[Militant No. 131, 17 November 1972, p. 2]
By Lyn [sic!] Walsh
(Ardwick) Manchester Labour Party
With hypocrisy probably unprecedented in history, Nixon posed in his election campaign as the candidate fighting for “peace with honour’. He and Kissinger even had the impudence to pose as peace-loving mediators between the war-mongers in Hanoi and Saigon. Because of the war weariness of the American people, and the ineptitude of McGovern, and the massive lie-machine at Nixon’s disposal, Nixon has succeeded in regaining the presidency for another term.
But nothing can really disguise the responsibility of US Imperialism for over ten years of the most bloody and barbarous war. The mighty US has wasted over $100 billion and sacrificed the lives of 56,000 American soldiers (plus 400,000 wounded) in a devastating war against a peasant country little bigger than the state of Florida. The US war machine has ravaged Vietnam with over 15 million tons of explosives, together with defoliants and napalm, 80% of it is on the territory of its ‘ally’ in the South. The death toll is put at over 1.5 million in both the North and the South. with millions more wounded and maimed. Further millions have been made destitute refugees. in the name of ‘‘freedom’’.
U.S. Defeated
Despite all the face-saving propaganda, Nixon has been forced to make a virtue of necessity. The draft peace settlement is a demonstration of the fact that, while the US could continue the bombing and destruction of Vietnam for years, it is absolutely impossible for it to win a victory there.
The settlement also underlines the bankruptcy of Nixon’s policy. He is claiming great successes in foreign policy. But 4 years ago he came to office promising a speedy end to the war. It is now claimed in Washington. that the present settlement was only made possible by major new concessions from Hanoi. But as Time (6/11/72) said, “Whatever face the administration put on it. Nixon appears to have given more than he got. He has in effect ratified Hanoi’’s conquest of large portions of South Vietnam and will permit North Vietnamese soldiers to stay on to preserve these conquests. He has in effect overturned the South Vietnamese constitution by certifying a process to re-write it and to replace the country’s form of government. As a result, Thieu’s interim lease of life at the presidential palace – Hanoi’s part of the bargain – is tenuous. To be sure he has a chance but a limited one.“
Summary Execution
In other words, since Nixon came to office four years ago “to end the war“ has thrown away another 15,000 dead, an additional $57.7 billion and intensified the bombing of Vietnam. All to save face!
Now the settlement is being delayed by Thieu, the puppet in Saigon, installed by the US, is now tugging at the string in an attempt to keep power. Thieu knows that although the terms of the peace do not call for his immediate overthrow, his chances of hanging onto power, after the transitional period are very slender.
Thieu’s lack of confidence in his popular support, which he would have to rely on in any elections under the settlement, is shown by the vast range of dictatorial powers – from fines and imprisonment to summary execution on the street – which he finds it necessary to have at his disposal. So frightened is he of elections that he eliminated by one way or another all rival candidates in the recent presidential elections, in which, of course, he was returned unopposed.
Despite the well-organised “spontaneous” demonstrations of white-shirted officials, Thieu’s only basis of support is a rotten class of landlords, and capitalist elements who have largely transformed themselves into an even more rotten class of war profiteers living off corruption, bribery, the black market, drug peddling rings and organised prostitution. They are completely parasitic on the US “war effort”, hence their opposition to any settlement. “Being president of a peaceful country is not interesting’ Thieu is quoted as saying, “Anyone can build roads and hospitals.“ In fact, none of the puppet governments have found it easy to build hospitals, schools or anything else concerning the welfare of most of the people.
No Repeat of ’54
Nixon and Kissinger, the new diplomatic “genius are trying to give the impression that the settlement preserves the status quo in Vietnam, They have been assisted in this by both the Russian and Chinese bureaucracies, while giving military aid to the Vietnamese struggle, they have at the same time used the war as a lever of their own national diplomacy.
Both have been trying, regardless of the conflict in Vietnam, to cement diplomatic and trade deals with the US. But this settlement will not preserve the status quo. There could never be a repeat of the 1954 Geneva agreement under which the North Vietnamese government was tricked into allowing the permanent partition of the country and the build up of American forces in the South. The Situation is now moving in a diametrically opposed direction.
The North Vietnamese leaders painfully learned the bitter lesson of 1954 – which is why they have tenaciously continued fighting until absolutely certain that they could achieve their aims through a new negotiated. Settlement.
Although in the last few years the liberation struggle has been transformed into a largely military campaign by the North Vietnamese regular forces, the struggle always drawn its strength from the social movement of the peasants against the landlord exploiters and the imperialist power behind their regime. After several generations of struggle against successive Chinese, Japanese, French and US imperialists – there is no possibility whatsoever of the Vietnamese peasantry giving up now and passively accepting the Thieu regime or any similar replacement.
The US is trying to preserve Thieu’s position during a transitional period to cover up the futility of ever having given him support at all. But the draft agreement lays down that the US will recognise the right of Vietnam to self-determination, that they will not impose any regime on South Vietnam and that they will accept the unification of the country. Thus the US has been forced to come to terms with the main aims of the liberation movement in order to extract itself from the quagmire.
Great Step Forward
Thieu will not survive without US support. After a settlement, renewed US intervention to support Thieu or a similar replacement would be out of the question because of the social and political consequences in the US itself to a re-opening of the war. Unification of the country, for which the masses have struggled for 25 years and more, could not conceivably take place under a pro-imperialist capitalist regime. It could only take place on the basis of the regime which exists in North Vietnam.
The unification of Vietnam, with the abolition of landlordism, capitalism and foreign exploitation, would be a further victory to the colonial peoples and a blow to US Imperialism of great significance. However, while the evidence of Russia, China, Cuba and a number of other countries which have followed a similar road of development have shown the enormous benefits to the toiling people of such a development, it could not in an isolated, economically poor and culturally backward country, result in the achievement of Socialism.
In Vietnam, unification under the proposed settlement, as it will probably be after a transitional regime of some sort, the regime will be that of the North now, which is economically progressive but is politically a dictatorship. The achievement of a workers’ democracy, which of necessity involves democratic control by the workers and peasants, depends on the development of the revolution being linked together with the movement of the workers in the advanced countries of the West towards socialism and the movement of the workers in Russia and Eastern Europe to restore workers’ control and management of industry and the state.
All socialists have a duty to support the social revolution in Vietnam, despite any limitations because of the conditions under which it is taking place, but at the same time we must explain in advance the character of the regime that will emerge from it.
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