July 5, 1970
Muskie announces timetable for withdrawal from Vietnam
President Muskie announced plans today for what he calls a “responsible and orderly” withdrawal from Vietnam that should be completed by the end of 1971. “Given the choices we face, it is the only way to bring peace,” Muskie said. “My proposal is a very simple one: The United States should develop a fixed timetable for the withdrawal of all its forces from Indochina. We should stick to that timetable, subject only to Hanoi's willingness to release all American prisoners of war and to its acceptance of measures to insure the safety of the withdrawing Americans. While I believe that all American forces should be out of Indochina in 18 months, we should be prepared to shorten this time if Hanoi agrees to a cease‐fire.”
Muskie said that a fixed withdrawal schedule would improve the broader political settlement in Vietnam. “Without an American deadline, the generals who control the South Vietnamese Government will not consider a sharing of power, even with neutralists. Until they know that their weakness can no longer keep us in Vietnam, the generals will not be prepared to broaden the Government. Any truly representative government in South Vietnam would make a serious effort to negotiate with North Vietnam. And once they know we are leaving, the Hanoi leaders might also be ready for serious negotiations.”
Muskie blunted anticipated criticism that a withdrawal program would lead to a “bloodbath” in South Vietnam by saying that the war itself is a bloodbath. “The possibility of persecution after a withdrawal must be balanced against the certainty that thousands will be slaughtered if the war continues. At any rate, no settlement, political or military—and certainly nothing in our present policy—can provide guarantee against a bloodbath…And in formulating our withdrawal plan, we must, of course, accept the responsibility for evacuating and resettling those who wish to leave Vietnam.”
In the event of American withdrawal, Muskie said that the South Vietnamese “should be able to hold their own” in fighting against the Communists. “If they can't, no nation can accuse us of failing to meet our commitments.” [1]