Word: bunkers
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THERE was always something fundamentally unworkable about the script for South Viet Nam's presidential elections in October. Authored in part by U.S. Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker, the plan called for an earnestly contested race among three candidates-President Nguyen Van Thieu, Vice President Nguyen Cao Ky and retired four-star General Duong Van ("Big") Minh. If Thieu won a reasonably honest election, the scenario went, the Administration could declare Vietnamization a resounding success and step up the pace of its withdrawal from the longest war in U.S. history...
...Minh, Thieu's only official opponent, is seriously considering withdrawing from the race. That, of course, would reduce the contest to the level of farce, a situation which might in turn force the U.S. to hasten its withdrawal from Viet Nam. Largely for that reason, U.S. Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker flew to Washington last week to discuss ways of keeping Minh in the running...
Along the canal, TIME Correspondent Marsh Clark found an almost dreamlike calm, the silence broken by only the cawing of a blackbird and the sound of popular music from a radio in an Israeli bunker. Visitors were greeted by a red-and-white sign in Hebrew: LEISURE AND HOLIDAY VILLAGE. Near by, Israeli troops could see the skyline of the deserted city of Suez shimmering in the haze, and sometimes caught a glimpse of Egyptian soldiers swimming, fishing or making occasional threatening gestures in their direction. For their part, the Israelis tended tomato patches, sunned themselves or played chess...
Will Minh now withdraw and turn the election into a farcical no-contest? The U.S. embassy, appalled at the prospect, is putting heavy pressure on him to stay in the race. As a measure of U.S. concern, Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker arrives in Washington this week for consultations at the White House, and it is safe to assume that the situation will be a major item on the agenda. The signs are that, at least for the time being, Minh will stay. Says his running mate, Saigon Physician Ho Van ("Little") Minh, 35, who is no kin: "Ky's elimination...
...Where Bunker's skillful diplomacy during the crisis of 1965-66 cooled passions and opened the way for the election of a moderate President, Joaquin Balaguer...