VIET BOMBING IS MESSAGE FOR MOSCOW

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-01601R000300350077-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 13, 2000
• Sequence Number: 77
• Publication Date: April 20, 1972
• Content Type: NSPR

WASHINGTON POSI
2 0 APR 1972
Approved For Release 200.x.%03/04: CIA- O 1t6
The Washington Merry-Go-I oulnd
Net
i Is Message f or Moscow
By Jack Anderson
bombing of the North Viet- Soviet Rule
namese heart and as much to
Hanoi.
He wanted the Kremlin to
understand his-quest for peace
doesn't mean he can be
"pushed around."
In his private conversations,
he has declared fiercely that
he wants to lower tensions
around the world and win re-
election in November, but that
he- won't abandon America's
commitments to achieve these
goals.
I 'Nixon has expressed admira-
tion for the late President
!John F. Kennedy for facing
down the Russians during the
Cuban missile crisis, and he is
prepared to do it again if an-
other confrontation should de-
velop
.Secret intelligence reports
suggest that Hanoi expected
t 4e anti-war pressures in the
United States to keep Ameri-
can air-sea power at bay after
the assult across the Demill-
tarized Zone.' But Hanoi un-
derestimated Richard Nixon,
who never hesitated to strike I
fensive in spite of the advice a pro'tract.ed_ Knrea.fitvln"nn.,_iJiltllp111 ,deg
flict. He recommended the We tried unsuccessfully to
bombing of supply depots reach our columnist colleague,
around Hanoi and Haiphong, Joe Alsop, prior to our recent
therefore, to disrupt enemy lo- report that he was among the
the attack. Intelligence re-1 gistics and to reduce the sup.
ports claim that the Kremlin, Plies that will reach front-line
while it didn't go so far as to troops in the months ahead.
encourage Hanoi to invade'Massive Air Support
South Vietnam, had advance Massive
knowledge of the invasion I When President Nixon first
plans. The attackers also used
Soviet-made tanks, artillery
and anti-aircraft missiles.
bigshot passengers chauf-
ferred around Washington by
Pentagon cars in apparent vio-
lation of military regulations.
Alsop, who is in Southeast
Asia, has now wired us the fol-
lowing. response: "I have.
never used military transport
that was not equally available
The President believes the ! ese army by itself would be to other reporters of compara-
Kremlin could have prevented unable to withstand an all-out ible decrepitude.
the invasion by threatening to North Vietnamese assault "in "In Vietnam," the telegram
cut off military supplies. lie! the foreseeable future."This adds, "I have also followed the
intends to demonstrate his re- ! assessment has now been strict rule of refusing any as.
solve, therefore, by shutting changed, but the Joint Chiefs sistance going beyond what
off the supplies himslef, if pos-have.warned .it will take mas-
sible, with a blizzard of is ive American air support to
bombs. Jblunt the North Vietnamese
The Central Intelligence. !offensive.
Agency has warned all along In private, meanwhile, the
that bombing will never stop President has repeated again
the needed supplies from and again that he doesn't in-
reaching Communist forces in tend to be "pushed around"-
South Vietnam. Gen. Creigh.l not in Vietnam, the Middle
ton Abrams the U.S. eom-East or anywhere else. "
mander in Vietnam, has Once, when Jewish leaders
agreed that the supplies for
the present offensive were were questioning his willing-
stockpiled in advance. ness to support Israel, Nixon
But he has warned that I asked an aide incredulously:
massive air blows against Hanoi has the power to con- "Can these people really be-
North Vietnam. tinue a prolonged offensive. lieve that I could sit in this
Earlier, he had made secret I Twelve of North Vietnam's I chair and let anything happen
overtures through both Mos- regular divisions are now to Israel?`
cow and Peking to. bring pros- fighting in the south. Another The most competent White
sure on the North Vietnamese division is reported on the I House sources tell us emphati-
to call off the offensive. way to the front. This leaves cally that Richard Nixon
Chinese Premier Chou En-lai only two training divisions at would like to avoid a confron-
reportedly tried to persuade home. tation with the Kremlin but
.the North Vietnamese not to Once the lines become sta- that he won't back down from
risk a military showdown, but bilizes, Abrams has suggested, one.
chief, the Joint Chiefs advised
him that the South Vietnam-
was given Scotty Reston when
he made his trip there."
Reston is the distinguished
columnist and vice president
of The New York Times,
whose views on the war have
contrasted with Alsop's hawk-
ish stance.
FOOTNOTE: We also re-
ported that during' a recent
NATO military junket in the
United States, cars rented by,
the Pentagon for the visitors'
use in Washington were to be
kept on rental while they
spent five days traveling else-
where. After we began looking
into the matter and had sent
but our column for publica-
tion, the plans were abruptly
changed and the cars were re-
turned to the rental agency,
They were then rented again
when the visitors returned to
Washington.
01977.,UnltW Future Syndicate
Approved For Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80-01601 R000300350077-0