Word: thieu
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...Thieu took to the air less than two hours after the attack to declare: "I and my family are safe. I am determined to continue my leadership of the country. I view the attack as an isolated act by a group out to assassinate me and change this constitutional and legal regime." When it became clear that the bombing was not the prelude to a coup or an attack on the palace, the curfew was lifted after six hours. Meanwhile, according to Communist spokesmen, Lieut. Trung safely landed his plane at an undisclosed airfield controlled by the NVA. There...
...many South Vietnamese, Thieu's determination to hang on in Independence Palace was more ominous than the bombing. The reclusive President had lost almost all that remained of his popularity and credibility by his inept handling of the ARVN retreat from the Highlands. That was apparent by the trouble that Nguyen Ba Can, the new Prime Minister whom Thieu had charged with organizing a "fighting Cabinet," was having in recruiting new ministers. By week's end, the new Cabinet was nearly formed, but contained no new major figures capable of inspiring new confidence in the government. Nonetheless...
...possible strategy for a political victory would be to strangle Saigon by cutting off its Delta food supply and capturing the key cities and ports (such as Xuan Loc, Bien Hoa and Vung Tau) surrounding it. That might easily create enough discontent inside the capital to force Thieu's ouster or resignation. A new government might be ready to negotiate with the Communists and give them some sort of governing role. French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing has indicated that his country is prepared to use its "good offices" to help in the evolution of a political solution...
...course, there is always the chance that Thieu's successor might be a strong nationalist who would try to rally the armed forces for a last-ditch stand against the Communists. A bloody battle for Saigon would then become inevitable-as would its outcome. Despite the hyperbole, Hanoi's party newspaper Nhan Dan was probably correct when it boasted: "Wherever our army advances, it smashes and disintegrates all of the enemy...
...journalists (plus their dependents) who will have to leave Saigon if and when the city falls to the Communists. In addition, U.S. officials think that perhaps as many as 200,000 Vietnamese might be killed or imprisoned by the Communists because of their connection with the Americans or the Thieu regime. In his speech to Congress, President Ford last week promised to try to evacuate as many of these Americans and Vietnamese as possible. Contingency planners at the White House, the Pentagon and the U.S. embassy in Saigon are busy trying to figure out how so massive an exodus...