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items-in-[Vietnam] - bombing of the dikes in North [Vietnam] bythe U.S. Air force - press clippings

Date Created 21/07/1972

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Container S_og0i -OQ03: Vietnam and Indo-China 1 972-1 981

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N ELECTION YEAR 1972, FORCES are converging in Indo-china and America which bear a strong resemblanceto those that, in 1954, brought the French phase of

• the war to an end. It is premature to know if historywill repeat itself, but one point is clear: the Indochina crisiseach day becomes more intense, and will continue to do sodespite all Pentagon propaganda, media distortion and cam-paign rhetoric.

In early 1954, as the French Expeditionary Force faceddisaster on the battlefield, and as popular discontent inFrance manifested itself in the rise of "peace candidate"Pierre Mendes-France, the French government of PrimeMinister Laniel sought to extricate itself by diplomatic ma-neuvering aimed at isolating the Vietminh from their majorallies—China and the Soviet Union. This attempt failed,and the French Parliament replaced Laniel with Mendes-France.

Now George McGovern is making a bid for power undersimilar circumstances. Yet optimism seems naive at thispoint, and properly so to many anti-war organizers whothrough years of frustration have accepted the war as apermanent agony rather than a conflict which must, likeall wars, come to an end.

Even so, this is a unique period—if not for ending thewar, at least for reaching a new plateau of anti-war opposi-tion. On the other hand, if the opportunity is missed, theanti-war movement could well find itself in the most difficultbind it has ever faced.

The main arena, as always, is the battlefield, where theoffensive against Vietnamization is continuing to threatenThieu with early and total collapse. Typically, officials inWashington, in a fit of suicidal overconfidence, have con-cluded that "Saigon's forces with U.S. air support not onlystemmed the largest communist offensive in the history of

40 RAMPARTS

the war but . . . regained the initiative." (Christian ScienceMonitor, 7/18/72) In fact, however, the Vietnamese mil-itary campaign has proven to be the longest and mosteffective ever. One fact alone disproves the claims about"stemming" the offensive.

On June 19, Thieu was raving about the "liberation" ofAn Loc, one of the three fixed—though not necessarily per-manent—battlefronts into which his conventional troopswere drawn by the offensive. But at this writing (August 6),his troops there have been under seige for 120 days. "Asfor the state of the defenders," almost every man was a cas-ualty" in the ARVN 5th Division (New York Times,6/29/72). The ARVN 21st Division, pulled from the Me-kong Delta to be a relief column on Highway 13, took 3000

casualties "without fulfilling its task." One month afterThieu's announcement of success, the American brigadiergeneral commanding the Saigon area was killed in his h'eli-copter over An Loc.

On the Central Highlands front, the Saigon forces nearKontum have been tied down on Highway 14 for a sim-ilar length of time, as the guerrillas have sought to encirclethe ARVN in indefensible positions on roads. Meanwhile,the PRG completely controls nearly all of heavily-popu-lated Binh Dinh province, which stretches inland from thesea three-quarters of the distance to Laos. Thus Thieu'scountry is all but cut in two. But the Saigon regime has notbeen alone in sustaining heavy losses in the fighting. Inearly June, the U.S. lost its most important and experienced

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official in all Indochina, John Paul Vann, killed in his heli-copter over Kontum.

On the Quang Tri-Hue front, a fatal error may have beencommitted by Nixon and Thieu in trying to retake QuangTri before the November election. For the PRG guerrillasthere, territory is not as decisive as it is for Thieu, whomust claim to rule in at least the formal sense. Thieu facedthe classic choice of dictators under attack: he could con-centrate his remaining forces at the symbolic Hue and thuslose Quang Tri, or he could overextend himself by a"counter-offensive" into the lost province. He chose thelatter.

Ironically, the general whom Thieu dispatched to QuangTri was a man who had fought with the French at Dien-bienphu, Ngo Quang Trung. With him went the entire stra-tegic reserve of the Saigon Army, the marines and para-troopers, who are the only experienced and mobile units left.

As in the case of An Loc, Thieu claimed victory pre-maturely. In early July he said that Quang Tri City was re-taken, and on July 26 that its inner Citadel was in hishands. In reality his troops were only beginning a long andbloody fight. They had marched up the "Street WithoutJoy" (so named by the weary French) into the most heav-ily fortified front they had encountered since they invadedLaos in February 1971.

Quickly the "Street Without Joy" became a dead end.The guerrilla army began "initiating its classic technique offorcing enemy troops into a long, narrow corridor and thenattacking from the sides." (New York Times, 7/22/72)In Quang Tri City, the ARVN paratroopers took so manycasualties that they were relieved by the marines at theend of July. The marines then were thrown to their stom-achs by pinpoint shelling which reached the level of 2000rounds per day despite the most concentrated U.S. air and

RAMPARTS 41

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naval bombing, shelling and gassing ever attempted. Mean-while, the PRG began shelling and probing the westernoutskirts of Hue, which now was left more exposed by theQuang Tri fighting.

[ ONCURRENTLY, IN THE MEKONG DELTA, another

classic guerrilla pattern has appeared which maybecome the politically decisive confrontation ofthe war. The Delta contains one-third of the peo-

ple of the South, and supplies most of the rice to Saigon. Theoccupying ARVN had departed there for the three mainfronts in early April, and in the vacuum the guerrillasbegan appearing everywhere, "quietly reasserting controlthis spring over many of their once powerful bases aroundSaigon." (New York Times, 6/16/72) Not only are cen-tral Delta provinces like Chuong Thien fully liberated but,according to sources as conservative as the Los AngelesTimes, so are those ringing the outer defense perimeter ofSaigon itself: Phuoc Thuy to the Southeast, Go Cong di-rectly South, Tayninh and the Plain of Reeds to the northand west, and Dinh Tuong, which lies on strategic Route 4to the southwest. Despite the fact that these provinces werethe chief U.S. pacification efforts in 1965-68, the guerrillashave returned to dominant positions there.

The Delta is politically the most important confronta-tion point of the offensive, even though less publicized thanthe seige warfare to the north. During this summer's rains,the guerrillas are destroying any remaining ARVN com-panies, in apparent preparation 'for the October-Novemberdry season when they can either ring Saigon with an of-fensive or isolate the city by cutting all road and communi-cation lines. It is, of course, dangerous to predict the courseof an offensive, but this possibility seems so clear that it isalready contributing to the crisis of Thieu's tenure (NewYork Times, 8/6/72).

Thieu's army, the very base of Nixon's Vietnamizationdoctrine, is approaching its last stand. If two divisions aredestroyed at Quang Tri, the remaining troops would facegeneral collapse.

Already, various signs point to the disintegration of thearmy, including its high command. Saigon Defense MinisterNguyen Van Vy has been arrested and charged with graft.Gen. Vu Van Goai, who retreated from Quang Tri in May,is under house arrest. Gen. Hoang Xuan Lam, commanderin the northernmost provinces (I Corps), and Gen. NgoDzu, of the Central Highlands (II Corps), were relievedduring the offensive. According to the Los Angeles Times,8/3/72, only General Trung at Quang Tri is above sus-picion and "respectable." That is one general out of fiftywho make up the ARVN high command.

Meanwhile, the cities suffer under what the New YorkTimes, 7/24/72, describes as "draconian police measures."Thieu managed to obtain emergency powers by calling aspecial midnight meeting of the Senate, from which the op-position was excluded by means of police and barbed wire.He has closed all but the most favorable Saigon newspapers,and he has arrested tens of thousands—essentially, his entirenon-communist opposition. All things considered, it thusappears likely that Thieu will soon be "presiding" over a"country" minus one northern province, cut through itsmiddle, and physically cut off from the majority of its popu-lation. He will nominally "govern" Saigon, and perhapsPleiku, Danang and Hue, but these cities will be politicallyrestive and economically disintegrating. They will not beenough of a base for Thieu to justify continued rule, andultimately they will not be defensible. All this leaves Nixonin an ever-more-precarious situation. Unlike Johnson, whohad 500,000 American troops to protect Saigon, he has onlyThieu and his sinking army. Therefore he has turned toterror bombing—the worst in history—to punish the Viet-namese and threaten them with genocide as the price ofvictory.

According to Agence France Press, from March 30 toJune 20 Nixon dropped 218,700 tons of bombs on Viet-nam, including 146,700 from B-52s during saturation bomb-ing runs. This represents the quickest, most massive escala-tion in the history of this war. While those who name himas the greatest war criminal of the whole Vietnam aggres-

42 RAMPARTS PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER KENNER

"McGovern's campaign is the first which holds out the real possibil-ity of peace, not because McGovern is 'different' but because theAmerican government faces a truly desperate situation."

sion are right, it must not be forgotten that his mountingmurder campaign stems from his own defeat on the ground.

Nixon and Kissinger have failed to prevent this defeat bydiplomacy even though they have altered the entire struc-ture of international relations attempting to do it. Throughtheir various summit meetings, they had hoped to arrangea Vietnam settlement similar to the one sought by theFrench 18 years ago at Geneva: a battlefield cease-fire fol-lowed by political agreements. This arrangement benefitsthe loser, by saving his troops in time to re-equip them, andoffers nothing to the PRO but "free elections" under a U.S.-controlled Saigon regime. The U.S. would have its POWsreturned and its few remaining troops withdrawn (to otherareas of Indochina), and then would be free to continue theair war or re-introduce ground troops if the political nego-tiations break down.

| HIS PROPOSAL CAN NEVER BE ACCEPTABLE to the

winning PRG forces since it merely rehashes the1954 Geneva promise which has yet to be fulfilled.They have already experienced American neo-coloh-

ialism under Diem's police state, when there were no U.S.troops and no U.S. bombs, yet no independence existed forthe Vietnamese people. They cannot accept now what theyoriginally took up arms against; instead, they propose acoalition government of anti-communists, neutralists andthe PRG with only one condition—that it not be controlledby the U.S. They seem even willing to accept a "transitionalcoalition" to replace Thieu and then negotiate with thePRG and other parties (New York Times, 8/3/72). Thisis the most generous offer they can make and still retaintheir right to self-determination. If the U.S. chooses not tonegotiate on this basis in Paris, the Vietnamese will simplycontinue implementing the three-segment coalition as theyhave in Paris with many exile groups, in Quang Tri withthe former ARVN, and in Saigon clandestinely.

Though touted as a sign of "suffering" on the part of theliberation forces, the reopening" of talks in Paris represents

a change of policy not by the PRG and the DRV, but bythe Nixon Administration which cancelled them in the firstplace. Kissinger was forced back to the conference roomby the collapse of Vietnamization and a desire to undercutthe domestic impact of the war issue in the Presidential cam-paign (Los Angeles Times, 7/20/72). Such a move becamenecessary with the failures of the Grand Design to haveRussia and China pressure Vietnam into a Nixonesque "set-tlement."

