369 



and South, but to Southeast Asia as a whole." : ' Congressman Zablocki 

 declared himself "impressed by the dramatic and hold initiative s< ized 

 by the President in proposing a massive program of cooperative de- 

 velopment for Southeast Asia." He observed that its "principal object/ 1 

 had been insufficiently recognized: 



"That is the bold move to stabilize Southeast Asia and assist the 

 peaceful progress of the people in that area through a multi-national 

 program of economic assistance, directed by the United Nations, in 

 which Communist nations would be invited to participate.' 5 " 



Senator McGovem concurred. Peace in Asia, he said. ". . . means 

 precisely the kind of imaginative effort the President proposed last 

 night, including regional development of water resources, including 

 use of our own farm products, including spread of cheap electric 

 power, including health programs, including expert and experienced 

 assistance from the best people available in the field of international 

 development." Senator Moss added that the speech "represents a major 

 .break-through in the international posture." 7 



On the other hand, Senator Everett Dirksen, the Minority Leader, 

 questioned the feasibility of an attempt to ''buy peace with an Ameri- 

 can aid program" and Representative Gerald R. Ford declared that 

 ". . . friendship, security, and solid international relationships can- 

 not be bought with dollars." 8 



In the press, the immediate response emphasized the "carrot and 

 stick" theme. A typical statement in the New York Times observed 

 that the speech had been prompted by ". . . a personal desire to yield 

 to and appeal to opinion at home and abroad'' plus a move ; '. . . in 

 the complicated and subtle effort to bring North Vietnam to terms — 

 to suggest that Hanoi could profit from a settlement while emphasiz- 

 ing how Hanoi would suffer, largely alone, in further combat." 9 How- 

 ever, as time went on, and the responses from both the North Vietna- 

 mese authorities and the leadership in Mainland China were strongly 

 negative to the peace move, attention in the U.S. press turned more 

 and more to the regional development feature of the speech. On April 

 0, the Washington Post carried a follow-up story that began — 



President Johnson's dramatic offer of $1 billion to help finance a Southeast 

 Asian development program is designed to harness regional resources in a vast 

 effort to raise Asian living standards and at the same time reduce Communist 

 pressures on the area. 



The concept, the story went on, "could provide the spark necessary • 

 to set the region for the first time on a concentrated drive toward 

 development and prosperity." 1() 



n Mike Mansfield, "President Johnson's Speech on Southeast Asia — Vietnam." Remarks 

 of Senator Mike Mansfield on the floor of the Senate, Congressional Record (April 8, 

 1965) : p. 7492. 



"Clement Zablocki, "President Johnson's Address on Vietnam." Remarks of Repre- 

 sentative Clement Zablocki on the floor of the House, Congressional Record (Auril $, 

 1965) : p. 7459. 



T Georpe S. McGovem and Frank E. Moss, "President Johnson's Speech on Southeast 

 Asia — Vietnam." Remarks of Senators George S. McGovem and Frank !■". Moss on the Boor 

 of the Senate, Congressional Record (April 8, 1965) : p. 74 ( .tr,. 



* '"Dirksen, Ford Rap Johnson on Bid to Buy Peace," Washington Star (A; ril 8, 1905) : 



"Max Frankel, "President Makes Offer to Start Vietnam Talks Unconditionally; Pro 



po^s -SI Billion Aid for Asia," New York Times (April 8, 1965) : p. 1. 



10 Dan Kurzman, "Offer Envisions Harnessing of Mekong," Washington Post (April 9, 

 196o) : p. A22. 



