The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 52, No. 17, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 18, 1965 Page: 3 of 10
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The war in Vietnam: who's 'free'?
By EDWIN T. BURTON
Mr. Barton, Witu *14, la enmntlr
preparing for m Master's Degree in
eeenoaies at Rice. MaaMin courtesy
the Hoaston Chronicle and Publish*
ers* Newspaper Syndicate.—Ed.
American involvement in Viet-
nam in the early weeks of Feb-
ruary of this year is consistent
in only one sense: it has con-
tinued the mistakes of the past.
The Saigon government has
gained no ground on the Viet
Cong, and in fact has lost some.
The threat of nuclear confron-
tation has risen from modest to
monumental proportions.
Administration state m e n t s
notwithstanding, the bombing of
North Vietnam brings us no
closer to a settlement of the
Vietnamese war. Moreover, the
American military losses of the
past two weeks in South Viet-
nam have been greater than in
any previous month of the war.
The deaths of eight Americans
in the destroyed billet, the of-
ficial motive for the U. S. air
strikes, have now increased
to well over 200 deaths in the
brief period that followed.
If the bombings were intend-
ed to aid the Saigon government,
this impression was certainly
not brought to bear upon the
Viet Cong. With the exception
of the areas under direct mili-
tary occupation by the United
States, the Saigon government
has little apparent control over
South Vietnam.
Even American military in-
stallations, as 'the past two
weeks have demonstrated, are
not always free from the threat
of the Viet Cong. Thus, with-
out adding to the stability of the
Saigon regime(s), American es-
calation of the war, implicit in
the U. S. air raids, has once
again raised the threat of nu-
clear war.
Rationalizing Demos
Administration-oriented col-
umnists and rationalizing Demo-
crats, apparently following this
line of reasoning, have conclud-
ed that the escalation of the
war, raising the spectre of a nu-
clear confrontation, may well
have been an Administration mo-
tive. According to this reason-
ing, one of the situations might
result. One of these, obviously,
would be war between the
United States and North Viet-
nam, China, or both; the other
would presumably take the form
of a negotiated settlement by
these powers to end the Vietnam
conflict.
Consider the latter possibility
for a moment.
It is reasonable to assume
that Red China and North Viet-
nam will be interested in ne-
gotiating a settlement in South
Vietnam, when the Viet Cong
appears to be nearing virtual
control over all of South Viet-
nam, not immediately occupied
by American troops.
Would such a settlement
be acceptable to the Viet
Cong, even if the Chinese
and North Vietnamese
proved so inclined ? The
mobilization of Chinese
forces at the Vietnam bor-
der, the installation of
ground-to-air missiles in
North Vietnam, the in-
creased guerilla activity of
the Viet Cong, and the
strong statements of alli-
ance between these three
groups tend to discount
the possibility of such a
settlement.
In addition one need
only recall that the ele-
ments backing the Viet
Cong—communists as well
as others—have been en-
gaged in this struggle be-
fore the present govern-
ments of North Vietnam
and Red China came into
existence. It is foolish to pre-*!
sume that in the absence^, of|
North Vietnam and Red China,
the Viet Cong would cease.
V.C. Gets Little Aid
It is equally foolish to over-
estimate the amount of aid that
\the Viet Cong has received from
these two countries. Contrast
the role of the United States in
the Saigon defense with the role
of the Chinese or North Viet-
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
Sights: down the wrong Alley
By STEVE THORPE
Thresher Amusements Editor
When the staff of the Alley
was planning their next season
they dug deep into an old closet
and discovered a skeleton wrap-
ped in a moth-eaten army
blanket. They made all sorts of
noises expressing joy and jubila-
tion (for reasons still unfathom-
able) and then decided to parade
the old monstrosity in front of
everybody as a work of art.
To delve into the psychology
behind the ridiculous produc-
tion, of "A Sound of Hunting"
at the Alley would more than
likely fill several volumes with
trivia, but suffice it^to say that,
at best, the play is nothing more
than a calculated error on the
part of the Alley sentimenta-
lists.
At its worst, the play is mal-
directed, and mal-written.- .
First, the allegation of mal-
direction. John Wylie has, it
seems, lost all sense of arena
staging in his blocking of "The
Sound of Hunting" — if you
go (and I don't recommend it)
Sounds
By CHESTER ROSSON
Thresher Music Editor
The concert by the Houston
Symphony Monday evening
should have been nothing less
than great. The all-Sibelius
evening commemorating the
composer's centennial featured
his Violin Concerto and the
Symphony No. 5, excellent; re-
presentative selections. Many
critics consider Barbirolli's rec-
ording of the Fifth Symphony
with his Halle Orchestra the'
best available. The soloist, the
fabled Zino Francescatti, hadn't
broken any bones, unlike other
recent soloists, and' actually did
appear to play the difficult Con-
certo in D Minor.
In the opening "Pohjola's
Daughter," the strings; brought
out one of the qualities that
makes the concert hall perform- '
ance so superior to even the
best recording of a familiar
work. No stereo equipment can
capture the rasping attacks or
sheer visual excitement of
agitated strings.
Poor Tuning
Tha-following concerto reveal-
ed one of the disadvantages of
the concert versus the recorded
performance. Even the greatest
of artists runs into physical
difficulties with his instrument,
Zino being no exception. Dur-
ing the entire first movement
"Z i n o" unfortunately had
trouble keeping his violin
tuned — a fact which marred
an otherwise dazzling perform-
ance. Mr. Francescatti's famed
polish and precision came
through, however, in the final
two movements.
The feeling that the final
result of the evening was some-
thing less than superlative
developed only after the inter-
mission, during the orchestra's
version of the Fifth Symphony.
