尼克松演讲英文原稿29171.docx

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1、Richard M. Nixon: The Great Silent Majority Good evenning, my felllow AAmeriicanss.Tonigght II wannt too tallk too youu on a suubjecct off deeep cooncerrn too alll Ameericaans aand tto maany ppeoplle inn alll parrts oof thhe woorld, thee warr in Viettnam.I bellievee thaat onne off thee reaasonss for

2、r thee deeep diivisiion aaboutt Vieetnamm is thatt manny Ammericcans havee losst coonfiddencee in whatt theeir GGoverrnmennt haas toold tthem abouut ouur poolicyy. Thhe Ammericcan ppeoplle caannott andd shoould not be aaskedd to suppport a poolicyy whiich iinvollves the overrridiing iissuees off war

3、r andd peaace uunlesss thhey kknow the trutth abbout thatt pollicy.Tonigght, therreforre, II wouuld llike to aansweer soome oof thhe quuestiions thatt I kknow are on tthe mmindss of manyy of you listteninng too me.How aand wwhy ddid AAmeriica gget iinvollved in VVietnnam iin thhe fiirst placce?How h

4、has tthis admiinisttratiion cchangged tthe ppoliccy off thee preeviouus Addminiistraationn?What has reallly hhappeened in tthe nnegottiatiions in PPariss andd on the batttlefrront in VVietnnam?What choiices do wwe haave iif wee aree to end the war?What are the prosspectts foor peeace?Now llet mme be

5、egin by ddescrribinng thhe siituattion I foound whenn I wwas iinaugguratted oon Jaanuarry 200: Thhe waar haad beeen ggoingg on for fourr yeaars. Thirrty-oone tthoussand Amerricanns haad beeen kkilleed inn acttion. Thee traaininng prrograam foor thhe Soouth Viettnameese wwas bbeyonnd bbehinnd sschedd

6、ule. Fivve huundreed annd foorty-thouusandd Ameericaans wwere in VVietnnam wwith no pplanss to reduuce tthe nnumbeer. NNo prrogreess hhad bbeen madee at the negootiattionss in Pariis annd thhe Unnitedd Staates had not put fortth a comppreheensivve peeace propposall.The wwar wwas ccausiing ddeep divi

7、isionn at homee andd criiticiism ffrom manyy of our frieends, as welll as our enemmies, abrroad.In viiew oof thhese circcumsttancees, ttheree werre soome wwho uurgedd thaat I end the war at oonce by oorderring the immeediatte wiithdrrawall of all Amerricann forrces. Froom a poliiticaal sttandppointt

8、, thhis wwouldd havve beeen aa poppularr andd eassy cooursee to folllow. Afteer alll, wwe beecamee invvolveed inn thee warr whiile mmy prredeccessoor waas inn offfice. I ccouldd blaame tthe ddefeaat, wwhichh wouuld bbe thhe reesultt of my aactioon, oon hiim - andd comme ouut ass thee peaacemaaker. S

9、omme puut itt to me qquitee bluuntlyy: Thhis wwas tthe oonly way to aavoidd alllowinng Joohnsoons war to bbecomme Niixons waar.But II hadd a ggreatter oobliggatioon thhan tto thhink onlyy of the yearrs off my Admiinisttratiion, and of tthe nnext elecctionn. I had to tthinkk of the effeect oof myy de

10、ccisioon onn thee nexxt geeneraationn, annd onn thee futture of ppeacee andd freeedomm in Amerrica, andd in the worlld.Let uus alll unndersstandd thaat thhe quuestiion bbeforre uss is not whetther somee Ameericaans aare ffor ppeacee andd somme Ammericcans are agaiinst peacce. TThe qquesttion at iiss

11、uee is not whetther Johnnsons waar beecomees Niixons waar. TThe ggreatt queestioon iss: Hoow caan wee winn Ameericaas ppeacee?Well, lett us turnn noww to the funddamenntal issuue: WWhy aand hhow ddid tthe UUniteed Sttatess beccome invoolvedd in Viettnam in tthe ffirstt plaace? Fiftteen yearrs aggo N

12、oorth Viettnam, witth thhe loogistticall suppportt of Commmunisst Chhina and the Soviiet UUnionn, laaunchhed aa cammpaiggn too imppose a Coommunnist goveernmeent oon Soouth Viettnam by iinstiigatiing aand ssuppoortinng a revoolutiion.In reesponnse tto thhe reequesst off thee Govvernmment of SSouthh

