April 10, 1970
Page 11247
VIETNAM NEGOTIATIONS
Mr. MANSFIELD. Mr. President, by necessity the distinguished Senator from Maine (Mr. MUSKIE) is absent from the Senate at the moment. He has prepared a statement, however, on the Paris peace negotiations – a subject of continuing interest to him, to the Senate, and to the entire Nation. I ask unanimous consent that Senator MUSKIE'S thoughtful statement be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the statement was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
ERA OF NEGOTIATIONS? – PART III
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I was distressed to learn, yesterday, that American casualties in Vietnam reached the highest level in seven months this past week. South Vietnamese casualties were the highest in two years. Total American battle deaths are now 41,274. One-fourth of these deaths have occurred since President Nixon took office.
We are not going to end the fighting and killing in Vietnam by Vietnamization. We can end it only through a negotiated settlement. We can negotiate a settlement only by committing our best efforts to the Paris talks. Such efforts require a top level negotiator with the prestige and authority to take the initiative in Paris.
There have now been 62 meetings of the Vietnam negotiators since Ambassador Lodge left Paris. The longer the talks drag without a replacement, the more futile they become.
When President Nixon speaks to the nation next Thursday, I hope he will address himself to the questions I have raised in this series of questions I have raised in the Senate. The American people have a right to know when he intends to take meaningful steps toward the "era of negotiations" he promised over a year ago.