Paris Peace Accords

Paris peace negotiations

Background and early deadlocks

In July 1954, the First Indochina War ended with the victory of communist insurgency over the French Union's coalition, Vietnam was divided at the 17th parallel with the pro-French State of Vietnam (predecessor of the Republic of Vietnam) holding the South and the communists taking power in the North under the name of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. This division was a political defeat for the communists. However, the communists hoped to unify Vietnam under a communist model through a general election. Facing a likely defeat in an election, Ngo Dinh Diem, the South Vietnamese dictator, cancelled plans for a nationwide election. War between North and South Vietnam broke out in the context of the global Cold War, and the United States supported the pro-Western South as an ally. South Vietnam experienced significant internal turmoil, including the Buddhist Crisis and the removal of Diem in an American backed coup. Although the United States and its allies won a major victory in the 1968 Tet Offensive, the campaign sparked a strong rise of the American anti-war movement. Following the strong showing of anti-war candidate Eugene McCarthy in the New Hampshire primary, in March 1968 US President Lyndon B. Johnson halted bombing operations over the northern portion of North Vietnam (Operation Rolling Thunder), in order to encourage Hanoi (the perceived locus of the insurgency) to begin negotiations. Although some sources state that the bombing halt decision announced on March 31, 1968, was related to events occurring within the White House and the Presidents counsel of Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford and others rather than the events in New Hampshire. Shortly thereafter, Hanoi agreed to discuss a complete halt of the bombing, and a date was set for representatives of both parties to meet in Paris. The sides first met on May 10, with the delegations headed by Xuân Thuỷ, who would remain the official leader of the North Vietnamese delegation throughout the process, and US ambassador-at-large W. Averell Harriman.

For five months, the negotiations stalled as North Vietnam demanded that all bombing of North Vietnam be stopped, while the US side demanded that North Vietnam agree to a reciprocal de-escalation in South Vietnam; it was not until October 31 that Johnson agreed to end the air strikes and serious negotiations could begin.

One of the largest hurdles to effective negotiation was that North Vietnam and its National Liberation Front (NLF, VC, Viet Cong) in the South, refused to recognize the South Vietnamese government in Saigon; with equal persistence, the South Vietnamese government refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the NLF. Harriman resolved this dispute by developing a system by which North Vietnam and U.S. would be the named parties; NLF officials could join the North Vietnam team without being recognized by South Vietnam, while Saigon's representatives joined their US allies.

A similar debate concerned the shape of the table to be used at the conference. The North favored a circular table, in which all parties, including NLF representatives, would appear to be "equal"' in importance. The South Vietnamese argued that only a rectangular table was acceptable, for only a rectangle could show two distinct sides to the conflict. Eventually a compromise was reached, in which representatives of the northern and southern governments would sit at a circular table, with members representing all other parties sitting at individual square tables around them.

Negotiations and the Nixon campaign

Bryce Harlow, a former White House staff member in the Eisenhower administration, claimed to have "a double agent working in the White House....I kept Nixon informed." Harlow and Henry Kissinger (who was friendly with both campaigns and guaranteed a job in either a Humphrey or Nixon administration in the upcoming election) separately predicted Johnson's "bombing halt." Democratic senator George Smathers informed President Johnson that "the word is out that we are making an effort to throw the election to Humphrey. Nixon has been told of it."

According to presidential historian Robert Dallek, Kissinger's advice "rested not on special knowledge of decision making at the White House but on an astute analyst's insight into what was happening." CIA intelligence analyst William Bundy stated that Kissinger obtained "no useful inside information" from his trip to Paris, and "almost any experienced Hanoi watcher might have come to the same conclusion." While Kissinger may have "hinted that his advice was based on contacts with the Paris delegation," this sort of "self-promotion...is at worst a minor and not uncommon practice, quite different from getting and reporting real secrets."

Nixon asked prominent Chinese-American politician Anna Chennault to be his "channel to Mr. Thieu"; Chennault agreed and periodically reported to John Mitchell that Thieu had no intention of attending a peace conference. On November 2, Chennault informed the South Vietnamese ambassador: "I have just heard from my boss in Albuquerque who says his boss [Nixon] is going to win. And you tell your boss [Thieu] to hold on a while longer." Johnson found out through the NSA and was enraged saying that Nixon had "blood on his hands" and that Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen agreed with Johnson that such action was "treason." Defense Secretary Clark Clifford considered the moves an illegal violation of the Logan Act.

