European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 11, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse The stars and stripes thu ditty april a 1968 Mountain top Taitis president Johnson huddles with top aides at Bis secluded Mountain Retreat at Camp David md., for discussion of the Viet Nara situation. From left Are presidential adviser wait Rostow defense Secretary Clark Clifford ambassador Ellsworth Bunker Johnson Secretary of state Dean Rusk and Gen. Earle Wheeler chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Roving ambassador of Averell Harriman also City not blitzed Only a liked at escalation of defense prevails Over Hanoi editor s note William , editor of the Miami news has made a second trip to North Vietnam. His first visit was made in january 1967. On both trips he was accompanied by Harry Ashmore former editor of the Arkansas Gazette and now executive vice president of the Center for the study of democratic institutions. A by William c. Baggs Hanoi a the first impression acquired by a reporter re turning to Hanoi 14 months later is that a kind of Mutual Escala Tion prevails Over this War i North Vietnam. In Hanoi almost incidentally but conspicuously in the Countryside you see the violent Wake of the american bombers. The damage from Aerial bombardment is much greater than when this writer visited North Vietnam in january 1967. However As the air raids have proliferated the North vietnamese have escalated their defences and their compe tence to survive a More intense War from the air. The Hanoi area for instance must be nested in one of the most sophisticated and effective warning systems in the world. Through the metallic voices of the hundreds of loudspeakers across the City the people Are alerted when . Planes Are headed toward Hanoi. The warning May be repeated two or three times As the planes approach. The Siren is sounded when the bombers Are within 19to 25 Miles of Hanoi and at this signal the people Hustle to the thousands of shelters Here. The efficiency of the warning system May be measured by the act that american aircraft flew Over or near Hanoi 11 times Over this reporter s first weekend inthe City March 29, 30, 31. Bombs were dropped not in the City Butin the suburbs on several Occa Sions and Only once was there not enough time Given the people to hot foot it to a shelter. The exception was when a record Iris Sance plane sneaked through the radar web and was in the City s air space before it was disco Vered. The response of the Antl aircraft fire was Quick and in a pattern although it was not accurate enough on this occasion. The reconnaissance plan slipped in and out without apparent damage. A Little More than a year ago the rolling Stock in Vietnam appeared to be the ragged items fan impoverished motor Pool. The trucks were old usually Small and frequently you saw them stalled or expired along the roadways of the country. Now it is apparent that North Vietnam has invested much of its line of credit with the coun tries of the soviet Union and what they Call their socialist compatriots in Eastern Europe for rolling Stock. The return sin Large trucks some in the re Gion of two and a half tons an they Are new and Well kept. On the Road which leads to the port of Haiphong this writer counted 157 of these Large trucks and then gave up the arithmetic. Seemingly twice a Many As counted were moving along the Road. Again another sign of what might be described As the escalation of defense is the com Mon sight out in the country Side of modern ingredients for carrying on a War. In one Short stretch of the Road there were seven tractor drawn rocket launchers and More than so Gas Oline tank trucks and four heavy artillery pieces. Land everyone was new to the extent that each appeared almost is at least a Little strange so Many hundreds of Miles be Hind the enemy lines to hear the voices of your adversary compliment you on the brute Force and competence of the american bombers and the brute Force and the competencies starkly visible. For example there is the Long Bridge which once spanned the mile Width of the red River and its approaches just outside Hanoi. Itis now a silent and grotesque Monument to the precision of the United states air Force. The Middle of the Bridge is mangled Silhouette. Steel and Wood and Concrete sagging de Spon Dently into the River. The destruction was surgically accomplished. Only a Short distance Southof the Long Bridge is a new Span across the vital River has tily composed of pontoons and on Down the River Are othe new Bridges largely made of Bamboo piles of Bamboo Are stacked on both sides of the River in preparation for the possibility that the bombers come and Quick repairs Are needed. Something which appears to be a purely vietnamese confection is the one person bomb shelter this consists of a con Crete pipe planted in the ground about three feet in diameter. It comes with a lid of Concrete or Woven Bamboo which you slap on after you jump into it there Are now tens of thou hands of them in Hanoi or Many Many More than when this reporter last visited Here you Are informed by Independent witnesses in the diplomatic corps that persons have survived the Impact of air to ground mis Siles Landing Only four feet from these one person shelter cannot verify this but you can believe it the primary caution which becomes the companion of a Newspaperman in North Viet Nam is that you should report Only what you can see or con firm or believe within very strict boundaries. A country Atwar almost enthusiastically con fuses the fact with propaganda and North Vietnam is no exception. So you live with this cautions you report from North Viet Nam. Much has been reported and rumoured of the bombing of Hanoi and the leaders Here Tell you that the City was bombed �0 times in 1967 the sum of Aerial raids they say was Only 19the year before but Hanoi is not really blitzed City to the traumatic style of Rotterdam or even Lon Don in world War ii. Rather it has been sort of nicked at. Or perhaps they were nuisance raids or those punishing mis takes common to the making of War. There is not even a hint that the american strategy has been to obliterate Hanoi. Surely a it the competence of the . Air Foice All of this City could be reduced to broken bricks and scattered Glass on any afternoon. There has been a sort of use elective restraint in the bombing of Hanoi but from one end tothe other is the sign that one or two random bombs have fallen that people have been killed. These Are the Early impressions of a reporter returning to Hanoi after 14 months. And a suggested earlier in the report the first of these Early impressions is that the North Viet namese have met the escalation of the air War against them with an escalation of defense which seems to have carried them through the a War in remark ably Good shape. U.s., n. Vietnam peace talk Aims differ an a news analysis by John m. 1ughtowek Washington a on the basis of their Public positions the United states and North Vietnam Are working at Cross purposes in their different approaches to Vietnam peace talks. North Vietnam wants preliminary discussions on when presi Dent Johnson will end the rest of the bombing of its territory. Bei Ore ending the rest of the bombing however Johnson wants to know whether North Vietnam will level off its heavy infiltration of men and supplies into South Vietnam. Without some Assurance on this Point administration officials say Johnson would consider it militarily dangerous to Stop the limited bombing of the North still permitted under his March 31 order. Thus the prospects for successful peace talks Are regarded in Washington As essentially discouraging at the moment de spite the Speed of diplomatic developments Between Washington and Hanoi during the last 10 Days. But Public positions can be changed in private bargaining. North Vietnam s position was made official in its reply Mon Day to a . Message of april 3notifying Hanoi that Johnson was prepared to establish con tact with representatives of North Vietnam. Johnson plans to Send Ambas Sador Al Large w. Averell har Riman to handle the first phase of preliminary discussions on How to get Fuji scale peace talk started. The Date and place for these discussions have not been agreed upon. The United state Shad suggested Geneva North Vietnam proposed in room p Cambodia where the United states does not have an embassy. Rangoon Burma is consid ered a possible Compromise but neither of the other Sites has been definitely ruled out. The . Reply to the message from Hanoi which the White House announced monday is expected to Deal primarily witha Date and place for Harriman and the North vietnamese representative to meet rather than with the issues to be discussed. In Rokkan edit on Cou Jam Eft w. Campbell . Editor in chid it. Couf it Michael jr., us .,.,. A pub editor in chem kit Proctor. Mana Olno 6"�f Elmer of Frank. Production Man of Henry Pattrin. Circulation an unofficial news paper of and for tha . Arm Fores publish by commander in Cmar , Europa an command and printed Dally at Damu tuft a Many. Military add i thu Star and Sulpha Apo 09178. International a " the Mara and we a Poa Faeh 1034, i Darmstadt. Sarmany. 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