13、Vieetnamm, Prresiddent Eiseenhowwer ssent econnomicc aidd andd millitarry eqquipmment to aassisst thhe peeoplee of Soutth Viietnaam inn theeir eefforrts tto prrevennt a Commmunisst taakeovver. Seveen yeears ago, Preesideent KKenneedy ssent 16,0000 mmilittary perssonneel too Vieetnamm as combbat aadv

14、issers. Fouur yeears ago, Preesideent JJohnsson ssent Amerricann commbat forcces tto Soouth Viettnam.Now mmany beliieve thatt Preesideent JJohnssonss deccisioon too sennd Ammericcan ccombaat foorcess to Soutth Viietnaam waas wrrong. Andd manny ottherss, I amonng thhem, havee beeen sttronggly ccritii

15、cal of tthe wway tthe wwar hhas bbeen condducteed.But tthe qquesttion faciing uus tooday is: Now thatt we are in tthe wwar, whatt is the bestt wayy to end it?In Jaanuarry I coulld onnly cconcllude thatt thee preecipiitatee witthdraawal of aall AAmeriican forcces ffrom Viettnam woulld bee a ddisasste

16、r not onlyy forr Souuth VVietnnam bbut ffor tthe UUniteed Sttatess andd forr thee cauuse oof peeace.For tthe SSouthh Vieetnammese, ourr preecipiitatee witthdraawal woulld innevittablyy alllow tthe CCommuunistts too reppeat the masssacrees whhich folllowedd theeir ttakeoover in tthe NNorthh 15 yearrs

17、 beeforee. Thhey tthen murdderedd morre thhan 550,0000 peeoplee andd hunndredds off thoousannds mmore diedd in slavve laabor campps.We saaw a prellude of wwhat woulld haappenn in Soutth Viietnaam whhen tthe CCommuunistts enntereed thhe ciity oof Huue laast yyear. Durring theiir brrief rulee theere,

18、therre waas a blooody rreignn of terrror iin whhich 3,0000 ciiviliians weree cluubbedd, shhot tto deeath, andd burried in mmass gravves.With the suddden ccollaapse of oour ssuppoort, thesse attrociitiess at Hue wwouldd beccome the nighhtmarre off thee enttire natiion aand ppartiiculaarly for the mil

19、llion-and-a haalf CCathoolic refuugeess whoo fleed too Souuth VVietnnam wwhen the Commmunissts ttook overr in the Nortth.For tthe UUniteed Sttatess thiis fiirst defeeat iin ouur naationns hhistoory wwouldd ressult in aa colllapsse off connfideence in AAmeriican leaddershhip nnot oonly in AAsia but t

20、hrooughoout tthe wworldd.Threee Ameericaan Prresiddentss havve reecognnizedd thee greeat sstakees innvolvved iin Viietnaam annd unndersstoodd whaat haad too be donee.In 19963 PPresiidentt Kennnedyy witth hiis chharaccteriisticc elooquennce aand cclariity ssaid,We wwant to ssee aa staable Goveernmeen

21、t ttheree, ccarryying on tthe a sstrugggle to mmainttain its natiionall inddepenndencce. We bbelieeve sstronngly in tthat. We are not goinng too witthdraaw frrom tthat effoort. In mmy oppinioon, ffor uus too witthdraaw frrom tthat effoort wwouldd meaan a colllapsee nott onlly off Souuth VVietnnam bb

22、ut SSouthheastt Asiia. SSo weere goinng too staay thhere.? Presiidentt Eissenhoower and Pressidennt Joohnsoon exxpresssed the samee connclussion duriing ttheirr terrms oof offficee.For tthe ffuturre off peaace, preccipittate withhdrawwal wwouldd be a diisastter oof immmensse maagnittude. A nnatioon

23、caannott remmain greaat iff it betrrays its alliies aand llets downn itss friiendss. Ouur deefeatt andd hummiliaationn in Soutth Viietnaam wiithouut quuestiion wwouldd proomotee reccklesssnesss inn thee couuncills off thoose ggreatt powwers who havee nott yett abaandonned ttheirr goaals oof woorldss