Not that the diplomatic maneuvering bore no fruit for theadministration. The story of this effort requires further ex-amination, but it seems clear now that both Russia andChina have placed national interests, as indicated by Kissin-ger, above their solidarity with Vietnam. It was hardly "in-ternationalism" when China announced its acceptance ofthe U.S. ping pong team one week after the PRG proposedits Seven Point Program last July. More callous by far wasthe Russian decision to welcome Nixon in Moscow and signa "peaceful coexistence" agreement after Haiphong harborwas mined. Reliable sources go further to state that Pod-gorny followed the summit with a trip to Hanoi in which heurged acceptance of the Nixon ceasefire proposal. All theseactions at the very least diverted attention from the Paristalks by opening the illusory prospect of a Great Powersettlement once again. They also permitted the U.S. toescalate the killing of the Indochinese people without dan-ger of a direct Soviet or Chinese response, thus bolsteringthe arguments made by hawks in the United States for thepast five years.

Granted that the American anti-war movement has notgiven sufficient support to Vietnam (we have, after all, notsent tanks or rice), it still is not a "petit bourgeois hangup,"as some maintain, to question the degree of proletarianinternationalism being displayed by the socialist camp to-wards Vietnam. If Fidel Castro and Le Due Tho can in-directly criticize their major benefactors, as they both haverecently done in Eastern Europe, those who need no aid orsupplies should go farther and make the criticism explicit.Otherwise, Kissinger can gloat in the complete silence of the

RAMPARTS 43

international left towards the isolation of Vietnam.But it is unjustified as well to go as far as others in

implying that both Russia and China have betrayed Viet-nam. Some, indeed, adopt the mechanical view that allsocialist revolutions, when they attain state power, placenational interests above international ones, and that theirnational interests always coincide with those of imperialismrather than revolution. This cannot account for the steadyflow of oil and foodstuffs into Vietnam from its allies. TheChinese in particular have been refusing to make certainagreements with the U.S. until the Indochina war is settled.They have taken the lead, and more recently the Sovietshave joined them, in organizing world opinion against theU.S. through the United Nations and other forums.

In fact the international tempo, which seemed to favorNixon in the immediate wake of the summits, now is swing-ing the other direction as a result of the genocidal bombingof the dikes and cities, and the U.S. refusal to talk sense inParis.

Still, Nixon can be expected to develop a number of sur-prise maneuvers between now and November to offset this"worldwide propaganda campaign," as he calls it. Chiefamong these would be a domestic peace offering of the sortalready predicted by Flora Lewis (New York Times, 8/11/72) in reporting the speculation in Paris about impendingdevelopments: "Since these are crucial months on the Amer-ican political calendar, it is considered that a bombing haltmay be feasible and even desirable from the American pointof view, if Washington can get something in exchange." Ob-viously, "something in exchange" would not include inde-pendence for the Vietnamese people. Rather, the Administra-tion has in mind a gesture designed to cool off the war as acampaign issue, possibly the release of some AmericanPOWs.

With the same purpose, the U.S. government has recentlybegun to inspire news stories in the national media about"bloodbaths" in Quang Tri and Binh Dinh. Through suchdevices, the administration hopes to justify its negotiatingposture—i.e., that a complete U.S. withdrawal would pre-pare the way for the massacre of, and tyranny over, mil-lions of South Vietnamese.

In making these charges, the Nixon Administration is, ofcourse, playing to the American people, and here the roleof the anti-war movement becomes crucial. The propagandaabout "winding down the war," the summits which prom-ised peace, and now the Electoral Spectacle, have servedto sidetrack many people seriously worried about Vietnam.Frustrated by apparent failure, they have given up on theirown sense of power, and are viewing McGovern as the "lasthope" (as many viewed McCarthy and Kennedy in 1968).At another extreme are those so alienated from electoralpolitics that they are in danger of missing a unique oppor-tunity to seize the time in organizing against U.S. aggres-sion.

To those who feel useless: read the Pentagon Papers;it will be seen that protest and war-weariness were amongthe major "costs" of the war which worried the Pentagonand led to the adoption of the Nixon Doctrine. Beyond that,they prepared the base for anti-war politicians to emerge in1968 and for the demonstrations in Chicago that year which

"reformed" the Democratic Party, leading ultimately toMcGovern's nomination in 1972. Why should we then un-derestimate our own power now by either indulging in frus-tration or abandoning anti-war work to join the McGoverncampaign?

"C GOVERN HAS RISEN TO PROMINENCE through

the same factors that brought Mendes-Franceto power in 1954. His campaign is the firstsince the beginning of the Vietnam war which

holds out a real possibility of peace—not because McGov-ern is "different" but because the American governmentfaces a truly desperate situation.

The anti-war movement can determine the election, andthe election period can determine the future of the anti-warmovement. This election, like others before, is marked bymilitary escalation wrapped in promises of peace. Nixonaims to force McGovern to down-play Vietnam. In this he isaided by the Establishment Democrats whom McGovern istrying to woo. Already the candidate has backtracked onamnesty for war resisters and on the question of "residualforces" in Thailand.

The anti-war movement alone can expose the Adminis-tration's lies about Vietnam, and thereby force McGovernto keep the issue a top priority. If we succeed in that, wewill force upon Nixon the only two choices we are capableof imposing: that he negotiate sincerely in Paris or facedefeat in November. A steady rise in McGovern's popular-ity will not only threaten Nixon's ability to hold on, but willintensify the hysteria within the Thieu regime. As one isweakened, the other suffers too; the rhythm, once begun,could be fatal.

// the anti-war movement creates an anti-Nixon mood,if most of the traditional Democratic coalition holds, ifyouth registration and voting is very high, McGovern canbe elected and the war brought to its final phase in Novem-ber.

Even if McGovern does not win, even if he loses by asmall margin, the war—having played a major role in thecampaign—will have given Nixon warning that he cannotprolong the war without severe domestic "costs" of the kindthe Nixon Doctrine was designed to prevent. Upon takingoffice, he will once again be faced with a collapsing Thieuregime and a rising opposition in America. The stage willbe set for a major confrontation between Nixon and publicopinion, perhaps including Congress itself, if he attemptsfurther escalation.

Thanks to the Vietnamese offensive, and the Americanelection, the anti-war movement thus has an opportunitywhich may not come again for a long time.

At this point, we certainly ought not forget that the warhas shown us what is wrong and what must be changed inAmerica. If the Vietnamese secure their independence, theAmerican people will be the victors as well. We will haveresisted the encroachment of the draft, the repression ofanti-war forces, the racism and elitism of the U.S. Army, theeconomic squeeze required to continue the war. Perhaps,most of all, we will have ended through our own efforts ageneration of official lies meant to control our minds. Viet-nam's independence will open the possibility of our own.

44 RAMPARTS

ruutfi\ SAMSTAff. 29./JULI 197£

Waldheimand NixonFORTSETZUNG VON SEITE 1

zu einer regelrechten Invasion Siid-vietnams an, noch dazu in einem Zeit-punkt, da sich die Amerikaner bereitsin vollem Ruckzug aus Sudvietnam be-fanden. Ha'tten sich die USA weiterhinso verhalten wie bisher, so ware denNordvietnamesen ein leichter Sieg sichergewe.sen. Prasident Nixon aber antwor-teta mit der Verletzung bisheriger Tabus:Die Hafen Nordvietnams wurden erst-mals vermint, die Luftbombardementswiederaut'genommen Und mit noch niedagewesener Intenritat gefuhrl.

Weder die Sowjeturiion noch Chinagriffen zu Repressalien. Im Gegenteil -Nixon wurde gleich tianach mit alienEhren in Moskau empfangen, Henry'Kissinger konnte einen weireren Besuchin Peking absolvieren. Auch die offent-Iche Meinung in der Welt reagierte ahn-lich: Hatte bis dahin jede Eskalation imVietnamkrieg ungeheure Protestwellenausgelost, so blieb es jetzt bei kleinenEmzelprotesten gegen die USA.

Hanoi muSte wohl erkennen, daft esdurch seine eigene' Offensive vieleSympathien und sogar einen wesent-lichen Teil der Unterstutzung seinerBundesgenossen Sowjetunion und Chinaverloien hatte.

Man kann sich denken, da!5 sich dieNordvietnamesen nun auch die Fragestellen muftten, ob die USA bei der sichselbst auferlegten Beschrankung derKriegsaktionen bleiben wurden. Wiehaltbar war der Mechanismus noch -keine Vernichtung Nordvietnams, weilAmerika sich vor sowjetischen und chi-nesischon Interventionen furchtete?

Die US-Regierung erklarte zwar weiter-hin, daft sie keine zivilen Ziele absicht-lich bombardieren werde, aber derBombenhagel ist schon so dicht und dieIsolation Hanoi's in der Welt, schon sogroS, daft man die Sorge der Nordviet-namesen verstehen kann. Nichts aberhatten sie mehr zu furchten, als die Zer-storung der Damme und Deiche - selbstAtombomben hatten kaum eine ver-heerendere Wifkung.

Diese Furcht wird offenbar noch ge-steigert durch die auch von PrasidentNixon zuRe&ebene 7,-usache, rlaR ameri-V^nischc Bomben hcrriis ,mf VJoiclie undIX'mme fielen.. Unabsichljidi, ;wif Nixoi^meinl. Aber es ist fclar, da8 Hanoi nunin nincr internationalen Kampagne ver-,sucht, zwci Zi<do,,rfU.,.,evre.ichcn: den-vivobbu-n Protest RPROU die USA wieclcr

.Mod damit . cleichzoitie

UNO-Sprecher zur Kritik Nixons am Generalsekretar:

W i e n / N e w York . - US-Prasident Richard Nixon kritisierlemit iiberaus scharfen Worten UN-Ceneralsekretar Kurt Wald-heim wegen,seiner- XuRerungen iiber Bombenschaden an Deich-anlagcn in Nordvietnam. Ebenso heftig konterte wenige Stundenspater ein Sprecher der UNO, als er sagte: ,,Wa!dheim ist zwarwphlmeinend, aber nicht naiv." Diese Erklarung bezog sich aufNixons Worte, wonach Waldheim die ,,vom Feind inspiriertePropaganda" wiederholt habe, von der viele ,,wohlmeinendeund naive" Menschen erfalit werden.

