Kissinger Henry. White House Years

Подождите немного. Документ загружается.



ThiswasthemoodwecarriedbacktoWashington.LordandDavidEngel

(ourableinterpreter)stayedbehindtomakecertaintheNorthVietnameseand

wewereworkingfromthesametextsandtoclearupsometechnicalpoints.After

ourjust‐completedmarathon,havingaveragedaboutthreehourssleepanight

forfourdays,theyweretospendtenstraighthoursthefollowingafternoonand

eveningonpainstaking,nitpickingtechnicalandlinguisticissues.Therestofuson

thereturnjourneyweresuspendedbetw eeneuphoriaandexhaustion.



IhadheardnothingfromNixonduringtheentireperiod,thoughmycables

leftlittledoubtthatIthoughttheendmightbeinsight.Attheconclusionofthe

sessionofOctober10Ihadsentanothercrypticmessageindicatingthat a

breakthroughwasimminent:“PleasepassfollowingmessagetoHaldemanforthe

President:Wehavedecidedtostayonemoredayinexpectationthatwemay

scoreamajorbreakthrough.Eitherwaywewillreturntomorrowafternoon.Inmy

judgmentwearesufficientlyclosetoabreakthroughtoruntheriskofanother

dayhere.”Immediatelyafterreturningfromthesixteen‐hournegotiatingsession

Isentanothermessa getoHaldemanunremarkableforitsilluminatingdetail:

“Havejustcompletedextremelylongsessionhere.Itisesse ntialthatIhaveample

timewithPresidenttomorrowforthoroughreviewofsituationsincecarefulgame

planisnowrequired.”HaldemanrepliedthatthePresidentwasonacampaign

tripandthatthereforeIshouldnotarrive before5:00p.m.,afterwhichNixon

wishedtohavedinnerwithHaigandme.



WehadnotbeenmuchmoreexplicitwithSaigon,excepttostresswith

increasingurgencytheprobabilityofacease‐fire.Somewhatdisingenuously,I

wantedtoleaveThieuwiththeimpressionthatHanoihadinsistedonmoreofits

politicaldemandsthanwasinfactthecase,toobtainmorecreditforthecollapse

ofHanoi’spositionwhenIshowedThieuthefinalagreement,andtoenhancehis

incentiveforacceptingit.Thieucouldnotbeinanydoubtabouttheimminence

ofacease‐fireevenifhedidnotyetknowtheemasculatedpoliticaltermsthat

wouldaccompanyit.



OnOctober11IcabledBunker:



Atriskofsoundingrepetitivehe[Thieu]mustmakeabsolutelymaximumefforttoseize

asmuchterritoryaspossible.ThisisespeciallytrueofkeypopulatedareasinHICorps

surroundingSaigon[MR3].



AtthisjunctureIseenochanceofcease‐fireintimeframeshorterthantwoweeks.

Thuswhilethereisnoreasonforpanicthereisalsolittletimeforprocrastinationonpartof

ARVNcommanders.



Ifolloweditupnextdaywithalengthiercablesummingupwherewestood

andconcluding:



Myjudgmentatthisjuncturewouldbethattheyappearreadytoacceptacease‐firein

placeinthenearfuture.This,ofcourse,iscorroboratedbyfieldintelligenceanditisforthis

reasonthatyoucannotoveremphasizeuponThieu:



(1)theneedtoregainasmuchterritoryaspossibleand



(2)theneedforgreaterflexibilityonthepoliticalside.



We,ofcourse,intendtoholdfirminthepoliticalareabutfortacticalreasonswemay

havetodiscusssomeobligationsinthisarea.



Thesecondpointwassubstantiallydevious;itwastodeflectThieu’s

attentiontothepoliticalprovisionswhereIknewweweregettingmostofwhat

weaskedfor.TomagnifyThieu’sconcernoverthepoliticalprovisionsIsent

Bunkerthe“guidelines”papersubmittedbyLeDucThoonOctober9andlong

sinceburied.Itwasnotaveryelevatedmethod;nordiditwork,thoughforquite

adifferentreason.



