367 



policy with respect to war purposes coupled with a declaration of U.S. 

 readiness to negotiate a peace settlement, and (3) an offer of $1 bil- 

 lion to the United Nations in support of cooperative regional develop- 

 ment in Southeast Asia. 



Although the third point dealt generally with food, medical services, 

 education, and economic progress in Indochina, the specific references 

 emphasized development of the Lower Basin of the Mekong River. 

 The President declared that Vietnamese on both sides of the conflict 

 wanted the same things: "Food for their hunger — health for their 

 bodies and a chance to learn — progress for their country, and an end 

 to the bondage of material misery." These goals, he asserted, could be 

 more readily achieved in peaceful cooperation. He went on — 



The first step is for the countries of Southeast Asia to associate themselves 

 in a greatly expanded cooperative effort for development. We would hope that 

 North Vietnam will take its place in the common effort just as soon as peaceful 

 cooperation is possible. 



The United Nations is already actively engaged in development in this area. 

 I would hope that the Secretary General of the United Nations could use the 

 prestige of his great office — and his deep knowledge of Asia — to initiate, as soon 

 as possible, with the countries of the area, a plan for cooperation in increased 

 development. 



For our part I will ask Congress to join in a billion-dollar American invest- 

 ment in this effort when it is underway. 



And I hope all other industrialized countries — including the Soviet Union — 

 will join in this effort to replace despair with hope, and terror with progress. 



The task is nothing less than to enrich the hopes and existence of more than 

 a hundred million people. And there is much to be done. 



The vast Mekong River can provide food and water and power on a scale to 

 dwarf even our own TVA. 



The wonders of modern medicine can be spread through villages where 

 thousands die for lack of care. 



Schools can be established to train people in the skills needed to manage the 

 process of development. 



To implement this "billion-dollar" development program, the Presi- 

 dent proposed to organize a special team, headed by Mr. Eugene Black, 

 former (1949-1962) president of the Bank for International Recon- 

 struction and Development, which he hoped would be able to work 

 in cooperation with the United Nations. 



Diplomatic Environment of tlie Johns Hopkins Speech 



The decision to begin sustained air war against North Vietnam 

 had been made by the President on February 13, 1965. On April 1 he 

 made the further decision to use American ground troops for offensive 

 action in South Vietnam. Both actions were taken primarily to stave 

 off collapse in the South. 



In his own account of the speech, President Johnson, writing in 

 1971, recalled that his purpose had been threefold: "to explain our 

 policy as clearly as possible, to urge Hanoi once more to join us in 

 trying to reach a peaceful settlement, and to describe what peace and 

 cooperative effort could do for the economic development of all of 

 Southeast Asia." The President went on to refer to an "outside de- 

 velopment" in which leaders of 17 nonaligned nations meeting in mid- 

 March had sent an appeal to the belligerent nations and to the Secre- 

 tary General of the United Nations, asking for negotiations to end the 

 war. The appeal reached Washington April 1. The President's ac- 

 count continues — 



Ambassador [Maxwell] Taylor was home from Vietnam at that time and we 

 had scheduled a National Security Council meeting on April 2 to hear his report 



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