University of Virginia Library

Peace, Almost

Whisperings of peace have flirted with
America's hopes and fears before, but this
time they have been amplified by none other
than Henry Kissinger himself, assuring us that
a settlement to the grim spectacle in Vietnam
is imminent. No American who has lived
through the Kennedy-Johnson-Nixon years of
dashed hopes is holding his breath, but the
eyes of the world are focused on the front
pages of daily newspapers, waiting anxiously
to see the announcement many were
beginning to think would never come.

The stumbling blocks that remain before
the agreement is inked–Hanoi's insistence on
an October 31 signing, President Thieu's hard
line on a coalition government,.and the other
"outstanding differences between the two
parties"– should not, and probably will not,
stand in the way of a cease-fire relatively
soon. Now that we have come this far, any
intransigence on any side that would extend
the carnage a single day would be inexcusable.

The thorn in America's side at this pivotal
moment in history is President Thieu. His
demand that North Vietnamese troops
withdraw from South Vietnam concurrent
with the American withdrawal is
understandable, but unrealistic. With the
United States finally scrambling to get out,
Hanoi holds the advantage should
negotiations begin between the two
Vietnams. The United States can justify
asking for the concession, also, but it can not
justify delaying a settlement now simply
because Hanoi will not agree to such a
simultaneous withdrawal.

For the 1,699 men either known to be in
enemy prisons or missing in action, and
especially for their families, this development
in the long struggle for their release will end
the agony of uncertainty either in joy or in
tears. The hopes they have lived on for years
are now flourishing, and the moment of truth
is nearly "at hand," to use Mr. Kissinger's
phrase. For them and for the Vietnamese
civilians who have suffered to a degree we can
not pretend to understand, the impending
settlement must not be thwarted by any selfish
political considerations from any quarter.

If the hostilities cease immediately,
international supervision must preclude any
post-war purges. That is the one condition we
must insist upon even if it is unrealistic. Even
then it will be a bittersweet conclusion to a
disastrous chapter of world history.