The undeclared war: big story '66
By DAN AUSTIN and JACK HARRINGTON
1966—the year of more guns in Southeast Asia and rancid butter for some at home—soon will be history.
And for those of us who stuck it out from that icy January to this cold December, here are the events that made it history:
Truce is short
War was the big story. War that was undeclared, war without good guy or bad, but war nevertheless.
When the year opened, all was quiet in the Mekong Delta. A truce had been declared between President Ho, Premier Ky and the U.S. in observance of the Buddhist New Year and the Christmas holidays.
It didn't last.
While the dogfaces — both American and Asian—slugged it out in Viet Nam, anti-war protestors at home escalated their own battle against "LBJ" and "Mac-the-knife." Their ideological leader was no less than Sen. William Fulbright (D.-Ark.), who used his Senate Foreign Relations Committee to investigate the war—and suggest that we get out.
Look for peace
While the senator harped on the war, President Lyndon Johnson looked frantically for a way out. A "peace offensive" was launched, and the cream of American diplomacy searched foreign capitals for opportunities to sit with President Ho in negotiation.
But Hanoi wasn't listening and President Johnson stopped the overtures of friendship—the bombers flew again.
Although the oil fields outside Hanoi were in flames and South Viet Nam's position was never stronger, Premier Ky got his own dose of "domestic unrest."
The Buddhists, who had always thought themselves a powerful political force, were angered at the young Premier—he was pro-Catholic, they said.
Riots begin
And so the riots and the self-cremations in Saigon and DaNang
began again. But Ky was still the strong man, and his troops quelled the Buddhists.
And in Viet Nam rice paddies, over 5,000 Americans and 30,000 Communists lay dead.
G.O.P. scores
In America, the second big event of 1966 was what the Democrats termed "fiasco" and the Republicans tagged victory—the Nov. 8 general elections.
American voters handed Mr. Lincoln's party 700 new state legislature seats,47 more House seats,25 governorships and three more Senators.
The sweep brought some new faces, and some old hands, back
into national prominence. Romney of Michigan and Rockefeller of New York found new popularity, while out west, a movie actor named Reagan became the talk of the nation.
On the other side, Democrat rumors pointed the presidential finger at the senator from New York. Robert Kennedy.
De Gaulle rebels
In Europe, which had been pushed off the front page by Southeast Asia, another wouldbe history maker emerged—le grand Charles.
Now a member of the nuclear club, the Fifth Republic leader announced that it was time for
Europe to "regain its independence from the United States."
First Charles de Gaulle told America and Germany that France had decided to leave NATO—and would the allies please remove their troops from French soil by April 1.
The U.S., miffed at the French leader, grudgingly complied.
Next, De Gaulle decided to solve the Viet Nam conflict—and told America to withdraw.
Now irate, the U.S. ignored the advice, but De Gaulle was already traveling—far behind the Iron Curtain.
Revolt in China From the Forbidden City of
Revolt in China
Man of the year
De Gaulle seeks power
Bn CHERYL HENTSCH
Strong leaders who control the destiny of continents and the future of the world dominate the top three places in the Man of the Year 1966 poll.
While shaking the foundations of Europe, rearranging the internal organs of NATO and warming up diplomatic relations with Moscow, bombastic Charles de Gaulle of France ranks number one. This year De Gaulle dabbled in Viet Nam, NATO and the Common Market. In January prior to parliamentary elections, he instituted a new economic policy of wage increases, welfare programs, credit and tax benefits.
FRENCH DIPLOMATIC actions added a new wrinkle to the crazy quilt pattern of Western-Soviet relations. De Gaulle visited Moscow and Kosygin jour-
A few months later, De Gaule severed the brains and nerves of NATO from France. With a letter to the Allies, he broke NATO leases in France and set withdrawal deadlines which will affect SHAPE headquarters outside Paris.
CHARLES DE GAULLE
Peking came the fourth big story of the year.
neved to Paris. As a result, De Gaulle signed a communique attacking foreign intervention in Viet Nam and supporting U.N. disarmament efforts and aid to developing countries.