In response, Johnson ordered the wire-tapping of members of the Nixon campaign. Dallek wrote that Nixon's efforts "probably made no difference" because Thieu was unwilling to attend the talks and there was little chance of an agreement being reached before the election; however, his use of information provided by Harlow and Kissinger was morally questionable, and vice president Humphrey's decision not to make Nixon's actions public was "an uncommon act of political decency."

Nixon administration

After winning the 1968 presidential election, Richard Nixon became president of the US in January 1969. He then replaced US ambassador Harriman with Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., who was later replaced by David Bruce. Also that year, the NLF set up a Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG) to gain government status at the talks. However, the primary negotiations that led to the agreement did not occur at the Peace Conference at all but were carried out during secret negotiations between Kissinger and Lê Đức Thọ, which began on August 4, 1969.

North Vietnam insisted for three years that the agreement could not be concluded unless the United States agreed to remove South Vietnamese President Thiệu from power and replace him with someone more acceptable to Hanoi. Nixon and Kissinger were unwilling to sign an agreement to overthrow a government the NLF had failed to overthrow by force of arms, though the extent of North Vietnamese demands is contested. Historian Marilyn B. Young, contends that the contents of Hanoi's proposal were systematically distorted from their original plea to permit Thiệu's replacement, to what Kissinger propagated as a demand for his overthrow.

Breakthrough and agreement

On May 8, 1972, Nixon made a major concession to North Vietnam by announcing that the US would accept a cease-fire in place as a precondition for its military withdrawal. In other words, the US would withdraw its forces from South Vietnam without North Vietnam doing the same. The concession broke a deadlock and resulted in progress in the talks over the next few months.

The final major breakthrough came on October 8, 1972. Prior to this, North Vietnam had been disappointed by the results of its Nguyen Hue Offensive (known in the West as the Easter Offensive), which had resulted in the United States countering with "Operation Linebacker", a significant air bombing campaign that blunted the North's drive in the South as well as inflicting damage in the North. The South Vietnamese army with massive US fire support eventually successfully pushed back the PAVN. Also, the North Vietnamese feared increased isolation if Nixon's efforts at détente significantly improved US relations with the chief communist powers, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, who were backing the North Vietnamese military effort. During this year, Nixon visited China to improve US-China relations amid the Sino-Soviet split. In a meeting with Kissinger, Thọ significantly modified his bargaining line, allowing that the Saigon government could remain in power and that negotiations between the two South Vietnamese parties could develop a final settlement. Within 10 days the secret talks drew up a final draft. Kissinger held a press conference in Washington during which he announced that "peace is at hand."

When Thiệu, who had not even been informed of the secret negotiations, was presented with the draft of the new agreement, he was furious with Kissinger and Nixon (who were perfectly aware of South Vietnam's negotiating position) and refused to accept it without significant changes. He then made several public radio addresses, claiming that the proposed agreement was worse than it actually was. Hanoi was flabbergasted, believing that it had been duped into a propaganda ploy by Kissinger. On October 26, Radio Hanoi broadcast key details of the draft agreement.

However, as US casualties had mounted throughout the conflict since 1965, American domestic support for the war had deteriorated, and by late 1972 there was major pressure on the Nixon administration to withdraw from the war. Consequently, the US brought great diplomatic pressure upon their South Vietnamese ally to sign the agreement even if the concessions Thiệu wanted could not be achieved. Nixon pledged to provide continued substantial aid to South Vietnam and given his recent landslide victory in the presidential election, it seemed possible that he would be able to follow through on that pledge. To demonstrate his seriousness to Thiệu, Nixon ordered the heavy Operation Linebacker II bombings of North Vietnam in December 1972. Nixon also attempted to bolster South Vietnam's military forces by ordering that large quantities of US military material and equipment be given to South Vietnam from May to December 1972 under Operations Enhance and Enhance Plus. These operations were also designed to keep North Vietnam at the negotiating table and to prevent them from abandoning negotiations and seeking total victory. When the North Vietnamese government agreed to resume "technical" discussions with the United States, Nixon ordered a halt to bombings north of the 20th parallel on December 30. With the US committed to disengagement (and after threats from Nixon that South Vietnam would be abandoned if he did not agree), Thiệu had little choice but to accede.

