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i i i t NE NEGOTIATION PUZZLE 59 C. United Sta. } On August 3, 1965, Dean Rusk set forth the United States position on negotiating principles. 1. Anend to aggression and subversion. 2. Freedom for South Vietnam to choose and shape for itself its own destiny, in conformity with democratic principles and without any foreign interference. 3. As soon as aggression has ceased, the ending of the military meas- ures now necessary by the Government of South Vietnam and the nations that have come to its aid . . . and the removal of foreign military forces from South Vietnam. We endorse these principles. In essence they constitute a return to the basic purpose of the Geneva accords of 1954, Further relations could be worked out by peaceful means. And this means the question of a free decision by the people of North and South Vietnsm on the matter of reunification. . . . When the aggression has ceased and the free- dont of South Vietnam is assured, we will withdraw our forces. . . When the men and arms infiltrated by the north are withdrawn and Hanoi ceases its support and guidance of the war in the south, what- ever remains in the form of indigenous dissent is a matter for the South Vietnamese themselves.3* A summary of the United States negotiating positions was recently given by Arthur J, Goldberg, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, in a letter to Secretary General U Thant in which he reported on the far-flung New Year efforts of the government to seek peace. Among the points made in our messages conveyed to a number of governments are the following: that the United States is prepared for discussions or negotiations without any prior conditions what- soever or on the basis of the Geneva accords of 1954 and 1962, that a reciprocal reduction of hostilities could be envisaged and that a cease-fire might be the first order of business in any discussions or negotiations, that the United States remains prepared fo withdraw its forces from South Vietnam as soon as South Vietnam is in a position to determine its own future without external interference, that the United States desires no continuing military presence or bases in Viet- * Why Vietnam (Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1965).