IhaddecidednotyettosendthecompletetextofouragreementtoThieu

partlybecauseofsecurity;becauseofourgrowingdistrustofhisentourage;

becausewethought(correctly)thatfurtherimprovementswerepossible;and

aboveallbecauseIsupposedhewouldbepleasedbytheoutcomeandtherefore

therewasnoneedtoengagehimindetailbeforewewereclearonourowngame

plan.HaigandI believed,indeed,thatThieuwouldbesodelightedatoursuccess

inlayingtheghostofacoalitiongovernmentthathisacceptanceofastandstill

ceasefire—whichhehad,afterall,endorsedfortwoyears —wouldbeaformality.

ThebiggestobstaclesinourviewwouldbetheoutrageousNhaandthepedantic

Duc,whowouldnitpicktheagreementtodeathandwouldnotunderstandthatit

representedthefinestcompromiseavailable.JohnNegropontewasconsiderably

moreworriedaboutThieu’sreaction.Heprovedtobemoreprescientthanthe

restofus.



OnOctober10,GeorgeMcGovernhadputforwardhisownpeaceprogram

forVietnam.ItaskedmuchlessofHanoithanHanoihadalreadyconcededtous.

ButeventhevastmajorityofmoderateAmericancriticshadgivenupanyhopeof

achievingthetermsofourvariouspeaceoffers,muchlessthebettertermsofthe

draft.Wewerebringinghomeadocumentthatwouldvindicatetheprayersof

thosewhohadenduredthecourseinsupportoftheirgovernment,andthushalt

theerosionofconfidencethathadmarkedthepastdecade.Andyetour

opponentscouldjoininsupportingitbecauseitachievedatlastthegoalofpeace

forwhichtheyhadstrivenwithdedication.Sowehopedthatnottheleast

significantresultofthelastfew dayswouldbetosalvageaspiritofunityand

conciliationfromournationalordeal.Wecouldhealourownwoundsofwar.



ThenationalreactionwhenthisprogressbecameknownlaterinOctober,

andwhentheagreementwassignedinJanuary1973,wasindeedoneofrelief,

andofthefirststirringstowardnationalreconciliation.Thereweresournotes,

however,thoughtheycouldnotdrownoutthesatisfactionthatthecountrycould

feelincompletingourwithdrawalfromVietnam.Someclaimedthatwesettledin

1972fortermsavailablein1969.Noteventheslightestacquaintancewiththe

recordsustainsthatargument.Neverbef oreOctober8,1972,hadHanoiagreed

toabandonitsunacceptabledemandforacoalitiongovernment.(Ithadedged

awayfromaninsistenceonoverthrowingtheSouthVie tnamesegovernmentonly

afewweeksbeforethat.)TheexistenceofaSouthVietnamesearmy,continued

AmericanmilitaryandeconomicaidtoSaigon,withdrawalfromLaosand

Cambodia,acease‐fireinLaos,andseveralothermajorconcessionsemergedonly

inthenegotiationsstartingonOctober8.



Norisitcorrectthatallwesoughtwasa“decentinterval” beforeafinal

collapseofSaigon.AllofuswhonegotiatedtheagreementofOctober12were

convincedthatwehadvindicatedtheanguishofadecadenotbya“decent

interval”butbyadecentsettlement.WethoughtwithreasonthatSaigon,

generouslyarmedandsupportedbytheUnitedStates,wouldbeabletodealwith

moderateviolationsoftheagreements;thattheUnitedStateswouldstandbyto

enforcetheagreementandpunishmajorviolations;thatHanoimightbetempted

alsobyeconomicaidintochoosing reconstructionoftheNorthifconquestofthe

Southwaskeptoutofreach;thatwecoulduseourrelationswithMoscowand

Peking,inaddition,toencourageHanoi’srestraint;andthatwithouraidthe

SouthVietnameseg overnmentwouldgrowinsecurityandprosperityoverthe

timeboughtbytheagreement,andcompeteeffectivelyinapoliticalstrugglein

whichwithoutquestionithadtheloyaltyofmostofthepopulation.Perhapsthe

Vietnamesepartiescouldevenworkoutapeacefulmodusvivendi.



