HANOI PRISONERS Johnson Leaves Door Open

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31118, 22 July 1966, Page 11

HANOI PRISONERS Johnson Leaves Door Open

(N.Z.P.A. Reuter —Copyright)

WASHINGTON, July 21.

President Johnson has left the door open for North Vietnam to withdraw, without losing face, its threat to try captured United States pilots as war criminals, according to diplomatic observers in Washington.

In guarded language at a press conference yesterday the President remained noncommittal about action he might take if the pilots were put on trial.

He said accusations that the pilots were war criminals were deplorable and repulsive. He appealed to North Vietnam to sit down with the United States to discuss the prisoner issue, and carefully avoided any threat which could force Hanoi to take action in order to save face.

The cautious attitude he displayed contrasted with statements by Congressmen demanding the destruction of North Vietnam if the trials took place and also by Mr

Arthur Goldberg, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, warning of the “disastrous consequences” of the proposed trials. In spite of the stronglyworded statements of the last few days, the President obviously chose to retain maximum flexibility and to appeal to reason in a bid to avoid a potentially dangerous situation if the pilots are tried. His cautious approach could have been drawn up to explore what President Ho Chi Minh had in mind when he said yesterday that North Vietnam had a humanitarian policy towards prisoners of war. Wait And See If that was the case, Mr Johnson would have every reason to speak softly and

wait to see what action Hanoi eventually decides to take, the observers said.

In a press interview today, Senator J. William Fulbright, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee and a leading critic of United States policy in Vietnam, said the United States would take a disastrous course by retaliating against North Vietnam if the captured American flyers were tried. ‘No End To It’ “If we start retaliatory action I’m afraid there would be no end to it,” he said. “The history of warfare indicates that retaliatory action leads to barbaric conflict. I would hope that, at least, there will be no attacks on civilians in any action we might take.”