I, foolishely, lost or threw away a newspaper article that referred,
SPECIFICALLY, to Richard Nixon promising that he would help repair the
damage that this country had done to Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
It was in the amount of $2.5 billion. Maybe you could help.

---

Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 29 Jun 2003 13:12 PDT

Hello dettrey-ga, 


I have located a book that talks about the Nixon letter that promised
$3.25 billion in aid to North Vietnam. 

Would you be interested in the name of the book, author and a source
to purchase it?

I also found a couple of websites where they mention this letter as
well.

Thanks,

--Bobbie7-ga

Hello dettrey-ga,

Here is the text of the 1977 Department of State release containing
the "Nixon Letter" where $3.25 billion is promised to Vietnam as a
contribution to postwar reconstruction.


Department Of State Bulletin
Vol. 76 - No. 1983
June 27, 1977

Former President Nixon's Message to Prime Minister Pham Van Dong

Department Announcement

“The Department released on May 19, 1977, the text of a message dated
February 1, 1973, from former President Nixon to the Prime Minister of
the former Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Mr. Pham Van Dong. The
existence and substance of this document have already been made
public, including public references by the recipient. Its author has
indicated no obligation to its release. In light of all present
circumstances, we have determined that the message is no longer deemed
sensitive, and it has been declassified.”

TEST OF MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO THE PRIME
MINISTER OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM.

February 1, 1973

“The President wishes to inform the Democratic Republic of Vietnam of
the principles which will govern United States participation in the
postwar reconstruction of North Vietnam. As indicated in Article 21 of
The Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam signed
in Paris on January 27, 1973, the United States undertakes this
participation in accordance with its traditional policies. These
principles are as follows:

1) The Government of the United States of America will contribute to
postwar reconstruction in North Vietnam without any political
conditions.

2) Preliminary United States studies indicate that the appropriate
programs for the United States contribution to postwar reconstruction
will fall in the range of $3.25 billion of grant aid over five years.
Other forms of aid will be agreed upon between the two parties. This
estimate is sugject to revision and to detailed discussion between the
Government of the United States and the Government of the Democratic
Republic of Vietnam.

3) The United States will propose to the Democratic Republic of
Vietnam the establishment of a United States-North Vietnamese Joint
Economic Commission within 30 days from the date of this message.

4) The function of this Commission will be to develop programs for the
United States contribution to reconstruction of North Vietnam. This
United States contribution will be based upon such factors as:

(a) The needs of North Vietnam arising from the dislocation of war;
(b) The requirements for postwar reconstruction in the agricultural
and industrial sectors of North Vietnam's economy.

5) The Joint Economic Commission will have an equal number of
representatives from each side. It will agree upon a mechanism to
admisiter the program which will constitute the United States
contribution to the reconstruction of North Vietnam. The Commission
will attempt to complete this agreement within 60 days after its
establishment.

6) The two members of the Commission will function on the principle of
respect for each other's sovereignty, non-interference in each other's
internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit. The officers of the
Commission will be located at a place to be agreed upon by the United
States and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

7) The United States considers that the implementation of the
foregoing principles will promote economic, trade and other relations
between the United States of America and the Democratic Republic of
Vietnam and will contribute to insuring a stable and lasting peace in
Indochina. These principles accord with the spirit of Chapter VIII of
The Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam which
was signed in Paris on January 27, 1973.

UNDERSTANDING REGARDING ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION PROGRAM

It is understood that the recommendations of the Joint Economic
Commission mentioned in the President's note to the Prime Minister
will be implemented by each member in accordance with its own
constitutional provisions.

NOTE REGARDING OTHER FORMS OF AID

In regard to other forms of aid, United States studies indicate that
the appropriate programs could fall in the range of 1 to 1.5 billion
dollars depending on food and other commodity needs of the Democratic
Republic of Vietnam.”

Sources:

Advocacy and Intelligence Index for Prisoners of War - Missing in
Action
http://www.aiipowmia.com/sea/nixonletter.html

Mia Facts
http://www.miafacts.org/nixon_letter.htm


Other sources of this information:


INDOCHINA POW TIMELINE Prepared by DR. JEFFREY C. DONAHUE

“February 1, 1973 Former President Nixon's "Message to Prime Minister
Pham Van Dong" (This letter was kept secret during and after the
negotiations and was finally declassified and published in The
Department of State Bulletin on June 27, 1977, p. 674.)”
NAtional Alliance
http://www.nationalalliance.org/timeline.htm