WecouldnotknowthatsoonWatergatewouldnullifymostofthese

assumptions.InblissfulignoranceofthefuturewelandedinWashington,near

joyousthatwehadbroughthomebothpeaceanddignity.



<<Contents>>



****

XXXII



TheTroubledRoadtoPeace



NourreturntoWashingtononOctober12HaigandIwentimmediately

toNixon’srefugeintheExecutiveOfficeBuilding.Itwasa two‐roomsuite.

Theouterofficecontainedaroundtableandsomechairs;itswallswere

coveredwithoriginalsofcartoonshavingNixonastheirsubject.Therewasno

deskorreceptionist.Ineversawtheanteroomusedforanypurpose.Onewasnot

invitedtothehideawayexceptbydirectPresidentialcommand,transmitted

eitherbyNixonorbyHaldeman;therewasnoneedthereforeofawaitingroom.

Nixon’sofficewasaratherlongrectangularroomwithafireplaceatthefarend.

ItswindowsopenedonaporchoverlookingWestExecutiveAvenue,anarrow

enclosedstreetseparatingtheWhiteHousefromtheExecutiveOfficeBuilding.

Almostinvariablytheblindsweredrawn.Nixonlikedhisworkingofficestoconvey

theatmosphereofacocoon.Therewasaverylargedeskinfrontofthewindow

andinthecornernexttoitaneasychairwithasetteeinfront.Toitsright,asone

stoodfacingit,wereasmallishroundtableandanumberofwoodenchairswith

armrests.



Nixongenerallysatintheeasychairwithhislegsproppedup,evenwhen

working.Hisaidessatinthewoodenchairs.Theycouldgrowuncomfortableifthe

meetingwasprolonged,asitfrequentlywaswhenthePresidentwasina

ruminatingmood.



ButthatwasnotthecaseonOctober12.Affectingnonchalance,Nixon

askedHaigandmetoreport.Somewhatexultantly,Itoldhimthatitlookedasif

wehadachievedallthreeofourmajorgoalsfor1972—thefirsttwobeingthe

visittoPekingandtheMoscowsummit.Ithenwentthroughtheprovisionsofthe

Vietnamagreementingreatdetail,explainingthedifferenceswithourown

JanuaryandMayproposals,almostallinourfavor.Nixon’sprincipalconcernwas

Thieu’sreaction.Iwas—naively—optimistic,forwehaddo nebetterthanwhat

wehadjointlyproposedovertheyears.NixonremembersHaigasworried;

I

havenosuchrecollection. Itmadenodifference,forHaigstronglyendorsedthe

agreement.



Nixonorderedsteakandwinetocelebratetheevent.Ioutlinedthe

tentative“shedyule”I hadagreedtowithLeDucTho.IwouldreturntoParison

October17forameetingwithXuanThuytotrytomakeprogressonthetwo

remainingissuesofciviliandetaineesinSouthVietnamandreplacementof

militaryequipmentfortheSouthVietnamesearmedforces.Wewouldalsoneed

toworkouttheunderstandingsoncease‐firesinLaosandCambodia.Iwouldthen

flyfromParistoSaigon,whereIwouldstayfromOctober18throughthetwenty ‐

second.OntheeveningofOctober22IwouldgotoHanoi,returningto

WashingtononOctober24.TheagreementwouldbeannouncedonOctober26

andsignedonOctober31.Itwasatightscheduleand,asitturnedout,awildly

optimisticone.ItwasonethatHanoiwaspressinguponus.AtnopointdidIseek

tospeeduptheprocess.Ourbasicpurposewasnot,ofcourse,topleaseHanoi

buttouseitsimpatienceandashortdeadlinetoforceitintorapidagreementon

disputedissues.Fromthatpointofviewmytacticworked.



ThePresidentagreed,andwebeganimmediatelytosqueezeHanoi.

