The Cavalier daily :: Friday, January 5, 1973 :: University of Virginia Library

In a letter to President
Richard M. Nixon written on
Dec. 29, Mr. Keefe expressed
his mounting concern about
U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
"I can't live with my conscience
unless I write," he explained.

In his letter, Mr. Keefe
expressed his opposition to the
recent continuation of the
bombing of North Vietnam
and advocated the immediate
withdrawal of all U.S. military
forces from Vietnam.

"A true American feels the
obligation to speak out against
what he considers a gross
injustice committed by those
chosen to represent him and
acting in his name," he
explained.

CD/Dan Grogan

J. Rhard Keefe Questions Credibility Of Government Releases

Mr. Keefe questioned the
credibility of the government's
"controlled releases" to the
press. "We are given only
sufficient current information
to reinforce the actions of our
own government," he asserted.

"A free and open democracy
does not fear such revelation of
facts regarding its decisions but
must stand or fall upon the
response of the informed
citizenry."

Need 'Public Outcry'

Mr. Keefe believes the
Vietnam War will be
terminated, "only through a
huge public outcry in this
country. Most of us have
become complacent, feeling
that no change can be
enacted."

"The citizens of this
country deserve and require a
full disclosure of the efforts
underway to terminate our
involvement in an
unwarranted, immoral, and
useless aggressive war," he
states.

22 Other Letters

In addition to his letter to
Mr. Nixon, Mr. Keefe sent 22
other letters to U.S
Congressmen which are similar
in content, but directed on a
personal basis. The list of
recipients includes Senators
Kennedy, Javits, Percy,
Brooke, McGovern, and
Muskie.

Mr. Keefe has received no
response from his
correspondence. However,
copies of the letter to the
President shown to colleagues
have received favorable
reaction and personal copies
have been requested.

Mr. Keefe has written
previously to both Mr. Nixon
and former President Lyndon
B. Johnson. He started writing
in 1965 but, judging his efforts
futile, quit in 1968.

'Participatory Democracy'

"My concept of
democracy," states Mr. Keefe,
"is a participatory democracy
Citizens have the duty to
inform themselves and
communicate their wishes and
desires to the government"

He believes that the mood
of Congress has developed to
the point where it realizes that
its power has been usurped by
the executive branch of the
government to the point that it
is "almost as powerless as the
South Vietnamese legislative
body." The U.S. Congress is
ready to terminate the war,
asserts Mr. Keefe, but finds
itself "powerless to do so"

Mr. Keefe contends that
"for the money that the U.S.
has sunk into our military
effort in Vietnam, the U.S
could have bought each
Vietnamese an acre of land
anywhere in the world"