Osterreichs Verteidigungsmi-nister, Lutgendorf, der Freilagvon seiner -Amerikareise nachWien zuriickkehrte und vorseinem Abflug in New York

noch kurz mit Waldheim ge-sprochen hatte, berichtete, dalisich Waldheim von der Regie-rung in Washington miBver-standen oder falsch interpre-

tiert fiihle. Er habe lediglich.davon gesprochen, daft bei An-griffen der US-Luftwaffe aufmilitarische Ziele in Nordviet-nam auch Deichanlagen getrof-fen worden seien.

In seiner uberraschendenStellungnahme hatte PrasidentNixon dem UNO-Generalsekre-tiir auch vorgeworfen, bisherkein Wort gegen die Invasionkommunistischer Truppen inSudvietnam gesagt zu haben.

Fremden Besuchern Nord-

vietnams werden Beschadi-gungen an kleinen Deich-anlagen als Beweis fur einesystematische amerikanischeBombardierung vorgefuhrt.Auch der UN-Ceneralsekretarist dieser Propaganda zumOpfer gefallen", fuhr Nixonfort.

Gestern fand neuerlich eineUnterredung zwischen UNO-Ceneralsekretar Waldheimund Amerikas UN-BotschafterBush uber diese Frage statt.Bush erklarte, er hoffe, daft

die jiingste Kontroverse zwi-schen Waldheim und Washing-ton hoffentlich nicht zu eineiVerschlechterung der Bezie-hungen zwischen den USA undder UNO fiihren werde.

Aus dem abschlieBenderSatz Bushs, das Gesprach milWaldheim sei .,,offen und urn-fassend" gewesen, lesen poli-tische Beobachter allerdingsheraus, daft es weiterhin Mei-nungsverschiedenheiten zwi-schen Waldheim und der ame-rikanischen Regierung gibt.

Luckenloser Ausstand britischer Docker

London. - Schon wenige Stunden nach dem Streikbeginnder 42.000 Hafenarbeiter traten am Freitag in GroBbritannienerste Versorgungsschwierigkeiten auf: Schinken, Butter und Eietwaren in Nordostengland nicht mehr zu haben, bei Bananen undXpfeln haben die Preise im ganzen Land drastisdi angezogen.Trotz wiederholter Versicherungen von seiten des Landwirl-schaftsministeriums in London sind also offenbar doch nichtgeniigend Lebcnsmittelvorrate vorhanden. Sollte der Ausstandder Docker langer andauern, rechnen Beobachter fest damit, daftes eine sehr ernste und fur die Bevolkerung spiirbarc Versor-gungskrise geben wird.

Sturmische Szenen gab es vor,.dem.<Parlament,in ,London zxvischen,,dcr :Polizeii und Dockern

Die Regierung, die nochimmer hofft, die Differenzenmit den Dockarbeitern balddurch Verhandlungen beilegenzu konnen, bereitet sich je-doch auch auf einen langerenKonflikt vor. ArbeitsministerMacMillan erklarte, die Regie-rung arbeite bereits vorbeu-gend an Maftnahmen ,,zumSchutz der allgemeinen Inter-essen der Wirtschaft und derVerbraucher". !m Klartext heifttdas: die Ausarbeitung einesNorplans fiir den Fall einerVersorgungskrise durch denDockerstreik.

Mit dem Slreik wollen diebritischen Hafenarbeiter vonder Regierung und den Unter-

• nehmern verbindliche Zusagen

uber die Sicherung aller Ar-beitsplatze erzwingen. Durchden immer zunehmenden

,,Container"-Frachtverkehrdroht namlich vielen Hafen-arbeitern - nach Ansicht derGewerkschaft - der Verlustihres Arbeitsplatzes. Die Re-gierung hat bisher die verlang-ten verbindlichen Zusagen ver-weigert, wohl aber ein um-fangreiches Paket von Sozial-ma&nahmen angeboten.

Die Scharfe des Konfliktszeigt die Erklarung eines Spro-chers der Hafenarbeitcr-Gt1-werkschaft von gestern: ,,Dic-ser Kampf ist das Waterloo tii-rIdduitrie. Wonn irgcnd jcm.uiriverlieren wird, dann werdenes die Arbeitgeber scin."

...j .,UK>. i-cii ruunvoggi iumchene zum zweitenmalstorben'ber. Onk*l Heinz ZubarsSen die Cartwrightsrben?o Koenig: Natter, billsBen I

irterigeninhalt

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Rechta Wlenzelltt 5, Tel. 5S3681k, Pradler StraBo 76, Tel. 93067ag-, Sonntag- und Nachtdlenst

!en FreizeitschuheUrlaub und Reiseirunncr Sir. 99; Rcinprcchtsdorfcr6, Thaliaslr.-Rich.-Wagner-Platz 18

•prwendbar, gedeckt und tr»nspa-•liiedene Slirken, bis 6 m breit•4 6, HOFMOHLG'VSSE 17

WAGNER & Co. OHG.

Zum Wochenende werdenviele Wieneri wieder hinaus-ziehcn ins : Oberschwem-mungsgebiet. Sie werden ilireCampingbetten aufstellen, dieKinder . herumtollen lassen

oder auch nur ihren Hundausfiihren.

Und sie werden dortmit Erschrecken feststellen,daR : die'Bagger wieder ein

Stuck , Landschafr vernichtethaben, . dali ' das zweiteDonaubett und die kunstlicheDonauinsel bereits im Ent-stehen sind. In einer GroS-reportage auf den , Seiten 6

und. 7 bringt. deshalb heulcder .KURIER mehrere Bei-trage zur Diskussion,' welcheVor- und 'Nachteile der Bauder..' Donauinsel fiir Wienund- seine, Bewohner hat.

Waldheirn und Nixon / von HugoPresident Nixon hat die Sache n>cht dieser .Art, ga'be. Die Sache.gait.als-bei- halten der USA nicht zu-,erwarten. Denn

auf sich beruhen lassen und .den Gene- gelegt. Dennoch griff sie der ameri- schon zu Beginn .des .Vietnamkrieges.ralsekrelar der UNO, Kurt Waldheirn, kanische President noch einmal person- zeigten die Amerikaner deutlich, daB sienoch einmal bezichtigt, die Kriegspropa- lich auf und wiederholte, den . Angriff nicht, wie einst in Korea, eine Invasionganda der Nordvietnamesen unterstiitzt gegen Waldheim. ' Nordvietnams planten uncfes auch nichtzu haben. Indirekt ,,entschuldigte" Nixon • ; . darauf abgesehen hatten, das dortigeden UNO-Generalsekretar, indem er ihn Weshalb ist die Frage der Bombardie- Regime zu entthronen.als ,naiv und gutglaubig" bezeichnete. : rung .der Damme und Deiche in Nord- ,hr Motjv wflr weder besondere

Aber Waldheirn ist ein vie) zu .erfah-vietnam so wichtig? Friedfertigkeit noch Angst vor den.Nord-

rener Diplomat als daf$ man ihm zu- -Eine Zerstorung riieser Damme und vietnamesen, die USA wollten vielmehr™MnS£*.$LMsto&-0*M* ware gleichbedeulend mit der erne nt«vent,on Chmas oder gar e.neund Gutglaubigkeit so schwerwiegende nahezu totalen Vernichtung Nordviet- bewaffnete Konfrontat.on mit der So-ErklarunKen abeeben ' nams. Als 1944 die Hochwasser in Nord- wjetunion verme.den. E.n ,,Ausloschen'

, Vietnam uber diese Damme traten, star- Nordvietnams aber hatte derartige .Kon-Welche Erklarungen f ben mindestens eine Million Menschen fllkte wahrscheinlich heraufbescfiworen.Waldheim forderte die USA auf, die^.'" den Fluten, wurdenStralien und Eisen- Deshalb blieben die Bombardements

Bombardierung von Dammen und Dei- bahnlinien auf Jahre hinaiis vcrnichtet, gegen Nordv.elnarn auremon strengthen in Nordvietnam einzustellen. •E. gingen Stadte und Dorfer dutzendweise "b,elTa.f'?" tjS* °,S M° h I J?tsetzte hlnzu, daB er uber private Kanale in,der Sintflut unter. . schrankt, deshalb unlerbheb auch s,ebenvon solchen Bombardierungen erfahren Jahre lang jede Zerstorung oder Ver-

Einzelhandel 5615 05

habp- und auf Befraepn mpinfe er er Es ist eigentlich erstaunlich, da& ein minung der nordvietnamesischen Hafen,Eonn'e nict sagen ^b d'sT B^mben- , d' **} solcher Vernichtung ' durch in denen, stels sowjetische und chine-angriffe beabsichtigt ocler unbeabsichtigt ^uftangnffe jederzeit preisgegeben wer- s.sche Sch.ffe lagen.erfolgten. f" jf"n' ,es «e*a« £"• n

e'ne" All dies hat sich am 1. Mai dieses

In einer folgenden Unterredung mit gffi"£ ^ H^nofke. n Ste *Jl5 S /ls^T"1 - ^^dem US-Botschafter Bush diirfte Wald- Risiko einzugehen:'Die totale Vernich- **"**• "ordv.etnames.sche D.vis.onenheim . uberzeugt worden sein, daS es lung, und die Beseitigung des • kommu- p/-\BTQPT7l iKlf A11C CCITP 9keine absichtlichen Bombardierungen nistischen Regimes war nach dem Ver- HJH_1 oc I A.UINU _ AUr ^tzl 1 c <f

aaii er jcoc tmigung mir aemim spanlschen Exil lebenden.Exdiktator ablehne.

Mit diescr Erklarung ba-statigte Lanusse, daS sein Ver-such, im Hinblidc auf die furden Marz des kommendenJahres angekiindlgten Wahleneine »groKe nationale Ober-einkunft* mit den Peronistenzu treffen, gescheitert ist

Diese Obereinkunft hattenach dem Willen Lanusses da-zu fuhren sollen, daS Peronfur den Preis seiner person-lichen Rehabilitierung auf eineKandidatur verzichtet. Damitwar jedoch Peron, dem dieRuckkehr nach Argentinien be-'reits zugesichert wurde, nichteinverstanden.

Samstag, 29. Jull 1972 p4. Runda Ausschnltt 7

I•| Ausschnolden und aul den Vordruckt kleben. ElnsendeschluB: Mlttwoch, .

'\2 August 1972 Naheres Sells 19/£ -wnf mlKl: i. "f^tyy ' "J IffHW.fll'umMj "^

zum^V^?S

. PQUTIK

Waldheimund NixonFORTSETZUNG VON SEITE 1

zu einer regelrechten Invasion Siid-vietnams an, noch dazu in einem Zeit-punkt, da sich die Amerikaner bereitsin vollem RiJckzug aus SiJdvietnam be-fanden. Hatten sich die USA weiterhinso verhalten wie bisher, so ware denNordvietnamesen ein ieichter Sieg sichergewe,sen. President Nixon aber antwor-tete mil der Verletzungbisheriger Tabus:Die Hafen Nordvietnams wurden erst-mals vermint, die Luftbombardementswiederaufgenommen und mit noch niedagewesener Inten^itat gefijhrt.