WinstonLord,whowasstillinPariscollatingtheVietnameseandAmericantexts,

wasinstructedtotellXuanThuythatNixonconsentedtothebasicdraftprovide d

Hanoiagreedtofourchanges“withoutwhichtheUSsidecannotacceptthe

document.”Thesechangesincludedmorepreciseformulationsonsuchquestions

asthebanoninfiltration,militaryaidtoSouthVietnam,andtheweakened

powersoftheNationalCouncil.WehadhadthesetextsreadyinParisbeforeI

left;andtheycouldhavebeensubmittedthere.TheyweresentfromWashington

toaddasenseofurgency,togivethemPresidentialauthority,andtomakethe

“shedyule”workforus.



Awordisinorderhereaboutthemessagesthatpassedbetween

WashingtonandHanoiduringthisperiod.Allofthemweredraftedbymystaff

andme.Someweresentasunsignednot es;whenwewantedtolendemphasis

theyweredispatchedinthenameofthePresident.AsinallothernegotiationsI

conductedonhisbehalf,Nixonwasgiven acopyofeverythingsentinhisname;

hecertainlyhadanopportunitytocountermandanymessage.Heneverdidso.

Oncehehadgivengeneralguidelines,hehadnodesiretoinvolvehims elfinthe

processofnegotiating.Norwouldthetextofdocumentsinteresthim.Hewould

sometimescommentonmyoralaccountofadocument,butthefinepointsand

thespecificsoflanguageandnuanceheldnointerestforhim.Atthisstageinthe

Vietnamnegotiationshedidnotintervene;thestoriesleakedatthetimethathis

sharplegaleyespottedloopholeswerepurefiction.Heendorsedthedraft

agreementwithoutanychange.Heunderstoodthattheviabilityofthe

agreementdependedonthevigorwithwhichitwasenforcedandnotonthe

cleverexegesisoflegalformulas.



Whatcontinuedtoconcernhimwasthepossibilityofablowupwith

Saigon.Thishewasdeter minedtoavoidatalmostallcosts. IfThieubalked,Iwas

tobackoffandconcludetheagreementaftertheelection.Theinstructionwas

moreeasilyissuedthanimplemented,forHanoicouldstillforceustotakeastand

bypublishingthetexts.NordidIthinkmatterswouldreachthatpoint.AsyetI

enjoyedtheillusionthatThieuwouldhappilygoalongwithan agreementbetter

inalmostallessentials thanthetermswehadbeenofferingwithhisco ncurrence

fortwoyears.



Nixonwasquitepositivethatanagreementwasunnecessaryforthe

election;itsbenefitwouldbetoomarginaltowarrantanyrisks.Haldeman,whom

IsawdirectlyafterNixon,wentfurther.Hethoughtthatanagreementwasa

potentialliability;hewascertainthatMcGovern’ssupporthadbeenreducedto

fanaticsthatwouldnotvoteforNixonevenifhearrangedtheSecondComing.On

theotherhand,anagreementmightdisquietconservativesupportersandthus

shrinkNixon’smarginofvictory.TheVietnamnegotiations,inshort,werenot

usedtoaffecttheelection;theelectionwasusedtoacceleratethenegotiations.

Itperformedtherolenormallycarriedoutbyanultimatum—exceptthatitraised

noissueofprestigeand,beingfixedbytheConstitution,wasnotsubjectto

alteration.



WithHaig,IbriefedRogersoverbreakfastonOctober13. Hewas

enthusiastic;heconsideredtheagreementacompletevindicationoftheUS

position.Givenourstrainedprofessionalrelations,thiswashighpraiseindeed—

andmagnanimous.Withacease‐fireinsight,Irealizedthatwewerereachingthe

limitofmysmallstaff’sresources.Manytechnicalprotocolswouldhavetobe

preparedthatrequiredspecializedcompetence.IaskedRogersforhelp,

somethingIwasnotinthehabitofdoingbutshouldhavebeen.Rogersagreed

andassignedDeputyAssistantSecretaryWilliamSullivantomeforthatpurpose.

