Page 139 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol IV

1440 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

Ho Chi Minh Responds to Lyndon Johnson’s
Peacemaking Efforts

On 8 February 1967, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson ity. In South Viet-Nam a half million American sol-
wrote to Ho Chi Minh, President of the Democratic diers and soldiers from the satellite countries have
Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) “in the hope that resorted to the most inhumane arms and the most
the conflict in Vietnam can be brought to an end.” On barbarous methods of warfare, such as napalm, chem-
15 February 1967, Ho Chi Minh responded that no icals, and poison gases in order to massacre our fel-
talks would be possible until there was “unconditional low countrymen, destroy the crops, and wipe out the
halting of the American bombings and of all other villages. In North Viet-Nam thousands of American
American acts of war” against North Vietnam. In the planes have rained down hundreds of thousands of
extract below, Ho Chi Minh lays out his reasons for tons of bombs, destroying cities, villages, mills, roads,
wanting the U.S. government out of the conflict. bridges, dikes, dams and even churches, pagodas, hos-
pitals, and schools. In your message you appear to
Excellency, on February 10, 1967, I received your
deplore the suffering and the destruction in Viet-Nam.
message. Here is my response.
Permit me to ask you: Who perpetrated these mon-
Viet-Nam is situated thousands of miles from the
strous crimes? It was the American soldiers and the
United States.TheVietnamese people have never done
soldiers of the satellite countries. The United States
any harm to the United States. But, contrary to the
Government is entirely responsible for the extremely
commitments made by its representative at the Geneva
grave situation in Viet-Nam....
Conference of 1954, the United States Government
The Vietnamese people deeply love independence,
has constantly intervened inViet-Nam,it has launched
liberty, and peace. But in the face of the American
and intensified the war of aggression in South Viet-
aggression they have risen up as one man, without
Nam for the purpose of prolonging the division of
fearing the sacrifices and the privations. They are
Viet-Nam and of transforming SouthViet-Nam into an
determined to continue their resistance until they
American neo-colony and an American military base.
have won real independence and liberty and true
For more than two years now, the American Govern-
peace. Our just cause enjoys the approval and the
ment, with its military aviation and its navy, has been
powerful support of peoples throughout the world
waging war against the Democratic Republic of Viet-
and or large segments of the American people.
Nam, an independent and sovereign country.
Source: The Department of State Bulletin (1967, April 10), pp. 596–597.
The United States Government has committed
war crimes, crimes against peace and against human-

were based on a vertical power relationship between the state as the basis of interstate relations. More impor-
European monarchies, the Holy Roman empire, and the tantly, the two peace treaties that were signed in Münster
papacy. In such a context, the Holy Roman empire and and Osnabrück in 1648, putting an end to the Thirty
the papacy, being the universal representatives of Chris- Years’ War, introduced the concept of national interest as
tianity, could meddle in the internal affairs of European a motivating factor that defined the conditions of peace-
dynasties. making and resulted in an international system based on
The peace of Westphalia transformed diplomacy by a European balance of power. As Henry Kissinger has
changing the international power relationship to a hori- shown (1957), European diplomacy was secularized by
zontal one. Based on the four basic principles defining the replacement of religious motivation with the interests
modern international relationships, the Westphalian sys- of the state in the conduct of affairs of state. The peace
tem introduced the principle of the sovereignty of the of Westphalia was based on the introduction of a peace-