Weder die Sowjetunion noch Chinagriffen zu RepressaNen. Im Gegenteil -Nixon wurde gleich clanach mit alienEhren in Moskau empfangen, HenryKissinger konnte einen weiteren Besuchin Peking absolvieren. Audi die offent-Iche Meinung in der Welt reagierte ahn-lich: Hatte bis dahin jede Eskalation imVietnamkrieg ungeheure Protestwellenausgelost, so blieb es jetzt bei kleinenEmzelprotesten gegen die USA.

Hanoi muftte wohl erkennen, daft esdurch seine eigene Offensive vieleSympathien und sogar einen wesent-lichen Teil der Unterstutzung seinerBundesgenossen Sowjetunion und Chinaverloien hatte.

Man kann sich denken, daS sich dieNordvietnamesen nun auch die Fragestellen muftten, ob die USA bei der sichselbst auferlegten Beschrankung derKriegsaktionen bleiben wurden. Wiehaltbar war der Mechanismus noch -keine Vernichtung Nordvietnams, wellAmerika sich vor sowjetischen und chi-nesischen Interventionen fiirchtete?

Die US-Regierung erklarte zwar weiter-hin, da!5 sie keine zivilen Ziele absicht-lich bombardieren werde, aber derBombenhagel ist schon so dicht und dieIsolation Hanois in der Welt schon sogrols, daft man die Sorge der Nordviet-namesen verstehen kann. Nichts aberhatten sie mehr zu furchten, als die Zer-storung der Damme und Deiche - selbstAtombomben hatten kaum eine ver-heerendere Wirkung.

Diese Furcht wird offenbar noch ge-steigert durch die auch von PresidentNixon zugegebene Tatsache, dad ameri-konische Bomben bereits auf [peiche undDj.-pme fielen. Unabsichilich, \vie Nixo^meint. Aber es ist klar, daft Hanoi nunin einer internationalen Kampagne ver-sucht, zwei Zle.ie,.T2u-..-.ecreichen: dervverebbten Protest gegen die USA wiederanzuschuren und damit gleichzeitigeiner tatsachlichen Bombardierung derDeiche und Damme vorzubeugen.

Nur ein Teil dieser Kampagne ist alsoPropaganda - die Behauptung, solcheBombardierungen wurden bereits ingroftem Stil und mit voller Absicht durch-pefiihrt; der andere Teil entspringt echterFurcht und dem Wunsch nach Vor-beugung.

__ Nun zu Waldheim: Er ist der Propa-ganda bestimmt nicht naiv und leichr-glaubig aufpeses?en; er hat sich hoch-

UNO

Wirnit libheimanlagespalerwohlmNixonsPropagund na

Ostenister,von seWienseinem

lichen i en ">-•Bundeseenossen Sowjetunion und China i » ;.4X

vcrloien hatte. J ' ^ 'Man kann sich denken, daB sich die

N'ordvietnamesen nun auch die Fragestellen muftten, ob die USA bei der sichselbst auferleglen Beschrankung derKriegsaktionen bleiben wurden. Wiehaltbar war der Mechanismus noch -keine Vernichtung Nordvietnams, weilAmerika sich vor sowjetischen und chi-nesischen Interventionen fiirchtete?

Die US-Regierung erklarte zwarweiter-hin, daft sie keine zivilen Ziele absicht-lich bombardieren werde, aber derBombenhagel ist schon so dicht und dieIsolation hianois in der Welt schon sogrofs, daft man die Sorge der Nordviet-namesen verstehen kann. Nichts aberbatten sie mehr zu furchten, als die Zer-storung der Darnme und Deiche - selbstAtombomben hatten kaum eine ver-heerendere Wirkung.

Diese Furcht vvird offenbar noch ge-sfeigert durch die auch von PresidentNixon zugegebene Tatsache, daft ameri-kanische Bomben bereits auf tyeiche undO^rnme ficlen.. Unabsiehtlich, 'wie NixoiYmeint. Aber es ist klar, daK Hanoi nunin einer internationalen Kampagne ver- .

. sucht, zwei Z-ie.le;~£U;s-e0e..ichen: den- | Sliirnf!verebbten Protest gegen die USA wiederanzuschijren und . damit gleichzeitigeiner tatsachlichen Bombardierung derDeiche und Damme vorzubeugen.

Nur ein Teil dieser Kampagne ist alsoPropaganda - die Behauptung, solcheBombardierungen wiirden bereits ingroftern Stil und mil voller Absicht durch-gefiihrt; der andere Teil entspringt echterFurcht und dem Wunsch nach Vor-beugung.

— Nun zu Waldheim: Er ist der Propaganda bestimmt nicht naiv und leichrglaubig aufgesessen; er hat sich hochstens zum Sprecher der Fuicht Hanoisgemacht. Eine Furcht iibrigens, die vonvielen auch absolut amikommunistischenProminenten der Welt geteilt wird. Esist durchaus das Recht, ia die Pflichteines UNO-Ceneralsekretars, vor Handlungen zu warnen, die zu einer verheerenden Katastrophe fuhren konnten

Bleibt der Vorwurf, daft der Generalsekretar die Aggression und das Zerstorungswerk der Nordvietnamesen - dievorher da waren - nicht ebenfalls ver-urteilt habe. Hatte er es getan, ware seinerster Ordnungsruf in Sachen Vietnamgegen die Kommunisten gerichtet ge-wesen. Die Kritik, die jetzt von den USAkommt, hatte Waldheim vom Ostblockeinstecken mijssen. Es spricht fiir die

\ USA, daS Waldheim semen ersten Vor-I stoPs gegen die US-Regierung richtete:| Von ihr namlich kann er erwarten, daft

sie zwar protestiert, aber daS sie dieSache nicht zu einer Krise in der UNOund zu einer dauernden Verstimmungmit dem Ceneralsekretar auswachsen las-sen wird.

Mit diesem Ordnungsruf aber hat sichWaldheim - wir sagten es schon einmal- die Moglichkeit verschafft, kunftig auchdie andere Seite zu kritisieren.

Man kann nur fur Waldheim hoffen,dall er es auch tun wird. Sein Vor-ganger U Thant ist all die Jahre don Wegdes geringslen Widerstandes gegangen -

i und der ergibt sich aus der UNO-: Arithmetik: Ostblock plus afro-asiati-i scher Block ist gleich Zweidrittelmehr-\ he\l. Der Westen kam stets zu kurz.i Nachsatz: Immerhin hat Waldheimsi Appell zu einer besonderen Versicherungi Nixons gefuhrt, die Damme und Deiche• auch kunftig nicht zu bombardieren und

damit eine menschliche KalastrophegroSten AusmaRes zu vermeiden.

Exklusiv-Kindergartenan der Alten Donau

Neueroffnung am 1. September" ..l,.,r,f I H-

THE NEW YORK POST, FRIDAY, 28 JULY 19?2months into his five-year Washington reacted quick- the U. S. is legally obligate,term, would be persona non ly and bluntly to the state-to pay this amount The Mgrata at the White House, j ment, which hit a sensitive'issue to be coSereS b

Kurt Waldheim has never nerve in Nixon's election'the Congressional conferenobeen a favorite in Washing- str*tefy- Committee is thus whetheton, but it was a bitter irony u- fa- Ambassador George'the U. S. should default 01that he, of all persons, should Busn rushed to meet Wald- jts fiscal obligationarouse such hostility from,116™' and -both emerged; Despite these difficultiesthe Chief Executive of a su-| f?^ that relations between'one Ulsr official shrugged an<

By MICHAEL J. BERLINKurt Waldheim drove

back to the UN as the sunwas setting. He climbedgrimly out of his limousine,uttering an unsmiling stringof "no comments" to ques-

. tions about the verbal at-tack launched against him byPresident Nixon, and '-wentup to his office on the ,38thfloor. 1

It should have been a smil-ing day for the tall, thinAustrian diplomat who tookover the UN's reins fromU Thant in January. Earlyin 'the afternoon there hadbeen a ceremony for thesigning over of the million-dollar Button PI. townhousedonated for his use byArthur Houghton Jr. Thenthe Secretary General haddriven out to the country toinspect a house picked outby his wife for use as aweekend retreat.

But on the way, the. hewsfrom Washington reachedthe UN.

President Nixon, at animpromptu White Housepress, conference, had beenasked about the bombing ofNorth Vietnamese dikes andhad lashed out Waldheim,saying:

"I think it is time to stripaway the double standard.Unwelcome at White House

"I noted with interest thatthe Secretary General of theUN, just like his predecessor,seized upon this enemy-inspired propaganda, whichhas taken in many well-intentioned and naive people,to attack the American bomb-ing of civilian installationsand risking of civilian livesand yet not raising one wordagainst the deliberate bomb-ing of civilian installationsin South Vietnam."

With those words came thefinal realization that the 'new^Secretary General, just seven

perpower.When the Austrian ran forl

office, he was described asa diplomat who, as chairmanof the UN Space Committee,never ventured an opinionuntil he was sure it wasshared by both the U. S. andSoviet Union.

In his first weeks as Sec-retary Genera], he made apilgrimage to Washingtonand emerged from the WhiteHouse saying that the Presi-dent had expressed supportfor both him and the UN.The White House issued nocomment on the visit.

Nixon was known as a manwho had little use for theUN as a political mechanism,!and tensions grew betweenhis Administration and theworld institution over UNfinances, the American de-feat suffered with the ousterof Nationalist China, andCongressional action to im-port Rhodesian chrome in theface of a UN economic em-

• House."P e r h a p s, he

'Waldheim and the UN

Reports UnverifiedOn Monday, Waldheim re-

turned from a long Europeantrip during which he hadvisited Geneva, Vienna, Po-land and the Soviet Union,and told a" press conferencethat he had received reportsfrom "private channels" inHanoi of U. S. bombing ofNorth Vietnam's dikes.