24、 connquesst. TThis woulld sppark viollencee wheereveer ouur coommittmentts heelp mmainttain the peacce - in the Midddle EEast, in Berllin, evenntuallly eeven in tthe WWesteern HHemisspherre. UUltimmatelly, tthis woulld coost mmore livees. IIt woould not brinng peeace. It woulld brring moree warr.For

25、 tthesee reaasonss I rrejeccted the recoommenndatiion tthat I shhouldd endd thee warr by immeediattely withhdrawwing all of oour fforcees. II choose iinsteead tto chhangee Ameericaan poolicyy on bothh thee neggotiaatingg froont aand tthe bbattlle frront in oorderr to end the war fougght oon maany ff

26、rontts. II iniitiatted aa purrsuitt forr peaace oon maany ffrontts. IIn a teleevisiion sspeecch onn Mayy 14, in a sppeechh beffore the Unitted NNatioons, on aa nummber of ootherr occcasioons, I seet foorth our peacce prropossals in ggreatt dettail. We haave oofferred tthe ccompllete withhdrawwal oof

27、 alll ouutsidde foorcess witthin one yearr. Wee havve prropossed aa ceaase ffire undeer innternnatioonal supeervission. Wee havve offfereed frree eelecttionss undder iinterrnatiionall supperviisionn witth thhe Coommunnistss parrticiipatiing iin thhe orrganiizatiion aand cconduuct oof thhe ellectiion

28、s as aan orrganiized poliiticaal foorce. Andd thee Saiigon goveernmeent hhas ppledgged tto accceptt thee ressult of tthe eelecttion.We haave nnot pput fforthh ourr prooposaals oon a takee-it-or-lleavee-it basiis. WWe haave iindiccatedd thaat weere willling to ddiscuuss tthe ppropoosalss thaat haave

29、bbeen put fortth byy thee othher sside. We havee decclareed thhat aanythhing is nnegottiablle, eexceppt thhe riight of tthe ppeoplle off Souuth VVietnnam tto deetermmine theiir owwn fuuturee.At thhe Paaris peacce coonferrencee Ambbassaador Lodgge haas deemonsstratted oour fflexiibiliity aand ggood f

30、aitth inn 40 publlic mmeetiings. Hannoi hhas rrefussed eeven to ddiscuuss oour ppropoosalss. Thhey ddemannd ouur unncondditioonal acceeptannce oof thheir termms whhich are thatt we withhdraww alll Ameericaan foorcess immmediaatelyy andd unccondiitionnallyy andd thaat wee oveerthrrow tthe ggoverrnmen

31、nt off Souuth VVietnnam aas wee leaave.We haave nnot llimitted oour ppeacee iniitiattivess to publlic fforumms annd puublicc staatemeents. I rrecoggnizeed inn Jannuaryy thaat a longg andd bittter war likee thiis ussuallly caannott be setttled in aa pubblic foruum. TThat is wwhy iin addditiion tto th

32、he puublicc staatemeents and negootiattionss, I havee expploreed evvery posssiblee priivatee aveenue thatt migght llead to aa setttlemment.Tonigght, I amm takking the unprreceddenteed sttep oof diiscloosingg to you somee of our otheer innitiaativees foor peeace, iniitiattivess we undeertoook prrivat

33、tely and secrretlyy beccausee we thouught we tthereeby mmightt opeen a doorr whiich ppubliicly woulld bee cloosed.I didd nott waiit foor myy inaaugurratioon too beggin mmy quuest for peacce. SSoon afteer myy eleectioon, tthrouugh aan inndiviiduall whoo wass dirrectlly inn conntactt on a peersonnal b

34、basiss witth thhe leeaderrs off Norrth VVietnnam, I maade ttwo pprivaate oofferrs foor a rapiid, ccomprrehennsivee setttlemment. Hannoiss reppliess callled in eeffecct foor ouur suurrennder befoore nnegottiatiions. Sinnce tthe SSovieet Unnion furnnishees moost oof thhe miilitaary eequippmentt forr N

35、orrth VVietnnam, Secrretarry off Staate RRogerrs, mmy asssisttant for natiionall seccuritty afffairrs, DDr. KKissiingerr, Ammbasssadorr Loddge aand II perrsonaally havee mett on a nuumberr of occaasionns wiith rrepreesenttativves oof thhe Sooviett Govvernmment to eenlisst thheir assiistannce iin gee

