Word: ifs
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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(15 of 23) decisive. Challenging the Soviet Union was, in fact, safer if we showed no hesitation. The principal issue, he said, was simply what would be the most effective military response. That too cleared the air. My preferred strategy was to blockade North Viet Nam by mining its harbors...
At 8:30 p.m., while the President briefed the congressional leadership, I saw Dobrynin, whom I had called away from a dinner. Dobrynin asked what precise measures were implied in the blockade. He lost his cool only once when I asked him how the Soviet Union would react if the...
(16 of 23) defend themselves. Second, if the Israelis threaten us, we will wipe them out within two days. I can assure you our plans are made for this eventuality."
In every crisis tension builds steadily, sometimes nearly unbearably, until some decisive turning point. The conversation with Dobrynin, if not yet the turning point, deflated the pressure. We knew that the Moscow summit [described in last week's installment in TIME] was still on.
And there were other provisions that also helped meet our concerns. For three years Hanoi had insisted on an end of American military aid to South Viet Nam. Le Duc Tho now scrapped this proposal; we could continue to supply South Viet Nam. Hanoi accepted our proposal of May 31...