Faculty Unmoved by Nixon Speech

A sampling of Harvard faculty members detected no major policy shift in President Nixon's Wednesday speech on the war. Dean May; who said he was "quite impressed" and called it "the most modest statement on Vietnam that any president has made in a decade" was an exception.

Nixon announced a slightly speeded-up rate of withdrawal between May 1 and December 1, and cited the 'effectiveness,' of the Laos invasion, although he did not announce a date marking the end of U.S. military involvement.

Most professors contacted saw the speech as an attempt to resurrect public support for a policy of gradual withdrawal. "He was clearly making an emotional appeal for support," remarked Samuel P. Huntington, Thompson Professor of Government.

One of the greatest failings of U.S. policy, said Huntington, has been that the U.S. "hasn't faced up to the political necessities of Vietnamization. One of these," he suggested, is to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the elections this year to "encourage the election of a government which has a broader base of support" than that enjoyed by the present regime.

Everett Mendelsohn, professor of History of Science, attacked the speech more strongly. "It was a miserable performance and a continuation of his attempts to make an immoral war and a bankrupt policy acceptable," he said. "He's attempting to get the people of the country off his back."

Dean May said that he had received the impression that "for the first time, Nixon was admitting the possibilities that the outcome of the civil war might be something other than complete victory for South Vietnam." May said, "The only objective he gave was a 'reasonable chance' for the South Vietnamese."

Most faculty members were skeptical about Nixon's unannounced withdrawal date. "I don't think it matters unless he announces it," said Thomas Schelling, professor of Economics.

Huntington upheld Nixon's statement that an announced withdrawal date would definitely give "a significant advantage" to NLF forces but added that this "may not be sufficient reason for not setting a date."

Few professors were willing to speculate on the effect of the Laos invasion on Nixon's election chances, but none foresaw a resurgence of support for his policy. "I think he's behind public opinion," ventured Schelling. "People are readier to get out and forget than he realizes."