THIRD WORLD TRAVELER:
“A cornerstone of the cease-fire agreement was a secret promise by
President Nixon of $3.25 billion in reparations, contained in a letter
to Pham Van Dong, prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
("North Vietnam"). Dated February 1, 1973, the letter remained secret
for more than two years, until after the war was finally over, when
the Vietnamese showed it to a group of visiting US Congress members.”
THIRD WORLD TRAVELER
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/New_World_Order/Vietnam_FinalBattle.html


“Nixon gave Prime Minister Pham Van Dong a letter in 1973, which
established financial post-war reconstruction...in the range of $3.25
billion of grant aid over five years (Stern 11).”
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA01/lundy/v/political1.html


From The John Birch Society:

“On February 1, 1973, President Nixon sent a secret letter to the
Hanoi government pledging, "The Government of the United States of
America will contribute to postwar reconstruction in North Vietnam
without any political conditions." Nixon estimated that the U.S.
government would provide "$3.25 billion in grant aid over five years."
(The text of this letter was released by the State Department on May
19, 1977.)”
http://www.jbs.org/media/focus/vietnam/pow/bring_them_home.htm


Here is the book I mentioned in my clarification:

Sauter, Mark and Sanders, Jim. The Men We Left Behind: Henry
Kissinger, the Politics of Deceit and the Tragic Fate of POWs After
the Vietnam War. Bethesda MD: National Press Books, 1993. 394 pages.

“In Paris on February 1, 1973, the U.S. gave North Vietnam a letter
from Nixon promising $3.25 billion in aid in exchange for a list of
POWs. North Vietnam wanted "reparations" but Nixon called it
"reconstruction."

“This book makes a strong case that the list of POWs was incomplete;
Vietnam was too smart to release all prisoners on the mere promise of
aid. When Nixon failed to deliver, many POWs were left behind.”
http://www.namebase.org/sources/YP.html


You may purchase this book at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1882605039/qid=1056916857/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/002-9077758-4716852?v=glance&s=books&n=507846


Search Criteria:

Richard Nixon Vietnam billion
"February 1, 1973” Nixon letter $3.25 billion 


I hope this helps. If anything is unclear please request clarification
and I'll be glad to offer further assistance before you rate my answer
and close the question.


Best Regards,
Bobbie7-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by dettrey-ga on 30 Jun 2003 06:36 PDT

Dear Bobbie7-ga,

Do you happen to know what page(s) that the pledge(s) is on in that book?

Dick Dettrey, a historian manque

---

Clarification of Answer by bobbie7-ga on 30 Jun 2003 07:39 PDT

Dear Dick,

I did additional research and unfortunately I was not able to find the
exact page where the letter is mentioned in that book.

However I did locate a short excerpt of Nixon’s pledge in another book
which is available online; Honey and Vinegar: Incentives, Sanctions,
and Foreign Policy, (2000) Richard N. Haass, editor, Meghan L.
O'Sullivan, editor.”

Page 140 in the second paragraph.
http://brookings.nap.edu/books/0815733550/html/140.html#page_top



On page 155 of the same book they list the source as:

“Text of message from the President of the United States to  the Prime
Minister of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, February 1, 1973,”
Congressional Record, June 22, 1977, p. 20290.
http://brookings.nap.edu/books/0815733550/html/155.html

Table of Contents
http://brookings.nap.edu/books/0815733550/html/index.html


I hope this helps!

Sincerely, 
Bobbie7

---

Clarification of Answer by bobbie7-ga on 30 Jun 2003 08:27 PDT

I located another tidbit of information that may interest you.

A.J. Langguth, the former NY Times bureau chief in Saigon during the
war, author of Our Vietnam: The War, 1954-1975 / Nuoc Viet Ta (Simon &
Schuster) was interviewed by host Dan Tsang on Subversity, a KUCI
public affairs program.
http://www.kuci.uci.edu/~dtsang/subversity/pr010110.htm

 
“On our January 10, 2001 show, we chatted with A.J. Langguth, one-time
New York Times Bureau chief in Saigon (during the war). The USC
journalism prof. has written a new book, Our Vietnam. We talk about
the people he features in his book; they are participants from all
sides of the conflict. Langguth predicts the U.S. eventually will
observe Nixon's pledge to pay reparations to Vietnam.”
http://www.kuci.uci.edu/~dtsang/subversity/thisweek.htm


To hear the show on RealAudio, please click on this link 
http://www.kuci.uci.edu/~dtsang/subversity/Sv010110.rm

A.J. Langguth mentions the pledge 20 minutes into the interview.

Excellent, thorough, and prompt.

Thank you for the rating and tip!
--Bobbie7

Dear Bobbie7,

You're quite welcome, I assure you.

Dick Dettrey