 His long speech is just really two things. He says that he wants to test Cossigan's sincerity By halting the bombardment and saying we are ready to negotiate within the week Making it clear that discussions cannot continue for a prolonged period Without an agreement that neither side will substantially increase the size of the war in South Vietnam That's the important proposal he makes. It's not important. That's what he does. Now. We just finished doing that I don't know where the hell he was but Against the advice of our military people Against the wishes of a good many of the countries associated with us We halted the bombardment And for six days and we said we are ready to negotiate and we played with the not only Ho Chi Minh direct I wrote him a letter that you say you said some of my action for unseemly, but I Didn't hurt So now What I want to point out to you. This is not public, but I want you to know it. I wrote Ho Chi Minh a letter And I said to him that we will halt The bombing yes, and we will Stop our augmentation of our troops if you'll stop your infiltration Now he just turned me down flat. Did you ever buy? Yes, sir He replied to it and he said there's no soap. He said the same thing he said to the pope Now that's not known, but what is known is that for six days We did just what Sunday Kennedy said we halted the bombardment and said we're ready to negotiate within the week And we made it clear that discussions could not continue for prolonged period without an agreement That each side will not substantially increase the size of the war now we did that for six days And each day we would repeat the Cossigan and Wilson to go and tell them that get back And they got back with nothing except what the pope gave us. So we have tried within the month During the Ted period for six days just what the senator proposed is today and We got the same result that we got the last time the senator proposed a pause 37 days we got nothing and the same results we got with five day pause that he came down here and suggested that time Bobby originated the five-day one The first one we gave him two three days notice told him we were gonna pause and ask them if they'd stop we'd stop They just know that Oh Year and a half ago. I guess I forgot the lesson as a person five days He came alone to this office He came in here and told me had good reason to believe these fellas play secretary of state all around the world And I stopped it notified everybody that I was gonna stop it Get ready told the Russians See what you can do and stopped it for five days on the second day after I stopped it They spit in their face turned the letter back to us and said the hell with you. We're not interested So I waited then I don't remember several months I've forgotten how long until a second one came along now if you want to know the Reconstruction I reviewed it with you once but to make it short the first man They got out there was full right and the bring in told him He came and told me the next man. They got his Mansfield. He came and told me the third man They got was the Morris. He had three and a half hours. He came and told me Then a number of others whom I do not recall except Bundy. They got Bundy. He was then on my staff He came and so McNamara then Bundy McNamara came and tried to sell me in rust. We didn't buy That held on several days and I went to Texas and they sold rust Then I came back up here and had long detailed meetings that ran for a couple of days and Had Clark Clifford and had the intelligence board and a port has to come in I was about souls who start to to start the pause But the father said it was outrageous and predicted exactly what would happen. So did the Clifford later McNamara and Bundy said well you went out and picked up two men on the street That hadn't any information on this and brought them in here and then followed their advice instead of ours I said yeah, sure. They're dead. I'm not gonna cause our boys to suffer down there unless I got something quick Pro quo unless they'll stop doing something So that went on for about a week I went back to Texas refused to take them then general Taylor called me up and said that he didn't recommend it But he would guarantee me that if I was ever gonna stop and look like I'd have to Get ready for the Congress with all this new money But now is the time to do it cuz it wouldn't cost me anything the weather was bad that they needed these planes over in Laos anyway And that he would defend me and so forth. So I got my plane came back talk to general Wheeler And Wheeler said that he didn't recommend it That he wasn't for it But he did see from the other angle that we ought to show some Thanks, some desire piece to try to assuate the dove And therefore if I did it he could defend because two reasons one he needed these planes in Laos more than he needed them in the north Number one and number two the weather was so bad over the north. He couldn't get anything done But it would make it appear pretty good. Well, I didn't ever stress that I want to make get all the blood out of it So I just said 37 days and so forth So I went through that one and as damn lucky to get back in that last few days It looked like that they'd keep delaying us and they kept getting They had the British Prime Minister to go and had Ronning of Canada to go and they send our friends over there And we couldn't bomb while they were there So this time the Ted came along We had grave reservations about it our military man have grave reservations, but we didn't want to be bombing We said we had to We had agreed to go along with South Vietnam on Christmas And if we couldn't if we go on Christmas in our new year, we ought to be fair with them. So we did go along now at that time Trasegan and Wilson were meeting so They came to us and I said now we've stopped bombing now is the time to get the job done I did the same thing to Ho Chi Minh. I can't say that yet because I want to keep that channel open I'm writing back for time But I want you to know that but they they they had a direct that we met their man And we delivered their man in Moscow. I let it ocean and he took it back to Ho Chi Minh Ho Chi Minh replied to me and said no go now We thought though the fact that he never publicized that letter was an indication He is weak and then he wanted to keep that channel open And all this other stuff the Pope and Wilson we thought is just so much crap We still think so we don't think it we think to see it wants to get out of it We think that he's damn dang just to get out of it with the Chinese But he's embarrassed and he can't do anything. So Bobby comes along the one says he does which which letter was it that Ho Chi Minh answered just bit of your face But that one prior letter that was not what wasn't a letter to Ho Chi Minh That was an offer the first pause the first five-day one And Bobby Kennedy was the author that that was the Bobby Kennedy pause you can you can just tell it You understand it when you when you were opposing it that he had more influence needed And he got the first pause five days, and he's got the next one for 35 days 37 And he's got the last one for six days But nowhere any time can he give you one damn word from Manali I think quote preachers and teachers And they can quote Cossigan, and they can quote Wilson and they can quote you taught and Goldberg but the damn that you can get it from Ho Chi Minh and Ho Chi Minh is talking to us and right to us And you know that he knows how to get a message to us if he wants to They're voting in there and on rule 22 and I've got to vote now What a what's part of this can I use on this last you can use every bit of it except Ho Chi Minh's letter where I wrote Ho Chi Minh You can say all rest of it and he but I we have to start say have communicate with him through. Yes. Yes, sure Sure, and the main thing is he says halt the bombardment and make it clear that we'll negotiate But we won't wait long well tell him we halted the bombardment intent We made it clear we negotiate through Cossigan and we did wait six damn days period and what what he's suggesting this week We'll just finish doing two weeks ago over your protest. All right And they build up 50 days miss giving about getting in debate with a little bit in but I'll