And I do mean the orchestra's,
since Sir John just didn't seem
to be in control. For the most
part it played with a lethargic
unresponsiveness strange even
to the Houston orchestra.
Exhausted Director
The strings were repeatedly
muddy in tremolo passages, and
the basses rattled annoyingly,
again and again in one legthy
fortissimo. Only occasionaly
could Sir John evoke the grand
style for which he was begging.
By the end of this very dis-
appointing performance, Sirf
John was exhausted — probably
at trying to impart some of his
feeling to the recalcitrant or-
chestra.
The Erick Hawkins Ballet
presentation Monday evening,
February 22, at 8:15 in Ham-
man Hall, should be required
attendance. This well-known
modern dance group is inter-
esting not only to those who
appreciate ballet, but also to
those interested in avant garde
music. „
■but if you go, do not sit on
the south side of the arena,
for the play seems generally
composed of actor's rear ends.
More importantly, Wylie has"
not succeeded in drawing any
depth of character out of his
actors.
Now, to the mal-acting. Color-
lessness has already been work-
ed over above, but when a show
completely falls dead in one
scene, you could say that there
was a complete lack of energy
as well. Perhaps John Wylie is •
too wrapped up in his job as
director to play a part well, so
that might be his excuse, but
somehow Jerry Hardin doesn't
have ^iat excuse. ••
The scene of the confrontation
between Hardin and Wylie
should be chock-full of tension
and hope, etc., etc. It isn't. Like-
wise Philip Fisher should have
little trouble with 'diction on a
set that is never more than
fifty feet from the farthest
point in the audience—he does.
""You cannot even hear him.
And nov?, worst of all these
sins, perhaps; the play is no
damn good as a play. If you can
imagine a watered down version
of "Combat" with no actual
shooting on stage and full to
over-brimming with such cliches
as( "I don't like it, it's too quiet
out there." Then this is "The
Sound of Hunting."
cS *
The Warriors
namese in the Viet Cong of-
fense.
America has over 22,000 mili-
tary 'advisors' in South Vietnam
and is currently supplying both
the American and South Vietna-
mese military forces. The Chi-
nese and North Vietnamese have
no significant numbers of mili-
tary personnel in the Viet Cong
and there is little evidence of
massive supplying of the Viet
Cong by the Chinese and North
Vietnamese.
U. S,. Supplies Both
" In fact, considerable evidence
exists to indicate that America
is actually supplying both sides.
Paradoxically, we are seemingly
being shot by our own guns. In
any event, communist-produced
supplies are not currently em-
ployed, to any significant ex-
tent, in the Vietnamese war.
Why then does it take more
than 22,000 men and millions of
dollars worth of supplies to
support an established govern-
ment against a rebel enemy that
uses only those supplies which
it captures from government
forces and receives little tangi-
ble support from its foreign
friends? Why, in fact, is the
rebel group emerging victorious
in this conflict in spite -of ap-
parently overwhelming odds ?
War Lost
It is no secret that the Saigon
government has been and is now
losing to the Viet Cong at a
rapid pace. Even, the .Adminis-
tration is hard pressed to deny
this situation. The hard, cold
fact which the Administration
has tried to brush lightly under
the rug is that the Saigon gov-
ernment is tragically lacking
even minimal popular support.
Much of the popular strength
of the Viet .Cong rests upon the
unpopularity of the Saigon gov-
ernment. Failure to correct this
situation is the single most out-
standing failure of American
policy in Vietnam since the be-
ginning of difficulties with the
rebels. Each year has in-
creased the alienation of
great blocs of the Vietna-
mese population from the
Saigon government, to the
point that Viet Cong now
commands the sympathies
of most of the South Viet-
namese peasantry.
It is well to remember
that Viet Cong popularity
hinges more upon the fail-
ures of the Saigon re-
gimes than upon devotion
to the goals of the Viet
Cong. The people are far
from united on the merits
of the Viet Cong, but they
are united in their oppo-
sition to American inter-
ference in the internal af-
fairs of their country.
American policy has bla-
tantly ignored this vital
issue of self-determina-
tion, inherent in the cur-
rent struggle.
Thus, the victories of the Viet
Cong against the Saigon, gov-
ernment are by no means as-
tounding. They are, instead, to
be expected. In this context, the
bombing raids pose not only
a threat to world peace, it lacks
relevance to the current conflict
in South Viet Nan.
Not One Inch
What, then, about the argu-
ment that America must not
lose this all-important battle-
ground of "freedom-versus-Com-
munism? This attitude assumes
that the Saigon Government
represents freedom and the Viet
Cong communism. The former
assumption clearly flies in* the
face of any sensible criterion of
freedom for the Vietnamese
people, since American aid has
been used to support a govern-
ment in Saigon which, to put it
mildly, has been unrepresenta-
tive and oppressive.
Instead, let us rephrase the
argument in terms of a struggle
between a Western-oriented gov-
ernment — Saigon, and a com-
munist-oriented government —
the Viet Cong.
What Avill it take to win this
type of struggle?
Is America ready for a com-
mitment to spend billions of dol-
lars annually and employ hun-
dreds of thousands of troops to
defend a government that has
proven oppressive, corrupt, and
inept, and moreover, can com-
mand not. even the minimal sup-
port of its population?
China Involved
On the other hand should
America seize the opportunity to
engage Red China in an all-out
war at this time,,assuming' such
a war is inevitable? When one
ponders the size of effort dic-
(Continued on Page 7)
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THE RICE THRESHER, FEBRUARY 1 8, 196 5—P AGE
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Kelly, Hugh Rice. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 52, No. 17, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 18, 1965, newspaper, February 18, 1965; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth244935/m1/3/: accessed June 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.