He said he had no way ofverifying the reports, and noindication of whether thedikes had been hit intention-ally. But, he said, "if thoseallegations were correct, anda number of reports cameforth in. this respect, I deeplydeplore such bombings andappeal for a stop to them,because if the dikes weredestroyed it would mean1

enormous disaster for thepopulation of that area, andI think we all wish that to!be avoided."

s$ys$^££^&'•-*«?* ™ --™h ithe reports of the dike-bomb-?6 ^'n*<Lm Washington,'j he said. "There was no pros

" ,,, . ., " _T _. pect of good will in the WhiteWaldheim said the U. S.jhad "misunderstood" his re-marks, and Bush said he,respected Waldheim as a , .. , ..•man motivated by a "restlessn™ ** able to dlgest

quest for peace," in Vietnam/ y'Today, in the wake of

Nixon's charge that Wald-heim was seizing the chanceto take an anti-Americanstand on Vietnam, the Secre-tary General's closest ad-visors were both bitter andfrustrated "Above all, Wald-heim has been evenhanded,"one said.Clarification Needed

Another aide maintainedthat "it is a misunderstanding which has to be clarified.Nixon talks of things that arequite different from whatWaldheim said. If the Presi-dent hadn't named Waldheim,you wouldn't know it was theSecretary General to whomhe was referring."

Both Nixon and Secretaryof State Rogers, for example,spoke of an accusation of "in-tentional" bombing of thedikes — while Waldheimpointedly withheld makingany charge of intent.

But while UN officials hopefor a "clarification" that willrepair relations b e t w e e nWashington and the UN, theyrealize that events are head-ing in the opposite direction.

Today, the UN SecurityCouncil meets to considerRhodesia. And one of theprime objectives of the exer-cise will be to hit the U. S.over the head for violatingUN sanctions against importsof Rhodesian chrome.

And in Washington, aHouse-Senate c o n f e r e n c ecommittee is considering abill that would limit U. S.payments of annual UN duesto 25 per cent of the UNbudget. The UN currentlyassesses the U. S. at a 315per cent rate, based onAmerican ability to pay, and

THE NEW YORK TIMES, VEENSSDAY, 26 JULY 1972

EDIT ORIAL

Hanoi's Choice ... Washington's EvasionWhat Is probably the last round of'.the Paris peace

talks prior to the American Presidential election . is'now under way with the resumption of private meet-ings between Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese'Politburo member Le Due Tho. '

The Issues are clearly drawn. President Nixon hasoffered a military settlement—a cease-fire, followedby release of American prisoners of war and withdrawalof all American troops in four months—leaving thepolitical Issue of South Vietnam's future governmentto be settled among' Vietnamese. Alternatively, he isprepared to discuss a political settlement, ruling out inadvance only the "imposition" of a pro-Communist co-.alit Jon'government by the United States.

• Hanoi heretofore has insisted on a political settlementfirst, while refusing to= negotiate it. with Saigon unlessPresident ,Thieu resigns and a new'government that itdislikes' less is installed there. But at least, two hints,of possible flexibility have now been lofted.

A possible willingness to separate the military fromthe political settlement was hinted in the Hanoi state-ment that political issues could be divided into "twoaspects." One, a halt in American support of the ThieuGovernment, was Washington's "responsibility." But thenext stage of arranging a replacement government couldbo worked out among Vietnamese alone.

. The, demand for a halt in American support of theThieu Government presumably raises the question ofmilitary and economic aid. An aid halt has long beenpart of Hanoi's demand for "total" j^merican withdrawaland Mr. Kissinger has indicated that this is negotiable.

The other hint of possible Communist flexibility camein a statement last week by Madame BInh, the Vlet-cong negotiator, that suggested less "rigidity on a politicalsettlement. Some observers see. a possible effort toexplore a middle ground between the Communist demandfor immediate removal of President Thieu and the forma-tion of -a coalition government, and President Nixon'sJanuary announcement that General Thieu had offeredto resign one month before general elections conductedby mixed Saigon-Communist-neutralist electoral com-missions. , '.. - . . •

What is not known :yet is whether these hints, madepublicly, are open for examination in the private' talks"or have just been advanced for propaganda, something-''that has happened in' the past. Once Hanoi takes a deci-sion to negotiate a settlement, it should be possible todevise formulas, to reconcile the differences.

In Its response to Secretary General VWaMheim'sappeal not to bomb the dikes of Northv Vietnam, the'United States Government has distorted and/evaded themain Issue.

Dismissing as mere propaganda widespread reportsthat the dikes are being bombed,' Secretary of StateRogers announced- that .jie.-'had"Instructed Ambassador:

. Bush to point but to'Mr." Waldheun that "the information;that he has,received concerning alleged deliberate bombr'Ing to damage the dikes/; in North Vietnam is false."

The Secretary General in fact had taken pains to makeclear to a news conference Monday that he was notaccusing the United States of deliberately bombingHanoi's vital and highly .vulnerable; flood cpntrol"net-work. '1 cannot tell you wn'ether.the"bombing-was inten-tional or not," Mr. "Waldheini said in'response to aquestion. But he added that he Had received "private andunofficial" information from Hanoi "that-the dikes were;

bombed and also the nearby areas causing cracks in thedams and producing the same results as if the dikeswere bombed directly."

President Nixon himself said last month that bombingthe dikes could cause "extraordinary" civilian casualties.He said then: "We have orders out not to hit dikes."But American officials have since said only'that thedikes are not being "deliberately" targeted. Some offi-cials have conceded that some dikes might'have beenhit '"inadvertently" during the continuing heavy Amer-ican bombing of the north, as a'number of Westernreporters and diplomats posted in Hanoi have reported.

. Echoing the recent plea of Dr. Eugene Carson Blake,secretary general of the World Council of Churches,Secretary General Waldheirri said: "I am'.deeply con-cerned about this development and I appeal to stop thiskind of bombing which could lead to enormous humansuffering, enormous disaster." . . .

This humane appeal from the official spokesman otthe international community deserves a more forthrightresponse from the United States Government,- .;

TH3 KriW YORK POST, VSDN^DAY,, 26 JULY 19?2

EDITORIAL

Damn Those DikesThe response .to UN Secretary

General Kurt Waldheim's plea on thebombing of North Vietnamese dikes—"which could lead to enormous humansuffering, enormous disaster"—hasbeen both hot-headed and heavy-handed. Secretary of State William P.Rogers, who has been losing more andmore of his mild manners lately, firedback with the words "false" and"falsehood" and an . unstatesmanlike:"We cannot consider helpful any publicstatements giving further currency tothese reports." White House presssecretary Ronald L. Ziegler whippedout the theme of North Vietnamese"propaganda," despite mounting eye-witness confirmation of the bombingsby columnist Joseph Kraft—no parti-cular friend of the North Vietnamese—and other journalists and diplomats of

"several nations. And George Bush, Mr.Nixon's man at the UN, rushed up from

Washington to try to sell the propa-ganda theory to Waldheim. He didn'tsucceed.

Mr. Waldheim's own statements havebeen contrastingly measured and quali-fied, with admission that he cannot yetpersonally verify the bombings he hasheard of through "private contacts"and that some of the destruction maybe unplanned though "the nearbybombing causes cracking of the earthof the dams and ... in this way theresult is the same."

It says much for the insensitivityof those who think they are "windingdown" this war through the massivebombing of a tiny land of yellowpeasants that they react with suchfrenzy to the mere fact of the SecretaryGeneral's speaking out, speaking hismind, his conscience^ May the time comewhen the conscience of America willforce an end to the slaughter of Asians.

ifi CHRISTIAN; SCIENCE MONITOR, WSDNISSDAY, 26 JULY 1972EDITORIAL

On bombingThe differences between the American

Government and the Secretariat of theUnited Nations over the bombing of NorthVietnam are symptomatic of a basic dif-ference between Americans and mostother people in the world over bombing.

Americans have never been bombed intheir homes. Most other people in theworld know what it is like to have sud-den destruction descend from the skies.Kurt Waldheim is a European. ..Thememory is still vivid in all Europe of thebombs which wrecked many of the greatcities of Europe during World War II.

Mr. Waldheim speaks as Secretary-General of the United Nations and as aEuropean when he protests against Amer-ican bombs which sometimes, admittedly,do hit the dikes in North Vietnam whichcontain the rice paddies and thus sustainthe food supply of the plain people of thatcountry.

Washington promptly retorts that he hasbeen duped by the North Vietnamese intotaking up a public position which couldhamper the military operations whichPresident' Nixon is conducting in retalia-tion for the major offensive which NorthVietnam has launched into South Viet-nam.

There is no common ground betweenthese two positions and these two pointsof view. Americans are more willing touse the bombing weapon than are Euro-peans because Americans have never yetbeen on the receiving end of this weapon.Europeans are highly suspicious of themotives of anyone who uses bombs, andalso skeptical- of the military effectivenessof bombs. They have seen bombs increasethe will to resistance of a people. Theyknow the anger which wells up amongsurvivors.

We cannot know that every Americanpilot sent on a bombing mission overNorth .Vietnam is scrupulously carefulto avoid hitting.'anything but lines ofsupply and weapons aimed at him. Thereis the unfortunate case of General Lavellewho admits he deliberately engaged inbombing against orders. We do know thatPresident Nixon has authorized only thebombing of supply lines and weapons.

• As for any bombing of North Vietnam,

there is still a substantial part of themain Army of North Vietnam in thesouth. The great offensive seems to bereceding now, but there was a majoroffensive and it probably very nearlyachieved a decisive military success. Mr.Nixon felt entitled to answer that offen-sive by trying to isolate the battlefieldfrom its accustomed sources of supply.

He mined the harbor of Haiphong,which seems to have stopped almost allmovement of supplies into North Viet-nam by sea. He authorized the bombingof the rail and road lines coming downfrom China in an effort to cut down thesupplies coming overland. It has beenpartially successful. In view of the sizeand weight and near success of the off en-;

sive the response was as justified as any-thing is in war. It was an available, par-tial answer to a major act of war.

But the outside world will inevitably beskeptical. Some civilians are bound to behurt by any bombing. Some dikes haveadmittedly been hit. -The argument is that

.the bomb was aimed at the road or anti-aircraft battery sitting on the dike."

For all such reasons any bombing byAmericans becomes bad publicity for theUnited States everywhere else in theworld. And there is a good deal of evi-dence that bombing increases the will tofight among the North Vietnamese people.

There is always a question whether themilitary results of the bombing equalthe damage done to the one who bombs.Strategic bombing in World War II wasfound, after the war, to have been themost expensive and least productive wayof waging war. The same blood and trea-sure put into other weapons would havehad more military effect.

Hence we urge on the White House theutmost restraint in the bombing. Mr.1Nixon is entitled to try to stop train loadsof guns and ammunition, but he shouldbe as sparing as possible in the methodsused to that end because his motives aregoing to be misunderstood among friendsabroad as well as by unfriends. -Andbombing is'at best a marginal advantage,to the user. He should, of course, end all'bombing just as soon as he thinks hesafely can.

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, WEDNESDAY, 26 JULY 1972

By the Associated Press•' United Nations, N.Y.:

The United States has sharply warned UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheimagainst spreading reports of U.S. bombings of dikes in North Vietnam. ' .