AformerAmbassadortoLaos,thenheadoftheDepartment’sVietnamWorking

Group,Sullivanhadcarriedoutmanythanklessassignmentswithskill,daring,and

anunusualwillingnesstoassumeresponsibility.Heperformedonmystaffwith

panache.HeaccompaniedmeonmyOctoberaround‐the‐worldtripasmy

deputy.HebriefedtheLaotianandThaileadersonournegotiations. Andhe

headedthetechnicaldiscussionswiththeVietnameseinthelastphase.Sullivan’s

contributiontothefinalroundofnegotiationswasindispensable.



MyscheduleforOctober13showstheintensityofourpreparations.Ispent

from10:45to11:05A.M.withSullivanandNegroponte;11:05to11:09with

Sullivanalone;12:40to1:05p.m.withSullivanandNegroponte;2:40to3:30with

SullivanandNegroponte;3:35to4:09withthePresident;5:36to6:24with

Sullivan,Lord(justreturnedfromParis),andNegroponte;and8:20to8:55with

LordandNegroponte.



ThatdayacablearrivedfromEllsworthBunkerwithawarningthat,

whatevertheagreement,wemightbesailingintostormyseasinSaigon.Ashad

becomecustomaryThieuwasunavailabletobebriefed;hisstallingwasnowpart

ofeveryexchange—lasttimeithadbeenatetanusshot,nowitwasanupset

stomach.Nhahelpfullysuppliedanotherreason:Thieuwassurprisedthatthe

AmericanEmbassywasopenonFridaythethirteenth.Bunkerreplieddrylythat

hehadclearedtheproblemwithhisastrologer.Hewarnedme,however,that

Thieuwassettlingintoasiegementalityreminiscentof1968.Hewouldalmost

surelytrytostareusdown,whateverwebroughthim.Heseemedconvincedthat

ifthewarcontinuedhewouldbe“inpositiontomakeabettersettlementayear

ortwoyearsfromnow,”buthegaveusnoideainwhatrespectitwouldbebetter

orhowwecouldsustainawarwithnogoaltheAmericanpubliccouldunderstand

afterHanoihadacceptedourownproposalsonOctober8.



ItoldBunkertogiveThieuasummaryofwherewewereheading:



PriortomyarrivalinSaigon,nowtentativelyscheduledforWednesdaynight,Iwillbe

seeingMinisterXuanThuyandanticipatethattheothersidewillproposeapoliticalformula

whichwillrequirefarlessofThieuthanthealternatearrangementsoutlinedtohimbyHaig

duringhisrecentvisit.Thiswouldbecombinedwithacease‐fireinplacetogointoeffectas

earlyastwoweeksfromthetimethatanoverallagreementinprincipleisarrivedat.Inviewof

thislikelihood,itisessentialthatThieuunderstandnowthatwecouldhavesettledtheconflict

longagoundertermswhichwouldhaveremovedhimfrompower.Therefore,hecannot

approachhisupcomingmeetingwithmeinthecontextofaconfrontationbutratherwitha

positiveattitudeinwhichwecanconfirmarrangementswhichwillconsolidateandsolidifyhis

futurecontrol.IamconfidentthatsuchpoliticalarrangementsareintheoffingfromHanoiand

Thieumustbeputoffhiscurrentconfrontationcoursewithusandatthesametimebe

prepared,inreturnforHanoi’spoliticalconcessions,toshowareasonableflexibilityonthe

modalitiesofacease‐fireinplace.



BunkerconveyedthisoutlineoftheproposedsettlementtoThieuon

October14.Weneverreceivedaresponse.



OnbothOctober14and15I stressedtoDobrynintheimportancewe

attachedtotheoutstandingissues.IaskedforaSovietassuranceofrestraintin

armssupplyafterasettlement.Dobrynin,whohadreceivedthetextofthedraft

agreementfromHanoi,evadedthepoint.ANixonletterto Brezhnevaskingfora

similarassurancewasalsoevaded.EvenmoreworrisomewasthefactthatHanoi

hadobviouslyplayedgameswiththetranslationoftheagreeddraft.The

Vietnameseversionofthedraftagreement,accordingtoDobrynin,calledthe

proposedNationalCouncilofNationalReconciliationandConcorda“political

structure.”LeDucThoandIhadspenthoursinParisagreeingtodenoteitin

Englishasan“administrativestructure”toemphasizeitsnong overnmental

character;theVietnamesetranslationwasunsettled.[

IntheOctoberagreement,Le

DucThoandIsettledonaphrasecommittingtheparties“tosetupanadministrativestructure

calledtheNationalCouncilofNationalReconciliationandConcord…”Hanoisoughttotranslate