On January 15, 1973, Nixon announced a suspension of offensive actions against North Vietnam. Kissinger and Thọ met again on January 23 and signed off on an agreement that was basically identical to the draft of three months earlier. The agreement was signed by the leaders of the official delegations on January 27, 1973, at the Hotel Majestic in Paris.

Aftermath

The Paris Peace Accords effectively removed the US from the conflict in Vietnam, however the PAVN was allowed to stay in the South. The United States had no formal bilateral military treaty with Saigon. Prisoners from both sides were exchanged, with American ones primarily released during Operation Homecoming. Around 31,961 North Vietnamese/VC prisoners (26,880 military, 5,081 civilians) were released in return for 5,942 South Vietnamese prisoners.

The Paris Peace Accords opened up further negotiations between the United States and North Vietnam as well as between the South Vietnamese parties, however the story did not go smoothly in South Vietnam. The agreement's provisions were routinely flouted by both the North Vietnamese and the South Vietnamese governments, eliciting no response from the United States, and ultimately resulting in the communists enlarging the area under their control by the end of 1973. The Paris Peace Accords in January 1973 failed to end the fighting in South Vietnam, as North Vietnam immediately violated the cease-fire and attempted to make territorial gains, resulting in large battles. The communists also continued to send weapons and soldiers into the South. Sporadic clashes continued to occur between North and South Vietnam in South Vietnam and Cambodia. North Vietnamese military forces gradually built up their military infrastructure in the areas they controlled, and two years later were in a position to launch the successful offensive that ended South Vietnam's status as an independent country. Fighting began almost immediately after the agreement was signed, due to a series of mutual retaliations, and by March 1973 full-fledged war had resumed.

In late 1973, the communists issued Resolution 21, which called for "strategic raids" against South Vietnam to gain territory and to gauge the reaction of Thiệu and the American government. This started between March and November 1974, when the communists attacked Quang Duc Province and Biên Hòa. The US failed to respond to the communist violations and the ARVN lost a lot of supplies in the fighting. Anti-communist Thiệu also expressed his stance on the ceasefire by publicly proclaiming the "Four Nos": no negotiations with the communists; no communist political activities south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ); no coalition government; and no surrender of territory to the North Vietnamese or PRG. Thiệu believed the American promise to reintroduce air power against the communists if they made any serious violations of the agreement, and he and his government also assumed that US aid would continue to be forthcoming at previous levels. After two clashes that left 55 South Vietnamese soldiers dead, President Thiệu announced on 4 January 1974 that the war had restarted and that the Paris Peace Accord was no longer in effect. There were over 25,000 South Vietnamese casualties during the ceasefire period.

Nixon had secretly promised Thiệu that he would use airpower to support the South Vietnamese government should it be necessary. During his confirmation hearings in June 1973, Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger was sharply criticized by some senators after he stated that he would recommend resumption of US bombing in North Vietnam if North Vietnam launched a major offensive against South Vietnam, but by August 15, 1973, 95% of American troops and their allies had left Vietnam (both North and South) as well as Cambodia and Laos under the Case-Church Amendment. The amendment, which was approved by the US Congress in June 1973, prohibited further US military activity in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia unless the president secured Congressional approval in advance. However, during this time, Nixon was being driven from office due to the Watergate scandal, which led to his resignation in 1974. In 1973–74, US funding was slashed to $965 million, a reduction of more than 50%. While South Vietnam still fought effectively in 1973–74, sharp cuts in US aid crippled Saigon's economy and military, reducing the morale of the soldiers. The aid cuts meant that an artillery piece could only fire four rounds a day, and each soldier had only 85 bullets per month. Due to lack of fuel and spare parts, air force transport operations shrank by up to 70%. The global 1973 oil crisis also devastated the South Vietnamese free market economy.