Mr. Waldheim, while saying he could not verify the reports, replied that he;thought "it was his duty to speak out on the devastating consequences whichmight result" from either intentional or unintentional bombing of the flood--control system along the Bed River in North Vietnam.

A storm between the United States and Mr. Waldheim developed July 24 after.'the Secretary-General told a news conference he had "private unofficial" reportsvia Hanoi of the bombing of the dikes. He appealed to the United States to stop.

Secretary of State William P. Rogers protested in Washington and sentAmbassador George Bush to put the U.S. position personally to Mr. Waldheim. «

After his one-hour meeting with Waldheim, Ambassador Bush told reporters he.;was convinced the Secretary-General did not want to give credibility to what Mr.Bush called a massive North Vietnamese propaganda campaign.

Mr. Waldheim told the news conference: "Through private unofficial channels'... we were informed that the dikes are being bombed..." • -

The Secretary-General said he did not know whether the bombing wasintentional, and he admitted: "This is Hanoi information."

Mr. Rogers said in a statement that Mr. Waldheirn's information "concerningalleged deliberate bombing to damage the dikes in North Vietnam is false — as'the President stated in his June 29 press conference."

After his conference with Mr. Waldheim, Ambassador Bush told newsmen theSecretary-General meant to say that if the dikes were being bombed, "it ought toStop." • . , / . . - . . . . - - . .- ; . . - '

NEW YORK POST, WiTOiiSDAY, 26 JULY 1972

Is Making

WASHINGTON (WP) —The White House has ac-knowledged with exaspera-tion that North Vietnam Isachieving "some success" inits world c a m p a i g n ofcharges that the U. S. is de--liberately bombing its dikes.

"Without question there is.a propaganda effort thatthey are working very hard 'on and with some sucess,"Presidential press secretaryRonald L>. Ziegler said yes-terday. He again denied thatthe U. S. is "purposely under- .taking a policy of bombingdikes," as North Vietnamcharges.

"Our bombing police has jbeen spelled out," Ziegler |said. "We have never had a |policy of bombing dams and jdikes. We have a policy ofnot hitting dams and dikes."

Ziegler was responding toreporters' questions aboutthe unusually sharp languageused the day before in astatement by Secretary ofState Rogers criticizing com-ments made by UN SecretaryGeneral Kurt Waldheim.The Waldheim Statement• The UN chief said he had-received information throughprivate channels that Ameri-can planes were bombingN o r t h Vietnamese dikes.Rogers replied that all claimsthat the U. S. is engaged in""deliberate b o m b i n g " ofdikes are "false."

At the Defense Dept yes-terday, spokesman Jerry W.Friedhiem also assailed whatihe ca l led "Hanoi's propa-ganda campaign." Re repeat-ed that U. S. bombing is di-rected only against "militarytargets."

Defense Secretary Lairdsaid on July 17: "There areoccasions . . . when a damor dike could possibly be hit

. when an anti-aircaft installa-tion is placed on a dam ordike or when there is a road-way or a bridgework that isalso tiedd in with a dam ordike formation."

But Lair also said at thetime .that there was "no tar-geting of dikes or dams" inNorth Vietnam.

THE WASHINGTON POST, WEDNESDAY, 26 JULY 1972

Hanoi Voice

U,So Admits-The White House acknowl-

edged yesterday that NorthVietnam is achieving "somesuccess" in spreading chargesaround the world that theUnited States is deliberatelybombing its dikes.

"Without question there isa propaganda effort 'that theyare working very hard on and,with some success," said presssecretary Ronald L. Ziegler.He again denied that the Unit-ed States is "purposely under-taking a policy of bombing thedikes," as North Vietnamcharges.

"Our bombing policy hasibeen spelled out," said Zieg-;Ier: "We have never had a pol-icy of bombing dams and dikes.We have a policy or riot hitting.;dams and dikes."

Ziegler was responding tonewsmen's questions about theunusually sharp language.usedthe day before in a statementby Secretary of State William•P. Rogers criticizing com-ments made by United NationsSecretary General Kurt Wald-heim. The U.N: chief had saidhe r e c e i v e d informationthrough private channels, thatAmerican air attacks on NorthVietnam are hitting dikes.Rogers replied that all claimsthat the United Spates is en--gaged in' "deliberate bomb-ing" of dikes are "false."

At the Defense Departmentyesterday, spokesman JerryW. Friedheim also assailedwhat he called "Hanoi's prop-aganda campaign." He re-'peated that U.S. bombing'isdirected only against "militarytargets." When reporters ask-ed if American planes fire attargets on dikes, Friedheimreplied. "If a U.S. plane isattacked it will respond toprotect itself."

On July 17, Defense Secre-tary Melvin R. Laird said,"There are occasions ... whena dam or dike could possiblybe hit when an anti-aircraftinstallation is placed on. adam or dike or when there isa roadway or a bridge workthat is also tied in with a damor dike formation." But Lairdsaid there is "no targeting ofdikes or dams in North Viei>nam."

Von HEINZ'BARTHWashington • . '•—/•tint AValdheim fond in Washington'JA.Gine.' • beiont en-tgegenkom'mendaAnj'fnahme, als er vorJges Ja'hr niit so- •wjetisohev Unjterstutzung" .?n.;m Gohsral-BckretiU- der Vereinfcn Watione-a raidNachfolger cles uKistriitenen und rajti-we.sW.ichsn Burmaiien U Tfanrtt cev/ivhlt•wuwls. Bio Kujon-Regiorunrt'pl-iht inde'r Tatsache, dnfi- der gcfictjiiasidisoOstGrreie-her j-stzt don Apparat o'erW^ltcrganisation ieitet, aucii hsiue nochcineti gewi=seft For'ft-liritt im Vcr^loich>v.i dem Zustand. in dern eich die- UNObis vor oin-em Jahr bsfand.. .-• ~. '. ,

Aber d'iG einsoitlgc-n. Ei-';Ianiri;5en, rrdtdcnen V/ald'heim je'ist, kur?; nach ceinerRiiclckehr nus Moslcau, auf oiner Pres-

dc-n Vereini'gteii Staatan dieSyslematische Bombardierun'g nord-

her Dammeimd Talsperrenvor\varf, liaben. im State Dcpaiamont

c3 Eefremrtcn. a-uagelos';. DerTJWO-Gsnaralsekretiir beri-sf cich dabai

,,priv-LitG -jnd nicht oiSixiella" Qucl-Isn. Es Vv'ird Zeit, dem ob&rs-ten TJl-IO-

' Chef m filler Offemhcit zu sagen, dafl esnic7.it seines Arn-tes ist, in einer so h^ik-len. intern-a'iona-len.Fi-age, in dor Hanoifi-Jle Minen seines' anti-amerikanisclisnPropagandafcldzugos springen lafit, vor-schij&llc Urtcilo 7.u fallen.

.Die amsrikahische Rcgienmg hatdonn aucb nri'it einer Scharfe reagi-ert,wio man sic hoi ihr bei o'pr Behandlungdcr Voi'ointon Nr.tionm n-'chi oinm-al inden Tajon U Thants cilebt hatte.A-uBonmiivisfp.v Honors nannte (is ,,\vreiiigliilfreicli".' da/3" der GeneraJsekretar dieA-iii.orita'f. f.?iner Position fur unglaub*v.-iirdirje und-nicht nachncpriiitR Serieliteeir.Eetzt. ,,D;o Untors ic ' lungen, die sichV.'aJdhcitn 211 eigon inachto", sagte derMiniE'er, ..sind Teil ciner von Nord-

und seincn Parleigangernpnplantcn Kampngne'''.

Bishor hat Hanoi noch koinan Boweisfiir E-sine Bfthauntu.r.gcn crbracht. ,,ALISdcm, \vas ich gasshsn habe, inuBichden

EchluB ziohcn, daB os koine g^atemail-coh.^ JBcm.'oardirjrai'i.T von 'J alKpcrrcli^tu"cri~ST!iiSSinsrt;5iriicDen hn"', benchtelaJosc-ph Kraft, der alles anrlerc- als Ki- !:rpn-freundiicho Koliimnist. der auf Ein-ladun.3 Hanois gejjeuAvJirtig Nordviet- :narn bareist, in'llunclerton von ameri- :

Ir.'iniselien Blattern. Nnch seiner Bcob-aohtnn-S cind !c6i.n2ich oiur.elns TrefferCescii Briiclien, Bahnlinion un:d StraR<-;;ifastsustsllen, die in dor jN'aho von Tal-sparraa odt-r DJimr.icn lie»fjn. ,,Es is-tnicht ubcrraEchen-d". iiigt Kraft hirtzu,..daB d:3 Nordvictiiamsren e:n Protest-GSheulocrJiefeen. Sic lioi'fen oifensicht-lich, damit das Weltgewisscn, beson.dersaber das Gev/issen Amorikas, aufeu- .v-'isgeln." Wemi das cin amorikanischerJournalist nus Hanoi rneldca dai'f, ohncdaB ihn das hotnmunisMsche Regimedaran -hindert, \viirn PS die Pflicht desUMO-G&iiei%alsekreii1rs cewosen, fich^§najuefzn_in|-ormioren. bcvor er denVei'eaiisien Staaten die ?b,FigtilK;heZsrsionung dc-r Dira_njjiji^c^jJ:tu

\Ea~'^fdl^oifin3efmrawbTr::ixraB* vonNaivitat .clar.ii, nicht erkannon KU v.-ollen,daB \Valdheiin Eich zu cinem Instrumentdss Nervenkriegs gemaclit hat, mil demNordvictnam die of'en.tlichc Mountingiiinorhalib und auBcrhalb Amerikas ::u!seine Seite zu bringcn such'. Essollte nicht die Aufgabo eines in'oi-na-t ion a! en Beam fen vom fiance \Va!d.-heims sein. sich zum Kl;ini-.i.p;&n V/erk- ;zeu-gdioser Strategic zu crnioclrigen.

J3er Goneralse'cretar rnh sicli zu einer.kia'rendcn." Stellungnahmo genotigt, in;er er zugab, dafi er seina Bobai.iptungen.licht beweisen kann. Koino Halfuns.vird nicht gerade zur Verhe?,:crung des>hnehin gespanntnn Verhtiltnisses dorVereim-gten Staaten zur OTTO bcitragen.Man vviirde sich nicht •\vindorn, \vennder KongreB nach don jungsten. Erfah-rungen mit Waldbeiin seine Drohnng

'\vahr maclien sollte. die fiirri.enEestpnddor Weliorganisation ]ebonswicht:genamerikanischen Zuschiisre (31,35 J""ro-zent dcs UKO-Etrjts), drnfdsch KU ki;'1-zon.