36、ttinng meeaninngfull neggotiaationns sttarteed. IIn addditiion, we hhave had exteendedd disscusssionss dirrecteed toowardd thaat saame eend wwith reprresenntatiives of ootherr govvernmmentss whiich hhave dipllomattic rrelattionss witth Noorth Viettnam.None of tthesee iniitiattivess havve too datte p

37、rroducced rresullts. In mmid-JJuly I beecamee connvincced tthat it wwas nnecesssaryy to makee a mmajorr movve too breeak tthe ddeadllock in tthe PPariss tallks. I sppoke direectlyy in thiss offfice, wheere II?m nnow ssittiing, withh an indiividuual wwho hhad kknownn Ho Chi Minhh on a peersonnal bbas

38、iss forr 25 yearrs. TThrouugh hhim II sennt a lettter tto Hoo Chii Minnh. II didd thiis ouutsidde off thee usuual ddiploomatiic chhanneels wwith the hopee thaat wiith tthe nnecesssityy of makiing sstateementts foor prropaggandaa remmovedd, thhere mighht bee connstruuctivve prrogreess ttowarrd brring

39、iing tthe wwar tto ann endd.Let mme reead ffrom thatt lettter to yyou nnow: DDear Mr. Pressidennt: I reaalizee thaat itt is diffficullt too commmuniicatee meaaninggfullly accrosss thee gullf off fouur yeears of wwar. But precciselly beecausse off thiis guulf II wannted to ttake thiss oppportuunityy

40、to reafffirmm in all soleemnitty myy dessire to wwork for a juust ppeacee. I deepply bbelieeve tthat the war in VVietnnam hhas ggone on ttoo llong and delaay inn briinginng itt to an eend ccan bbeneffit nno onne, lleastt of all the peopple oof Viietnaam. TThe ttime has comee to movee forrwardd at th

41、e confferennce ttablee towward an eearlyy ressoluttion of tthis traggic wwar. You willl finnd uss forrthcoomingg andd opeen-miindedd in a coommonn efffort to bbringg thee bleessinngs oof peeace to tthe bbravee peoople of VVietnnam. Let histtory recoord tthat at tthis critticall junncturre booth ssid

42、ess turrned theiir faace ttowarrd peeace rathher tthan towaard cconfllict and war.I recceiveed Hoo Chii Minnhs replly onn Auggust 30, threee daays bbeforre hiis deeath. It simpply rreiteerateed thhe puublicc possitioon Noorth Viettnam had takeen att Parris aand fflatlly reejectted mmy innitiaativee.

43、 Thhe fuull ttext of bboth lettters is bbeingg relleaseed too thee preess.In addditiion tto thhe puublicc meeetinggs thhat II havve reeferrred tto, AAmbasssadoor Loodge has met withh Vieetnamms cchieff neggotiaator in PPariss in 11 pprivaate ssessiions. Andd we havee takken ootherr siggnifiicantt in

44、iitiattivess whiich mmust remaain ssecreet too keeep oppen ssome channnelss of commmuniccatioons wwhichh mayy stiill pprovee to be pproduuctivve.But tthe eeffecct off alll thee pubblic, priivatee, annd seecrett neggotiaationns whhich havee beeen unnderttakenn sinnce tthe bbombiing hhalt a yeear aago

45、, and sincce thhis AAdminnistrratioon caame iinto offiice oon Jaanuarry 200th, can be ssummeed upp in one senttencee: Noo proogresss whhatevver hhas bbeen madee exccept agreeemennt onn thee shaape oof thhe baargaiiningg tabble.Well, noww, whhos at ffaultt? IIts becoome cclearr thaat thhe obbstaccle

46、iin neegotiiatinng ann endd to the war is nnot tthe PPresiidentt of the Unitted SStatees. IIt iss nott thee Souuth VVietnnamesse Goovernnmentt. Thhe obbstaccle iis thhe otther sidees aabsollute refuusal to sshow the leasst wiillinngnesss too joiin uss in seekking a juust ppeacee. Annd itt willl noot

47、 doo so whille itt is convvinceed thhat aall iit haas too do is tto waait ffor oour nnext conccessiion, and our nextt conncesssion afteer thhat oone, untiil itt getts evverytthingg it wantts.Theree cann noww be no llongeer anny quuestiion tthat proggresss in negootiattion depeends onlyy on Hanooi ss deccidinng too neggotiaate - too neggotiaate sserioouslyy. I reallize thatt thiis reeportt on our effoorts