Joint Session
Large masses of Red Chinese students, aptly named the Red Guard, stormed the Chinese capital under the banner of "The East is Red."
On the other side of the political spectrum and around the world, Red China's Mao Tse-tung polled a close second for Man of the Year. No student of international questions ignores the powerful position Mao holds as leader of millions, proponent of a non-Soviet Marxist communism, agitator for Chinese domination in Asia and director of China's advancements in atomic bombs and medium-range missiles capped with nuclear warheads.
Throughout the year, Mac's revolution, purges and Red Guard demonstrations foretell the sweeping changes in anti-Western Chinese thinking. In concrete terms, Mao declined an invitation to the 23rd Party Congress in Moscow.
Hawaii he conferred on U.S.- Asian policies and directed the nation's war effort.
The "new look" in the Republican Party captured fourth place in the poll. GOP gains in the fall mid-term elections—eight new governorships, three Senate seats and 47 House seats—indicate its resurgence as a major force in American politics. Statistically for 1967, the Republicans elected enough new Governors to give
Despite a decline in popularity, as defined in the nation's polls, LBJ remains, by reason of his position as commander-in-chief, party leader and chief diplomat, a top third place contender for Man of the Year.
Sanctioned by the people's freestyle champion Chairman Mao and led by Lin Piao, his chosen successor, the Red Guards viciously attacked all "foreign" ways and clamored for a return to "Mao-think." China specialists called the caper an ersatz revolution.
His unprecedented good-will trip to Asia, visiting New Zealand, the Philippines, Australia, South Korea and South Viet Nam drew acclaim as well as criticism. At the Manila Conference and in
IN AUGUST the Chinese Central Committee of the Party held its first meeting in four years to announce a new five-year plan. This year Mao places the emphasis on youth to preserve the fiery revolutionary zeal of the Republic's founders. Red Guard action to destroy foreign influence and old Chinese culture invoked strong condemnation from the world's communist parties.
MAO TSE-TUNG
the party control of 25 of the 50 states with a majority of the nation's population.
The elections also focused attention on the possible strong moderate Republican challenge to LBJ in 1968 and underlined some of the candidates who may direct the party strategy or head the party ticket; George Romney, former vice-president Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Charles Percy, Mark Hatfield, James A. Rhodes, Edward Brooke and Nelson Rockefeller.
The Student Demonstrator, who, by his writings, actions and verbal pronouncements, indicates a world-wide student consciousness and concern, good or bad, in social and political affans, was fourth.
Riots in U.S.
For Negro civil rights, 1368 was a turning point.
Riots returned again to Watts, Chicago and Cleveland. The National Guard saw action in Dayton and Waukegan, and U.S. 51 in Mississippi became a martyr's paradise.
A new battle cry was heard from SNCC leader Stokley Carmichael—"Black Power," which frightened some, confused others, and rallied American Negroes.
The immediate reaction to Black Power was the nebulous "white backlash." Nobody is sure if the backlash really influenced white voters, but the 1936 Civil Rights Act, which guaranteed fair housing, fell in the U.S. Senate at the hands of Sen. Everett Dirksen.
Historic year
Also making history this year were the following events, numbered here in importance.
6. Inflation. More people in America were making more money and spending it faster than ever before. Consequently, prices on food and everything else shot up while the stock market slid. Money got "tighter" and the President asked labor and industry to hold wage increases back. 7. Manila Conference. A separate story from the events in Saigon, this Philippines conference included the U.S. and all her friends in Southeast Asia. Here, President Johnson set down ground rules for U.S.-Asian relations, asked an end to the war, and outlined democracy for Premier Ky.
China gets bomb
8. Bombs and China. The Red Chinese detonated their fourth nuclear blast, but this time from an atomic warhead-carrying missile.
9. U.S. Space Program. This was the year to walk in space as the U.S. ended its Gemini phase of the moon race.
10. The Draft. 1966 marked 25 years of uninterrupted compulsory military service in the U.S., the longest such period in history. Debate raged on the inequities of the draft law, and proposals such as a World War II-type lottery system were proposed.
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Daily Kansan editorial page Tuesday, December 13, 1966
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