdu@ a bill slrich was 100 lires milde! dd ne nad efEed, dd now he is very nuq\ in favo! of East and t'Jest tlade. At thls poitrt r'ldsfield spoke !p ana corplirented the President profEely d his pless conference in cum. rie ha@ @ered off into a neu and mre desilable pathi Mnsfield said. we realize {hat you had to say in Thailad 1rtr! we lecognize that the cuam staterent is the ne, arelicd policy, re ate very much su4,lised ed Pleased. I hare nothing but {otds of @rendalid d graise fo! that ptess conferene d fo! At this point senacor Dilksq brouqht iD a rathe! ildevan! point about Japese ad Eulopem prolectionis(, about the loss of arelicd jobs in olr indusllies here becaEe of the flood ot loreiqd inporr6 in che Unileo s-a!es,
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uendet Rivels ntr spoke up. Ite said if we are goinq to stop ploping up the Asius, vhy should \re continue to prcp up the Eulopeos. Be trned dilectly to rh6 llAro plobleh ad the po6sibitily of brinqing hore Arelica troops. tne Presiaent said he itidnrt thinl< tha! this yea! was t}le tire to .Liscu6s this. e.peclal]y ith Ge]fuD eLectlons ituinent- He said if e lay it on the 1ine, ,e ouqht not to do it pub1icly, but plivate1y.
the PEsidat a1s. taled nov about rhat he called "troop Epla€renti !n south vietnm- $e haE not yet mde a itecision on how troops we allf blirg hore, the decisi@ pilf be furthe! tloop eplaceents betveen tne 15$r and 30th rEde o.'lEy senato! r'ufblight spoke. Ite said he eas quite pleased with tne enphasisoD excharge of leople bet\reen the @Muist olId dd the westeo ,o!1d. Fullrighr suggested lhat the u.s. nigbt use the utrpaid lend-Iease debts flom t;Le soviet union to be qsed fo! exchages of people. (The debts oligiDally arcuted to $]1 biUion, of *hich t-l)e U.s. had asked $300 nillion. \{hife ttte soviet v[ion offered to pay sore 5300 million sore
Iulbright also laised the question about d Arerican agle€Gnt i! Thaildd, & agleeert ,i!h *hich the president did not seem fatoiliar at the tire. Lhde! the agleeeren!, the Senator said, the U.s, woula ploviile a aivision ad t o brigades of glosd t!@ps ude! a Thai genelaf in ttle evert of aD extehal aggression agailst Thailad. The Plesident said he nad €a1ked uith the 'Ihails ad they do not \ran! y A@lica pelsoDnel tneE. he said t-\a! ne ed Tb om, tne Prire r.{inisre!, had it straigh! ou!; trtrat Theon had to}d him we cs lake ca& of oui @n problec. The Presideut indicated tha! thele wele 25,000 viet ren in Thaildd right nor. The rlesj-dd! lold them tbey sould hare to hsdle lhat situation, Ae snd he could assae the gloup lignt noe that rthele is not comitrent for Ai€lico gFud troops in Thailad.' In Laos, the situation is deteliorating lapidly. Ihe
neutlalists haE bee! ,iled out, The P@sident said tnele are no Arelican glound foles rn laos, but re ale sing ta.ticat ai! !o assist our qrouna forces in vletnan. hen se are talkinq about our erisiing &fense fo!€s in Thailed, they de thete fo! our pulposes! dd not fo, tnerils. Ross adair blought up the possibilily of havinq foEign aEtlonauts put in A@lice space ships, ad the President Iiked tne idea a gleat deal. The vie President said thele ?as a geat deal of interest in NASA on the subject, but that !t rould @rtdly take a couple of yeals befole sore@e could be tlained to the levef of ability vhere they could be rhe
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equivalen! of A@dca spaceM. The presidenr w.s uusLa1ly bouyeL dLling ue enrire spoke err.ensrvery, obhously reeli;s ehLhusiasrrc Tee:"rar. . Ireor hiB sucressful vislr Lo soLrnedr Asia ed Lo qoMia. lre nreung uent rery ue1t. do dere u.s severat plesident.s lounds _
or applaEe, filsL on tne crfiv.L in Lhe r.on d.t.he se@no after his long oisseltarion on be new lhacd pori4 for asia.
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