“administrativestructure”inVietnamesebyaphraseimplyingagovernmentalauthority.Inthe

technicalmeetinginParisonOctober12,LordandEngelhadexplicitlyrejectedthisVietnamese

translationandinsistedonaweakerphrasewithnogovernmentalconnotations.Thematter

wasleftforlaterresolution.Hanoiwouldalmostcertainlyhaveconcededthepointsoon

afterwardhadnotitspublicationoftheagreementonOctober26turnedallunresolvedissues,

howeverminor,intoissuesofprestige.

]IimpressedonDobryninthatHanoi’sversion

wastotallyunacceptable.



WealsosentanoteaskingforweaponsrestrainttoPeking;therewasno

reply.ButthentheChinesecontributiontoHanoi’sarsenalwastoomarginalto

affecttheoutcomeintheSouth.



OnOctober16IbreakfastedwithHaig,whowouldholdthefortwhileIwas

gone,andUnderSecretaryofStateAlexJohnson.IthensawthePresidentfor

forty‐fiveminutes.At11:00a.m.I leftforAndrewsAirForceBaseonthemission

onwhichallourhopeshadbeenconcentratingforfouryears:theendofthewar

inIndochina.OntheplaneahandwrittennotefromNixonwaswaitingforme.It

read:



DearHenry,AsyouleaveforParisIthoughtitwouldbeusefulforyoutohavesome

guidancethatweweretalkingaboutonpaper.First,dowhatisrightwithoutregardtothe

election.Secondly,wecannotletachancetoendthewarhonorablyslipaway.Asfarasthe

electionsareconcerned,asettlementthatdidnotcomeunstuckwouldhelpamongyoung

voters,butwedonotneedittowin.Asettlementthatbecameunstuckwouldhurt,butwould

notbefatal.Atallcostswemustavoidthefactortheimpressionthatwehaveimposedor

agreedtoacoalitiongovernment.Insum,gettingbacktomyoriginalinstruction,dowhatis

righttosecureanhonorablepeace,butdonotletthetimingbeaffectedbytheelection.



<<Contents>>



****



InterludeinParis



ymeetingwithXuanThuyonOctober17lackedthedramaoftheprevio us

week’ssessionswithLeDucTho.XuanThuyhadnoauthoritytomake

majorchanges.Weimprovedthepoliticalpro visionsfurtherbymakingexplicit

thattheNationalCouncilofNationalReconciliatio nandConcordcouldsupervise

theelections;ithadnoauthoritytoorderthem.Anynewelectionthatmightbe

heldwouldfirsthavetobeagreedunanimouslybytheSouthVietnamese

parties—theall‐purposeformulaforburyinganissue.TheNationalCouncil—the

lastvestigeofthecoalitiongovernment—notonlygaveavetotoSaigon;itwas

deprivedofanythingtodo.Hanoi’spoliticalprogramwasdead.



Withrespecttoreplacementofmilitaryequipment,XuanThuyinsistedon

theprincipleofequality,andweontheprincipleofaone‐for ‐onereplacementfor

worn‐outequipment.XuanThuyfinallyacceptedourformulation,butmadeit

contingentonthereleaseofciviliandetaineesinSouthVietnam.Irejectedthe

proposition;Saigonwouldneveracceptit;thiswasapoliticalmattertobesettled

betweentheVietnameseparties.Moreover,wefoundHanoi’sassurances

regardingacease‐fireinLaosandCambo diaunsatisfactory.ItoldXuanThuythatI

couldnotgotoHanoiunlesswehadsettledthetextoftheagreementaswellas

theassociatedunderstandings.Andhisleadersshouldbeclearthatwecouldnot

proceedexceptwiththeapprovalofSaigon.Itmightthusbenecessaryformeto