University of Virginia Library

By Joel Gardner

Peace, Si
Moratorium, No

On October 15th University
students, faculty and
administration are being asked to
bring a halt to the institutional
processes of education as a
demonstration of their opposition
to the present war policies of
President Nixon and dedicate
themselves to a probing discussion
of the War in Vietnam, They avowed
this moratorium is the unilateral
withdrawal of all U.S. troops from
Vietnam; the ultimate solution to
U.S. Involvement in Southeast Asia.
Before any individual decides
whether to support or ignore the
moratorium, he should take an
unemotional view of the present
situation in Vietnam and the
possible consequences of unilateral
withdrawal.

The War appears to be at a
military and diplomatic deadlock.
There have been no great strategic
victories or defeats on the
battlefields and the Paris Peace
Talks have now dragged on for a
year and a half with no success.
President Nixon, as an American
citizen and as a politician desires
peace as much as any war dissenter.
But as the head of the
acknowledged leader of the free
nations of the world, President
Nixon must consider the world
wide ramifications of any actions
he might take to end the war. There
are three basic paths the President
can take to terminate American
participation in the war. They are:
(1) Press for a total military victory
over North Vietnam (2) Commence
the complete and immediate
withdrawal of all American troops
(3) Negotiate with the communists
for a cease fire, while at the same
time withdrawing troops in relation
to South Vietnams ability to take
over the war herself - what would
be the consequences of each
action?

The President's first option that
of complete victory over the
enemy, appears as an untenable
choice at this point. The U.S. has
never usually been committed to
total victory in Vietnam, and to
suddenly make this our goal at a
tune of growing public opposition
to the war would be foolish and
possibly disastrous. Perhaps if this
decision had been made five years
ago it could have been successful,
but it is clearly unacceptable at this
date.

Second Option

The second option that of
complete withdrawal has been
gaining support among liberal-leftist
elements cross the nation. It is
the simple solution to U.S.
involvement; bring all the boys
home, America's war with all it
death and suffering will be over,
and we can then concentrate on
solving our internal problems. But
what are the negative ramifications
of such a drastic action? Firstly,
this would almost insure a
Communist takeover of the South.
One has only to recall the bloody
aftermaths of the Chinese
Communist takeover to realize
what the effects would be on thy
Vietnamese people themselves.
Thousands upon thousands of
South Vietnamese would be
tortured and put to death by the
now victorious Reds. A decade of
warfare breeds quite a bit of
viciousness and hatred. Secondly
the political consequences would be
immensely significant. Even many
of those that discard the
controversial "domino theory" and
condemn American entry into the
war admit that American actions in
Vietnam have become a salient
inclination of the U.S. desire and
capacity to battle Communist
aggression. As the leader of the
Free World the U.S. has all over the
world; we cannot just hand over
South Vietnam to the Communists
- to do so is to invite immediate
aggression in Cambodia, Laos and
who knows where else.

'Roadblock'

President Nixon has obviously
rejected this second possibility and
opted for the third choice, that of
negotiation and limited withdrawal.
I agree with the President that the
only feasible solution to the war is
through a negotiated settlement.
The President has asked for a two
month cessation of criticism of the
was in order to allow him to deal
with the Communists from a
position of strength. Obviously any
individual has the right to oppose
the was and to vocally espouse his
opposition; however I believe that
actions such as the moratorium that
call for the complete unilateral
withdrawal of U.S. troops will only
tend to prolong the war by
encouraging the North Vietnamese
and thereby decreasing their
proclivity to negotiate. Thus I see
the Moratorium of October 15th as
a roadblock to the only equitable
way of ending the war in Viet Nam
and bringing peace to the American
people.