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THE WASHINGTON POST, TUESDAY, 25 JUlJ 1972

U.N.Cliie£Says U.S.

Special to The Washington Post

UNITED NATIONS, July24—U.N. . Secretary General

} Kurt Waldheim said today;that he had "private and unof-; ficial" information from Hanoif that the U.S. was bombing thei dikes of North Vietnam—andappealed to Washington to

. stop it. . .'. _ .'. . . . . . . ,,-... Without directly challenging[the Nixon administration pqsi-. tion that the U.S. is avoidingdeliberate targeting intendedto damage the dikes, Wal-dheim cited reports of dam-age, intentional or-not.

He appealed to the U.S. to."avoid this kind of action,which could lead to enormousdisaster and enormous humansuffering. Thousands andthousands of persons woulddie. This has to be avoided."

; The secretary general's.statement, made at a pressconference here on the day ofhis return to work after athree-week trip to Geneva, Vi-enna, Poland and the SovietUnion, touched a nerve of ex-'treme sensitivity in Washing-ton.

Secretary of State Rogersreacted with a statement that"we cannot consider helpfulany public statements givingfurther currency to these re-•ports." -. . •

U.N. Ambassador GeorgeBush, who was in Washington

i todayi :flew' back on Instruc-! uons from Rogers to meetWaldheim this' evening. Hog-ers said Bush would point out"again" that "the informationWaldheim has received re-aarding alleged deliberatebombing to damage dikes inNorth Vietnam is false, as thePresident said in his June 29

The allegations, said Rogers,are "part of a carefullyplanned campaign by NorthVietnam and its supporters togive worldwide circulation tothis falsehood."

State Department - spokes-

had seen Waldheim before hisdeparture for Moscow andtold him that it was. not U.S.policy to damage the dike sys-tem deliberately.

"wnat we're being subjectedto," said Bray, "is a classic andneatly executed propagandacampaign which, interestinglyenough, is greatly mutedwithin North Vietnam itself."

Bray said that in North Viet-nam the major thrust of infor-mation given to the publicconcerns the need to repairdamage done to the dikes dur-ing last year's heavy flooding.

Waldheim, in his press con-iference, was careful to dis-1claim any information thatbomb damage to the dikes was"intentional." Intentional ornot, he said, his formationfrom "private channels to Ha-noi—and this is Hanoi infor-mation—is that dikes werebombed, and also explosions

:aused cracks in theand produced the same

as if the dikes werebombed directly."

Waldheim's statement, even

if it is not regarded by Wash-ington as a challenge to Nixonadministration credibility, isstill viewed as an attack onthose actions the UnitedStates admits that it is taking—sorties against military tar-gets on or near the North Vi-etnamese complex of dikes.

As such, it is regarded bydiplomats here, includingAmericans, as sure to damagethe already tense relationshipbetween Washington and theUnited Nations. -Referring to thecongressional threat to cutU.S. contributions to the U.N.budget to 25 per cent, oneWestern diplomat suggestedthat "now the U.N. will belucky if Washington gives 12.5per cent." r

Waldheim said he had beentold'' of the attacks on thedikes at the end of June, be-fore his trip- The information,he said, came from "privatecontacts through unofficialchannels to Hanoi." - :• . . ,

At that time, he said, he pri-vately informed Washingtonof the charges, and was told,presumably in his meetingwith Bush, "that this is notcorrect, and that the U.S. didgive instructions to avoidbombing of dikes." This wasthe same position taken byPresident Nixon at his June 29press conference.

But in Geneva early thismonth, Waldheim said, he re-ceived additional informationfrom his Hanoi contacts, andfrom Dr. Eugene Carson Blakehead of the World Council ofChurches, "confirming" thebombing of the dikes.

"If the allegations are cor-rect, and a number of informa-tions have come forth in thisrespect, I 'deeply deplore suchbombings and I appeal to stopit," Waldheim said-

THE NEW YORK TIMES, TUESDAY, 25 JULY 1972

^Dikes HitfWaldheimSays; \Rogers Quickly Denies It\

By ROBERT ALDEN, Special to Tb< New Tori Tlam • , ... • :..

UNITED NATIONS, N.Y., July . A spokesman for the United24 — Secretary General. Wald- Nations said that the Secretaryheim and Secretary of State! General was "deeplyWilliam P. Rogers clashed to-'-day over charges that theUnited States bombing had in-tentionally damaged dikes inNorth Vietnam.

Earlier in the day Mr. Wald-

During his hom» leave Inj

• • r _ ,• | \JU^lK>f W O.i> VYIUC1V UULPLT2U 111 i

pied especially from a humam- Swedish newspaperss as saying!.tarian point of view with put- that United States attacks on]ting an end to the hostilities in the dikes were intentional,all of, Vietnam." "I appeal to stop this bomb-1

"The Secretary General is>f>" , *« Secretary General* ft Irt "VvArtHllFA l£ +J-k A A tlr/so n »A

naturally concerned," th said,. "because if the dikes aredestroyed it would mean an

, "I am(about this development,"

heim said he had received word' spokesman said, "by the con- enormous disaster for the pop-through private unofficial chan-! tinued heavy bombing of North ulation of that area.. The wholenels that the dikes had been; Vietnam and, in particular, by plain will be flooded and thou-bombed and that "even in cases1 numerous reports from differ- sands and. thousands of pen-where the dikes are not directly' ent sources concerning its ef- Ple would die.'bombed, the nearby bombing fects on the dikes. WaldhernT wTo Ms just xlcauses cracking of the earth of "The Secretary General, while turned from a 26-day visit tothe dams and that in this way taking note of these reports, Europe, said that as a resultthe result is the same." stated in his press briefing to- of his intercession with mem-

deeply concerned day that he could not. verify ber governments, the immedi-them. He felt, however, that it

Waldheim said, "and I appeal was his duty to speak out onto stop this kind of bombing, the devastating consequenceswhich could lead to enormoushuman suffering, enormous dis-aster." • • • ' • _ : • ' • ; •Mr. Rogers, in Washington,

responded:1

"I have asked AmbassadorBush to seek an early appoint-memTwith the Secretary Gen-eral, again to point out that

He said that the communica-tion concerning the bombing ofthe dikes had been in additionto a conversation with Dr. Eu-gene Carson Blake, secretary

the information that he has;

received concerning alleged de-liberate bombing to damage the.dikes in North Vietnam is false—as the President stated in hisJune 29 press conference.,

"Furthermore, I have askedAmbassador Bush to inform theSecretary General that theseallegations are part of a care-fully planned campaign by theNorth Vietnamese and theirsupporters to give worldwidecirculation to this falsehood.

'The Secretary . General inhis press conference today saidthat; 'It is always my interest

in using quiet diplomacy to be bombed directly. Buthelpful.' We cannot consider not verify this."

his news conference,spe-

the "privateunofficial channels" throughwhich he had heard about the

the dikes.

thefor

this year. , • ."We should have no real

difficulty—that is in meetingthis year," Mr.

the

.remains and I

iem ofNationshope we

nn8,? , t A t h . t T Hn, solve *at durinS the nextYou understand that I do era] Assembly."

0 ° m e ^ Secretar General

can

Secretary General said

S ' 5Ut fat n°been agreed upon.- „ . _ „ , „ . ,Swede Tells of Boi»buig

STOCKHOLM, July 24 (UPI)"general of the World Council of — " A Swedish journalist saidChurches in Geneva and reports today that he saw United Statesof diplomatic representatives planes bomb civilian targets inbased in Hanoi. ' North Vietnam Saturday.

Track* In tin. Dam*' Aven Oeste- foreign editor ofCracks in the Dams the liberal Stockholm' news-"I cannot tell you whether paper Dagens Nyheter, in a

the bombing was intentional "letter to an American pilot"or not," Mr. Waldheim said, published today, said that he"but the private channels to had seen the planes attackHanoi — and this is Hanoi hi- Namhong village.formation — is that the dikes The letter said in part:were bombed and also the near- "Yes, to the pilot whoby areas causing cracks in the dropped two bombs — one withdams and producing the same thousands of steel bullets— overresults^ as if the dikes were the village with three churches' '"" ''---"- "-•• I could, near the river in Namha Prov-

! ince yesterday morning at 9:30,anv nnhlir statement.: Dr- Blake, who wrote to] you will surelv be satisfiedany puoiic statements president Nixon last week thatl when j te,j that th were

further currency to he beiieved the dikes were not wasted in vain. You killedthese reports. being bombed and asked that'two women in a rice paddy,

George Bush, the United it be halted, said at the time! wounded another six. AllStates delegate, met with Mr. that he had no other evidence women,.. all Catholics. So theWaldheim this evenine for an that/there had been any bomb- church bells rang for mourninghour and said that h* had rmt 'm% except for the report by a: service when we left the villagenour ana said that he had put French newsinan and Swedish, an hour later.» .. 'forth strongly the view that the Revision films.1- -|

-bombing charge was part of a"massive propaganda cam-paign." .

VEW YORK POST, TUESDAY, 25 JULY 1972

•^T^f^Ttti;*'=j'

:1 ('" ;B T E y - k t a i 2

By 3HCHAEL J. BERLINDespite American attempts

to turn hi maround UN Sec-retary General Kurt Wald-heim stood firm todayagainst the "devastatingconsequences which mightresult" from U. S. bombingof the dikes in North Viet-nam—whether intentional ornot.

Waldheim stirred up a fur-or yesterday' with his state-ment that he had privatereports from Hanoi of dam-age to the dikes, and withhis appeal to the Nixon Ad-ministration to have thebombing- stopped.

Secretary of State Rogersresponded bluntly: "We- can-not consider helpful any pub-lie statements giving furthercurrency to these reports."A Second Statement

UN Ambassador George"Bush, rushed here fromWashington, met with Wald-heim for an hour last nightand presented the official

'U. S. view that the dike-bombing reports are just aNorth Vietnamese propagan-da campaign.

But even before Bush wasushered'into Waldheim's of-fice, the UN put out a secondstatement saying Waldheimwas "concerned by the con?tinued heavy bombing ofNorth Vietnam and in parti-cular by numerous reports,

. from different • sources, con-cerning its effects on the

..dikes." . '<

The statement pointed out,.,for Washington's sake, thatWaldheim "could not verify"the' reporrs. But. it said the.Secretary General still felt"tha it was his duty to speakout on the devastating con-sequences which might re-sult."

