VVestffiOreland Says \Alar Record Intact !.~-~!t~~a~~ f!t/7" Gen. William C. Westmoreland, the retired chief of staff of the U.S. Army and commander of American forces in Vietn<lm, said in Memphis today the nation's record of never having lost a military conflict is intact. "It was not the military that lost the (Vietnam) war," Westmorel2.nd said in remarks pre– pared for a noon speech at the Sum– mit Club. "We h.:;.d no troops on the field when the battle was last. "Our objective failed because of political action, not military action. The man in uniform did an admirable job." American troops were withdrawn from the Southeast Asian nation, under terms of a negotiated agree– ment, befpre South Vietnam was taken over by troops from North Vietnam. Westmoreland The nation's motive when it intervened in Vietnam was "very honorable," the general said, "but in the final analysis we defaulted and this is having an impact now in other trouble spots of the world." Westmoreland, who is to speak at 7:30 tonight at Harding College, 1000 Cherry Road, said he has written . a book, A Soldier Reports, telling the military side of the --vietnam conflict. "I felt I owed it to history to write this book and I am obviously the one who had to write it," he said. "I wanted to offset many, m..any misunderstandings." The general, who_ is now living in his native South Carolina following retirement, said one of the most vola– tile trouble spots in the world is now Cuba. -- "The Cubans are now serving as proxy for the Soviets, to carry out their expa.1sionist policies.~· he said. The most important international political develop– ment in the last several years, Westmoreland said, is the break between the Soviet Union and the Peoples Republic of China. "rv'Iy gene1·al feetin2 is that it wwld be to our benefit to muve closer to China," he said. "Tl:e sticky problem there is Taiwan- the Natiorulist Chir1ese." ' The Chinese Nc;tiona.lists !:..ave b::en aiiies of the U.S. , sioce tiley were driven from the mL'r::!c:..'1d by the · w-estmoreland Hits War Policy f,p, Gen. Willi,:,m C. Westmareiu.n•1 (FSA, "Loud, vocal and emotional" critics Ret.), for.ne1 .\•.;.:: C"fl!~r ·vf 3tafi ~!'•.l ~T.S. !ie!n";~ ';; ;::;:-o!o!'g the war, he said; by letcommander in Vietnam, said rne pu:~.:y J:. """ ~;.~ ~": !""' lillOW thf: CQuntry was not granting draft deferments to college stu- resr,;ved to win. dents during the war forced the nation's The Congre~s has over-t ~act~d to Viet– military forces to accept inferior officers. nam, he said, by distrusting the foreign "Some sub-caliber people had to be policy of the President, forcing him to a committed (to combat) and that is the real more timid approach than desirable. tragedy of Lt. (William L.) Calley," he Answering questions from his audience, said. Westmoreland said the U.S. and Russia Westmoreland spoke at a luncheon at are "in a standuff position" in armaments the Summit Club and at the Harding "if we look at the whole spectrum;" that Academy Auditorium in Harding College's trouble may be expected in Panama; that Bicentennial Lecture Series Tuesday the U.S. could stabilize the Middle East by uight. . controlling the arms flow to beth Israel Westmoreland said U.S. military forces and the Arab nations, and that morale is in Vietnam performed "admirab:.:..:.:.l~Y·:...."__......::g_ood __ in_t_h_~_r_e...::.g_ul_a_r_a_rm_y~,--- -- Ex-Vietnam Commander Says U.·s. Still Strong ;,h~' Despite a long list of foreign and domestic heRd– aches, the U.S. is still strong and its people need not be "apologetic or defensive" duriog the nation's 200th birth– day, Gen. William C. Westmoreland told a Memphis audience. "We have, on the other hand, no ciluse for compla– cency," said Westmoreland, former Army chief of staff and military commander in South Vietnam. Current!)' chairman of an economic: growth advisory committee for the governor of South Carolina, the 62year-o!d Westmoreland addressed more than 500 persons last night as part of a Bicentennial lecture series at Harding Academy. The 36-year Army veteran said the American mili– tary machine remains the most efficient in the world in terms of speed, logistics and deployment, but he expre3s– ed misgivings for the future in two areas: unionization of servicemen and the all-volunteer concept. "A horrifying thought," said Westmoreland of unio– nization of servicemen along labor-management lines. "I': can't iinagine that our country could ever be so stupid as to allow that to happen." Lawmaker Discusses u ~ s. 'Achilles Heel' By KEN GARLAND· Press-Sclmlt•r St.rt Writer - , America has gone through a governmental crisis ini the past few years, but tlte U.S. is not the only country to do so, Rep. John M. Ashbrook, R-Ohio, said in Memphis. Ashbrook, who ran against former President Richard' M. Nixon ·for the 1972 Republican presidential nomina- _,. tion, spoke last night at Harding Academy as part of a Bicentennial I lecture series sponsored by Harding! College of Searcy, Ark. Ashbrook concentrated on three problem areas which he said make up "our Achilles Heel!' The first, he said, was the abuse of power. This is brought about partly, he said, by the fact that politicians have the power to put their ideas into law and the money to finance the ideas, Ashbrook The second problem, he said, lies in the fact that many Americans feel that because the U.S. is one of the most powerful nations, it can defy certain fundamentals and natural laws. "We don't believe that things that have applied to other people for years don't apply to us," Ashbrook told his audience. , The third problem, he said, is the fact that the U.S. is becoming a passive nation instead of an active nation, he said. "For 200 years we had things basically our way," he said. ''Monarchies and dictatorships were crumbling away before us. But, that's changing. I see communism as the nctive force in the world today." During a question and answer period, Ashbrook lash– ed out at the liberal politicians and the press, which he said is shuving its message at the American people. One way to stop the liberal press, he said, is to corn– pete with it. "There's co~:servative money around," he told his: agreeable audience. "We could have bought up News– week (magazine). We cou~d have been into ABC (televi– sion network)." He ·said people who disagreed with the liberal way i should refuse "to endow universities that preach social-1 ism or seminaries that preach liberalism. We should stop' advertising in the liberal press " ..,...r_ ~---~~ -- r ' , .. . ' , ......
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==