Your editorial comment on "Vietnam Perspectives" the Russian role (P.12), is complete rubbish.
Do you realise what a difficult position Russia is in? The complete irrational fear, of the US: of Communists, the anti-Communist disease - is what limits Russia's role in Vietnam - not America's might. All the communist countries apart from China realise that if Russia did all in her power to remove the Yankee bastards from Vietnam, the probable outcome would be the use of nuclear weapons by the US; in which case the misery would become greater not less. Can you imagine, if the roles were reversed if the Soviet Union was devastating (say) Panama, that the US would restrict itself to providing defensive weapons (free of all strings) and reasonableness? Do you think that bastards like the crooks in the Pentagon would behave as did the Russians over Cuba when nuclear war looked imminent? I believe in Marxism but I don't think your way will achieve it. The whole world of thinking people is impressed by the Vietnamese courage and single-mindness, Non-Marxists the world over, are being gradually impressed by the Russian resolute support and restraint in this war, and are realising just what capitalism is and being revulsed by it,
I have been to Russia recently and I can tell you the average Russian is shaking with rage at what the US is doing to their comrades in Vietnam. If we take up my example of Panama again - can you imagine what pressure the "Super Patriots" like Goldwater and his like would put on the Government if their country restricted itself to supplying defensive weapons?
AN INTERNATIONAL BRIGADE
Well, I can tell you that the US has not got the perogative of "Super Patriots" - Russia has them as well, I think the Russian constraint is the sign of their maturity, But for nuclear weapons, and the US willingness to use them, the Russians would have aided the Vietnamese to the hilt and driven out the Yanks years ago. I am now of the mind that the only method of making the US pull out of Vietnam would be a successful call for an International Brigade.
It would have to be a successful call to arms with 2 to 3,000 volunteering from Britain, 1,000 from France, the same from Italy, and so on, if the Yanks are to get a fright big enough to make them get out. The International Brigade is now on the books and much will depend on how things go in Paris,
WHY THE VIETNAMESE ARE NEGOTIATING
Your editorial criticises Ho Chi Minh. The only reason the North Vietnamese are going to talk about talks with the Americans is so they can expose to the world the hypocrisy of the West and the barbarism and war crimes committed in the name of such lofty motives as "freedom", "democracy" and "Defending free peoples", etc,
I don't think the Russian system is perfect or likely to be for a long time, but considering the set-backs of the intervention forces, war, and policy mistakes, they have a better system than the US and are pointing in the general direction of progress and, that - in 50 years - from fifteenth century feudalism to the space age.
Tan Hall,
(editorial note: see page 11; we would be pleased to learn what readers think of this letter)