In his earlier press confer--ence, Waldheim had madeclear that he had no indica-tion that the U.S. was hittingthe dikes intentionally. How-ever, the implication was thathe believed but could notverify that intentionally ornot, the dikes were beingdamaged — and that thisdamage must stop.What Bush Says

When Bush emerged fromhis meeting, he said thatWaldheim had "made clearthat he didn't intend to acceptthese charges or give cre-dence to these charges thatthe U.S. was bombing thesedikes."

Did Bush deny that theU. S. was hitting the dikesinadvertently?

"I stand by the officialstatements," Bush said. "Ideny that they've been tar-geted."

Waldheim's intention, onthe bombing said Bush, wasthat "if it was going on itought to stop. The U. S. gov-ernment accepts this explana-tion ... I respect the Secre-tary General as a man who'sgot this restless quest forpeace motivating him."

F~* '*•.""" ^-T**.

Would the incident hurtthe relations between theU. S. and the, UN? •

"Not if I have anything todo with it," said Bush, "andI expect I will."

Despite the American am-bassador's demurrer, mostdiplomats believed tha tWaldheim's statements willfurther embitter the alreadytense dealings between theUN and both the Administra-tion and Congress.

Budget Cut?Congress is about to start

considering proposals thatwould unilaterally cut theU S. share of the UN budgetto 25 per cent from the cur-rent 31.5 per cent, and theUN Security Counsel is get-ting ready to denounce theU. S. for importing chromeand other raw m a t e r i a l sfrom Rhodesia, in violationof a UN trade embargo.

Some diplomats have there-fore reacted with puzzlementto what they see as Wald-heim's gratuitous slap at an:aspect of the Vietnam warthat is already becoming anissue in the American electioncampaign. Some of Wald-heim's aides suggest that theanswer lies simply in theSecretary-General, moral out-rage over the war. -

"There are certan things,"suggested one UN official,"on which you just cannotremain silent. You have tospeak out when asked." -;

THE BOSTON GLOBE, TUESDAY, 25 tfULY 1972

m stirs US irehintin dikes bombed

From Wire Services

UNITED NATIONS — A stormblew up yesterday between the Unit-ed States and US Secretary-GeneralKurt Waldheim over. Waldheim'smention of reports that US war-planes have bombed and damageddikes in North Vietnam.

. Waldheim, fresh from a visit toEurope, told a news conference hehad such reports from unidentifiedchannels. He said that although hecould not verify the reports, he felt itwas his duty "to speak out on'thedevastating consequences whichmight result."

In Washington, Secretary of StateWilliam P. Rogers promptly issued astatement labeling as "false" all alle-gations that the United States hasdeliberately bombed the dikes.

. He said he asked UN AmbassadorGeorge Bush to seek an early ap-pointment with Waldheim -to informhim that "these allegations are partof a carefully planned campaign bythe North Vietnamese and their sup-porters to give worldwide circulationto this falsehood."

Noting that the secretary gen-eral in his press conference had saidthat "it is always my interest inusing quiet diplomacy to be help-ful," Rogers added: "We cannot con-

SECY. GENERAL WALDHEIM, . .unquiet diplomacy

sider helpful any statement givingfurther currancy to these reports."

Bush immediately flew up fromWashington and said he "strongly"told Waldheim the reports were partof a massive North Vietnamesepropaganda campaign.

'At the end of his meeting with-Waldheim, Bush told reporters hewas convinced that the secretarygeneral "did not want to give cred-ibility" to the reports.

2 Bush claimed that'what'Yfaldheim had intended tots|y at his morning news]

tnference about dikembing was that "if it'

$as going on it ought to|?op."£In the seven monthssijice he assumed office,Waldheim has tried to re-main neutral in the Viet-

jjiaHLajonflict, although he?frss-""p-leaded with both

Asides to stop fighting and' negotiate their differences.He conceded that he hadaccomplished nothing inthis regard in Moscow. Hesaid his conversations on.Vietnam did not touch on.-"details", such as whetherthe Soviet Union could1

pressure North Vietnam tobargain for -peace in Parisby cutting off war sup-plies. ~ '. •

The secretary generalalso reported no. progressin the Middle East, al-though he endorsed theidea of an embargo onarms^to. the area. He de-clined comment on theEgyptian ejection of Sovietadvisers except to say thatit had nothing to do withthe United Nations peace--making efforts. He saidGunnar Jarring, his per-sonal representative in theMiddle East, will go toNew York next week forthe submission of a reportto the Security Council onhis work.

TH3 DAILY K3WS, TO.SSDAY, 25 JULY 19?2

• . . . ' ! By FRANK VAN RIPER - .-* — V—V" - "-Washington, July 24 (NEWS Bureau) —Secretary of State William P. PvOgers to-

rlay accused United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim of strengthening theHanoi line that the United States deliberately is bombing dikes in North Vietnam.

In a statement read to report-;ers by State Department spokes- iman Charles W. Bray, Rogers de-clared that .remarks made byWaldheim only hours before atthe UN can only aid "the care-fully planned campaign by theNorth Vietnamese and their sup-porters to give wo'rldwide circula-tion to this falsehood." "

Hanoi's InformationWaldheim, at a news conference

following his return from Mos-cow, acknowledged that "this isHanoi's information that the.dikes have been bombed. I cannottell you whether the bombing wasintentional or not. If indeed dikeswere being bombed. I appeal tostop this type of bombing whichcan lead to such enormous suffer-ing."

„ UPI ™e'hoto

G*neralThe dikes in question are for ir- jjj^

rigation, essential for controlling \yai.the Red River, which runs through «,_* 'ir1^1 ,,„ , , ,North Vietnam. The secretary at ?•*>• has bombedgeneral said today he had re- .r,ep°.rt.ers: "I can only say thatceived information through "pri- " '•* *s tru.e <chat the attacksvate channels" that U. S. bombs tj,^™ ,)f ^V* leads"

* T^6 dr- ^^' SS ™s InKThe Red River flows along a Avoided" '300-mile route from its source in Bray. read ^ artic]es from

the mountains in Yunan Province he North Vietnamese newspaperm southern Chma to spill onto the {oi which acknowledged thatvast and fertile plains of the Red ikes had been badly damagedRiver delta, where more than 15 y fioods last year and had notmillion Vietnamese work and yet been repaired.a™' : TT • "We are being subjected to a

ine U.fc. has repeatedly de- classic and neatly executed prop-nied that it has targeted the aganda campaign which, interest-dikes . for attack. Originally, ing enough, is greatly mutedU.S. spokesmen even denied that within North Vietnam itself,dikes had been hit. Now the of- where the thrust, instead is onficial word is that if dikes were the need to repair damage inflict-destroyed, it was accidental or ed hy last year's flood," Braybecause military installations declared.were located on or near them. Rogers' statement took note of

Rogers said that American Waldheim's press conference re-Ambassador George Bush had mark that "it is always my in-been instructed to relay the U.S. wrest in using quiet diplomacyview to Waldheim personally. toJ°f helpful."Bush was said to have spoken {ne secretary added that Into Waldheim prior to his news i^ht °f Waldheim's remarks, onconference and told him that Pe Possibility of cseh Derate bomb-Hanoi's claims of deliberate U.S. lng: W,<? cannot con«der helpfulattack on the dikes were false.! f"y publlc statements giving fur-

Nevertheless, Waldheim told. ««« currency to these reports "- Rogers recalled that President

Nixon said on June 29 that hehad given,.orders that the dikes• . . _said ;at the* time"' that he did notintend to permit any air strikesthat would involve breaking thedikes or inflicting civilian casual-ties "if it can be avoided."

TH3 Y/ALL STRiJT JOUItKAL, TUSSDAY, 25 JULY 1972

f HANOI'S DIKES WERE CRACKED by U.S.bombing, Waldheim said; Rogers denied it. j

The UN Secretary General told reporters hehad been assured by Washington that the dikesweren't a target. But, he said, he was deeplyconcerned by _ information received fromsources he refused to identify that explosionsnear the dikes had caused cracks that couldmake the barriers give way, flooding vastareas and causing heavy loss of life. In. Wash-1ington, Secretary of State Rogers said Wald-j

i helm's "allegations are part of the carefully:i planned campaign by the North Vietnameseand their supporters to give world-wide circu-lation to this falsehood."

A State Department spokesman readnewsmen articles from a North Vietnam-ese newspaper " acknowledging the dikeshad been badly damaged by floods lastyear and repairs hadn't been completed.Saigon troops stormed Quang Tri's Citadel,

but they ran into withering fire and the out-come of the battle was in doubt. Two airbornebattalions sought to enter the Citadel throughtwo holes in the fort's 40-foot walls. One U.S.officer said: "The North Vietnamese are fun-neling .their firepower into the gaps in thewalls, and it's murder in there." The walls

^were breached two weeks ago by U.S. jetsi dropping laser-guided bombs.

THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNEFRIDAY, 21 JULY 1972

eslJ.S.

GENEVA, July 20 (NYT).—TheRev. Dr. Eugene Carson Blake,secretary-general of the WorldCouncil of Churches, has inform-ed President Nixon that he be-lieves U.S. planes are deliberately-bombing the dikes in North Viet-nam.

In a letter sent Monday, thechief executive of the agencyrepresenting 250 Protestant, An-glican and Orthodox churches,addressed an "urgent appeal" tothe President. He asked him to"use your authority as command-er in chief of the military forcesof the U.S.A. immediately tocease this bombing."

He also asked Mr. Nixon to"stop the bombing in the regionof the dikes in order that thepeople of North Vietnam canmake the urgent, necessary re-pairs to avoid a catastrophe ofunthinkable proportions."

Dr. Blake, former head of theUnited Presbyterian Church in.the United States, made publicthef letter today because, he wrotethe President, "I feel conscience-bound to publish [the letter] atthe time you receive it since pub-licity is the only channel leftto me."

Dr. Blake wrote that he wasraising an "issue1 of supreme ur-gency and moral import" becauseof the council's alarm over theallegations that the U.S. militarywas seeking to destroy the dikes"both by bombing and artificiallyinduced rainfall."

He said that "in-depth inquir-ies -with Western Europeans whohave' personally witnessed thftsituation since late June" had ledto the conclusions that:

O The American explanationthat the present weakness of thedikes Is due to neglect by thepopulation is untrue."

© "The American protests thatho intentional bombing has oc-curred, and that only 'accidental'bombs have fallen on or near thedikes must also be untrue."

Commenting on the letter inan interview Dr. Blake said hehad "no other evidence" of thealleged bombings than reportsby a French newsman based :nHanoi and Swedish televisionfilms.

But he added that council offi-cials were alarmed by the grow-ing number of rumors about thebombings they were hearing fromcontacts in Western Europe.

"The nature of the widespreadrumors reminds me of other occa-sions when reports first deniedby the Defense Department werelater admitted as true," Dr..said.