After the communists launched a major invasion of Phước Long in mid-December 1974, the US army did not directly help South Vietnam and the province was finally captured on 6 January 1975, this created confidence among the communists that the United States would not intervene militarily and they planned to take over the South in 1976. When the North Vietnamese began their final offensive early in 1975, the US Congress refused to appropriate increased military assistance for South Vietnam, citing strong opposition to the war by Americans and the loss of American equipment to the North by retreating Southern forces. After the defeat at Buon Me Thuot in March 1975, Thiệu ordered his army to abandon the Central Highlands, but the retreat turned into disaster and chaos. Realizing the opportunity was ripe, North Vietnam decided to accelerate the deadline for taking over the South by force from 1976 to 1975. The communists demanded that Thiệu resign as a precondition for peace. Thiệu subsequently resigned on April 21, accusing the US of betrayal in a TV and radio address:

At the time of the peace agreement the United States agreed to only replace equipment on a one-by-one basis. But the United States did not keep its word. Is an American's word reliable these days? The United States did not keep its promise to help us fight for freedom and it was in the same fight that the United States lost 50,000 of its young men.

According to the provisions of the 1967 Constitution, Vice President Trần Văn Hương replaced Thiệu. Both the United States and South Vietnam hoped for the establishment of a coalition government with the PRG in South Vietnam to save peace and prevent the South from falling into the hands of communism. However because of their great military advantage, the communists rejected Saigon's offer to form a coalition government. The Vietnam War ended when South Vietnamese President Dương Văn Minh, a left-wing neutralist taking power on April 28 by congressional designation, surrendered to the PAVN on the radio two day later. The North Vietnamese-controlled PRG became the new government of South Vietnam. Schlesinger had announced early in the morning of April 29 the beginning of Operation Frequent Wind, which entailed the evacuation of the last US diplomatic, military and civilian personnel from Saigon via helicopter, which was completed in the early morning hours of April 30. Not only did North Vietnam conquer South Vietnam, but the communists were also victorious in Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh on April 17, as were the communist Pathet Lao in Laos successful in taking power peacefully in Laos on December 2. Like Saigon, US civilian and military personnel were evacuated from Phnom Penh, US diplomatic presence in Vientiane was significantly downgraded, and the number of remaining US personnel was severely reduced. After the fall of the Republic of Vietnam, the United States imposed a trade embargo on all of Vietnam until 1994. US$3.3 billion in reconstruction aid for North Vietnam, which U.S. president Richard Nixon had secretly promised in the form of a letter offering a specific figures after the Paris Peace Accords, was refused by the US on the grounds that North Vietnam violated the agreement.

After taking over South Vietnam, North Vietnam advocated rapid unification. North Vietnam and the PRG applied to join the United Nations as separate states in July 1975 but were vetoed by the United States both times in September on the grounds that the Soviet Union and China vetoed South Korea's application for membership in August. The communists legitimized their rule over all of Vietnam by holding a consultative conference in November and holding joint parliamentary elections in April 1976 to establish the Socialist Republic on July 2. The United States refused to recognize the new state until 1995, four years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and most other communist countries. In 1997, Vietnam agreed to formally drop its request that the U.S. honors its 1973 aid commitment and instead to pay off the debts of former South Vietnam, then amounting to $140 million, in order to be allowed to trade with the U.S.

Assessment

According to Finnish historian Jussi Hanhimäki, due to triangular diplomacy (US–China–USSR) which isolated it, South Vietnam was "pressurized into accepting an agreement that virtually ensured its collapse." During negotiations, Kissinger stated that the United States would not intervene militarily 18 months after an agreement, but that it might intervene before that. In Vietnam War historiography, this has been termed the "decent interval."

Signatories

• Nguyen Duy Trinh, Minister for Foreign Affairs for the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
• Nguyễn Thị Bình, Minister for Foreign Affairs for the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam
• William P. Rogers, United States Secretary of State
• Trần Văn Lắm, Minister for Foreign Affairs for the Republic of Vietnam

Other key figures in the negotiations

• Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., former United States Ambassador to South Vietnam, head of the US delegation
• Henry Kissinger, special advisor of the President of the United States
• William J. Porter
• Xuân Thủy, head of delegation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
• Lê Đức Thọ, special advisor of the government of Democratic Republic of Vietnam