Paris peace agreements

Question 1

Preliminary peace talks began

Answer 1

May 1968
-The US weren’t committed to stopping all the bombing of NV as Johnson feared that the NV were going to use it as a chance to prepare for an offensive against the south

Question 2

Oct 1968

Answer 2

-Talks had reached a stalemate

Question 3

What problems did the north have with the negotiations?

Answer 3

-They were on the defensive rather than offensive after the failure of the Tet Offensive, they couldn’t commit to any actions that made them appear weak

Question 4

What problems did the Americans face?

Answer 4

-The SV were opposed to any negotiations IF the NLF were present
-The VC wanted the removal of the current regime in Saigon + a coalition govt w/ VC representatives BUT if the Americans agreed then they’d be abandoning Thieu

Question 5

Feb 1970

Answer 5

-Kissinger met with Le Duc Tho, a communist politician who served as a special adviser to North Vietnam during the negotiations
-Le Duc Tho insisted on a coalition govt + a replacement of the current Saigon regime
-This was unrealistic for both Nixon + Kissinger

Question 6

May 1971

Answer 6

-NV demanded the removal of Thieu
-Kissinger feared the south would collapse into chaos + see the USA’s actions as betrayal

Question 7

Oct 1972

Answer 7

-A turning point in negotiations
-NV agreed to not remove Thieu from power
-31 Oct Kissinger announces ‘peace is at hand’

Question 8

Oct

Answer 8

Agreements reached, HOWEVER the south Vietnamese were excluded from negotiations
-Ceasefire would begin in Jan 1973
-Within 60 days US forces would withdraw
-A commission would be set up to consider the introduction of free elections in post-war SV + ability of the SV to decide their own political future

Question 9

What did Nixon do after the agreements were agreed upon?

Answer 9

-Once winning a landslide victory in 1972, in Dec of that year he ordered the bombing on Hanoi + other important northern cities
-Was the heaviest bombing of the entire war
-International condemnation of US actions was a result + Nixon’s approval rating fell by 32%

Question 10

When were the agreements signed?

Answer 10

Jan 1973

Question 11

Why were they signed later?

Answer 11

-Nixon wanted to wait until after the 1972 elections
-Thieu didn’t agree to them + so they had persuade the south