Mar. 17, 1965 | Newsreel: Vietnam Blitz

Mar. 17, 1965 - U.S. Ambassador Maxwell Taylor believes Moscow and Peking have not responded to the U.S. raids on North Vietnam because of a combination of fear and inability, it was disclosed today.
Taylor made his statements in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The text was released today by the U.S. Embassy. It contained these main points:
— There is no truth to the idea that the South Vietnamese are reluctant to fight the Communists.
— Negotiations now are impossible because “one can hardly negotiate one’s freedom.”
— Communist North Vietnam’s control of the Viet Cong is “absolute.”
When Taylor was asked why Communist China and the Soviet Union have not retaliated with military action against the bombing of North Vietnamese targets, he replied:
“One can’t be sure. Probably a combination of two factors: inability to respond adequately, and second, the fear of escalation — the realization that the risks of escalation are too great on their side to justify taking any great chances.”

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