Double Trouble

The bloody Communist attacks staged the length and breadth of South Viet Nam left Washington shocked and stunned--and with good reason. While all eyes were fixed on Khe Sanh, where as many as five enemy divisions were poised for a major offensive, the Communists swarmed through 38 major cities, attacked nearly every major U.S. military installation in Viet Nam, and invaded the U.S. embassy in Saigon, holding out there for 6 1/2 hours.

To a capital lulled by repeated boasts that the military war was being won, the strength and duration of the Red offensive came as an unpleasant, even humiliating surprise. In the midst of his own headquarters outside Saigon, U.S. Commander General William C. Westmoreland was forced to take refuge in a windowless command center. Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker had to be whisked to a secret hideout.

Beached Whale. Between the Red offensive and North Korea's seizure of the U.S.S. Pueblo, the mighty U.S. suddenly seemed as impotent as a beached whale. Even those nations that normally delight in American embarrassment refrained from crowing openly.

In Washington, there was little public discussion in the early stage of the crisis. Only toward week's end did President Johnson publicly discuss it. By then, the worst of the general offensive seemed repulsed and the U.S. command in Saigon was reporting that the attacks had cost the Communists 14,997 dead (a figure considered by many to be inflated) against 367 American and 738 Vietnamese fatalities.

"We have known for several months now that the Communists planned a massive winter-spring offensive," the President told a news conference. "The stated purposes of the general uprising have failed. Communist leaders counted on popular support in the cities for their effort. They found little or none." What is more, he said, "it looks like somebody has paid a very dear price for the temporary encouragement that some of our enemies had. I do not believe that they will achieve a psychological victory." Some analysts believe, however, that the Communists scored an impressive propaganda success.

Since the attacks occurred in the midst of a truce to observe the Tet New Year holiday, the U.S. is unlikely to approve any temporary cease-fires in the future. Nor is it likely that Washington will want to risk a bombing pause any time soon. "We Americans will never yield," said Johnson during a Medal of Honor ceremony in the White House. American planes will continue to hit the North until there is "some better sign than these last few days have provided" of Hanoi's willingness to ease the war.

The President declined to speculate on Red motives or on negotiations, and seemed impatient when a newsman asked about peace talks, while much of South Viet Nam was in flames. "I don't want to prophesy on what is going to happen or why," he said. "We feel reasonably sure of our strength."

Precautionary Steps. Viet Nam was only part of Johnson's troubles. With the Pueblo and 82 crewmen still in North Korea's hands (one died of wounds), the President was applying both military and diplomatic pressure, but with little effect. Announcing that "we are taking such precautionary steps as we may think the military situation calls for," the President ordered a major increase in U.S. strength in and around South Korea. In the Sea of Japan, the aircraft carrier Enterprise was joined by a powerful armada including the support carrier Yorktown, the attack carrier Ranger, the guided-missile cruiser Canberra, at least eleven destroyers, and Pueblo's sister spy ship Banner. Additionally, an unannounced number of American warplanes whisked into South Korean bases.

The first break of the week--and a small one--came when the Communists indicated that they would talk a second time directly with the U.S. at Panmunjom. Washington snapped up the invitation, but a secret four-hour U.S.-North Korean meeting ended in an impasse. Said the President, in a statement indicating that he held out little hope for a speedy return of the crewmen: "Things take time."

Johnson was successful in winning some bipartisan support for his policies, thanks to a series of meetings designed to prepare Congress for possible measures if the Asian crises worsen. Among them: activation of reservists with special skills, extension of the two-year draft period, expansion of aid to South Korea, and an increase in the defense budget. Said Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield: "I think it is fair to say that additional funds are likely to be required."

"Anything Can Happen." Unquestionably, the concurrent Asian crises have seriously thinned the nation's military resources. While Johnson said he could see no reason to increase U.S. force levels in Viet Nam beyond the 525,000 men eventually scheduled to serve there, he added: "I would not want to foreclose any action on a matter like this. Anything can happen."

In a similar vein, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara painted an unsettling picture of North Viet Nam's ability to wage a long war in his final appearance before two key Senate committees. Hanoi is now receiving an estimated $1 billion in foreign aid per year, he said, and despite estimated enemy casualties of 165,000 men in 1967, the North Vietnamese army's strength in the South "may increase sharply in the next few months."

Many U.S. officials are convinced that the Pueblo affair, the Communists' "winter-spring offensive," and the looming Khe Sanh battle represent a coordinated effort to stretch the U.S. thin. Seoul last week asked the U.S. for more troops to fend off a possible invasion from North Korea, threatened to withdraw some of its 46,000 troops now in South Viet Nam unless it gets them. "Practically every expert I have talked to on Korea and North Viet Nam and the Communist operation believes there is a definite connection," said the President. In the immediate future, the outlook may well be for considerably heavier fighting in Viet Nam. If a familiar Communist pattern prevails, however, such escalation could ultimately prove the prelude to truce talks.

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