Word: thieu
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...ground in Viet Nam. In essence, it aims at a partitioning of the issues. The U.S. and North Viet Nam would bilaterally negotiate military matters, the most important being the mutual withdrawal of their forces from South Vietnamese soil. The South Vietnamese government of President Nguyen Van Thieu and the National Liberation Front, the political organization of the Viet Cong, would meanwhile work out together the terms and conditions of their coexistence once the guns fall silent...
Sensible as such an approach seems, it has been impossible until now, in part because of South Viet Nam's refusal to meet with representatives of the N.L.F. However, the Nixon Administration, through Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker, has been applying heavy pressure on President Thieu to modify his position, and last week he did. Calling foreign correspondents to the presidential palace, Thieu announced: "We are ready to have private talks with the N.L.F., if they like...
...South Viet Nam's government?corruption?is so pervasive that neither stern warnings nor the outright firing of half the 44 province chiefs and 91 district chiefs has made more than a dent, though the new men are generally admitted to be improvements. But to the extent that Thieu can finally expect his most urgent orders to be followed, he has managed to organize a functioning government. Says Tran Quoc Buu, head of the Vietnamese Labor Confederation: "A year ago, South Viet Nam was many states within the state. A local military commander could make any policy he wanted...
Above all, Thieu's government has begun to develop a sense of realism about the future. His concern with pacification, superficial as the program is in some senses, represents an admission that hamlet dwellers are a source of political strength, and that their loyalty could turn the tide in the event of a ceasefire. Thieu often voices the standard South Vietnamese argument against giving the National Liberation Front a political status, pointing out that Communism is synonymous with violence in Viet Nam. In fact, however, he has reached the inevitable conclusion that his government must some day learn to deal...
...interview with TIME Correspondent Marsh Clark, President Thieu last week discussed conditions for scaling down the war and his hopes of winning the political struggle...