News stories from Tuesday May 9, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Although there is no official reaction from the Communist world to President Nixon's newest move in Vietnam war, Communist newspapers and broadcasts are complaining of "naked aggression". The governments of Russia, China and North Vietnam have not yet issued any statements, but Soviet Communist party chief Leonid Brezhnev has called the Politburo into urgent session and North Vietnam recalled Paris Peace Talks negotiator Xuan Thuy for urgent consultation.
Meanwhile, American military forces are carrying out the President's orders. Navy planes mined North Vietnamese harbors. The mines will activate at 6:00 p.m. North Vietnam time on Thursday. U.S. jets bombed rail lines in North Vietnam. President Nixon is demanding that North Vietnam release American POWs, and he has also demanded a cease-fire.
Seven North Vietnamese ports are now seeded with mines: Cam Pha, Hon Gai, Haiphong, Thanh Hoa, Vinh, Quang Khe and Dong Moi. Haiphong handles 80% of North Vietnam's sea traffic. 37 Communist ships are currently docked there. Several British ships from Hong Kong are also there and 25 more ships are en route. The two main railroads linking North Vietnam with China are being bombed.
Admiral Thomas Moorer, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated that ships which stop short of the mine area and attempt to transfer goods to North Vietnamese boats will be stopped by the United States. Moorer vowed that the ports will be kept closed; the quarantine will be economic as well as military.
[CBS] - China charged that American planes and warships attacked two of its merchant ships off the coast of North Vietnam. North Vietnam claims that its shore batteries hit and set fire to two American warships which were shelling Haiphong Harbor. [CBS]
- Henry Kissinger stated that this latest move in Vietnam does not involve unacceptable risk; he added that plans for the Moscow summit are continuing. Kissinger said that the President does not believe that Russia conspired with North Vietnam to humiliate the U.S., but North Vietnam did so by offering old negotiating terms after Russia convinced President Nixon to resume new negotiations under the pressure of North Vietnam's current offensive. The President is now offering to stop acts of force in Indochina simply for the release of American POWs and a cease-fire, without requiring that a political settlement be reached first.
Due to the Vietnam crisis, Secretary of State Rogers has postponed his European trip that was set to brief eight nations regarding President Nixon's summit meeting in Russia. The prospects for the summit are now shaky.
[CBS] - In Helsinki, Finland, American and Russian delegates to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks continued to negotiate arms limitations, with no mention of Vietnam. [CBS]
- Britain described President Nixon's Vietnam plan as inevitable. Scandinavia called it a dangerous move, as did Japan. In Paris, the Viet Cong delegation to the suspended peace talks accused Nixon of acting barbaric and said that the Viet Cong will continue to fight. United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim called for restraint on all sides. [CBS]
- American servicemen in Vietnam expressed wide praise and support for President Nixon's new plan, and noted a distinct improvement in morale. [CBS]
- In the South Vietnamese Central Highlands, pressure has increased on Kontum as Polei Kleng was overrun and Ben Met is endangered. Around Hue, the enemy threat also continues. [CBS]
- President Nixon's action regarding Vietnam provoked varied reactions on Capitol Hill. The Senate, unconsulted and edgy, still sees the situation along party lines. Frank Church asked how the U.S. would feel if Russia mined Cam Ranh Bay; Barry Goldwater said that Russia should be worried. Robert Dole said that President Nixon has an obligation above politics -- to protect the lives of American forces and try to free American POWs; Dole commended the President on taking a bold and necessary move.
More reaction from the Senate: Edward Brooke expressed disappointment that the President is taking such "grave" risks; Gale McGee asked Congress to pray that the President lucks out; Vance Hartke said that the President's attempt to end the war has brought America to the brink of mankind's last war. Goldwater stated that if Democrats had had the guts to do this eight years ago, the war would already be over.
[CBS] - Escalation of the war in Vietnam touched off demonstrations throughout America. In Berkeley, California, tear gas and stun guns were used to control protesters who looted shops and set trash cans on fire. In New York City, 500 demonstrators left the Columbia University campus, broke windows at two banks, and clashed with police. In Minneapolis, violence followed a peaceful rally at the University of Minnesota. Housing Secretary George Romney, scheduled to appear at a high-rise project for a dedication ceremony, canceled following attempts by a mob to break through a fence around the construction site. Protesters then took to the streets and police moved in to clear them out. [CBS]
- In Tel Aviv, Israel, four Arab guerrillas (two men and two women) held 101 hostages aboard a hijacked Sabena Airlines jet, demanding that Israel release Arab guerrillas. Israeli soldiers, disguised as airline mechanics, stormed the plane, shooting. Two hijackers were killed, one was wounded and one was captured. Israeli General David Elazar says that other countries should act as Israel has to resolve the hijacking problem. [CBS]
- The National Commission on Drug Abuse estimates that 1.5 million American teenagers have used heroin. 700,000 adults are said to have tried heroin. [CBS]
- Recently, three-fourths of Department of Justice civil rights lawyers protested President Nixon's anti-busing policy. They were told to quit if they felt that strongly. Today five of them did, and scheduled a news conference to announce that they are forming an organization to fight the President's policy. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 925.12 (-12.72, -1.36%)
Arms Index is the ratio of volume per declining issue to volume per advancing issue; a figure below 1.0 is bullish. | |||||||||||||||
| Market Index Trends | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | DJIA | S&P | Volume* |
| May 8, 1972 | 937.84 | 106.14 | 11.25 |
| May 5, 1972 | 941.23 | 106.63 | 13.21 |
| May 4, 1972 | 937.31 | 106.25 | 14.79 |
| May 3, 1972 | 933.47 | 105.99 | 15.90 |
| May 2, 1972 | 935.20 | 106.08 | 15.37 |
| May 1, 1972 | 942.28 | 106.69 | 12.88 |
| April 28, 1972 | 954.17 | 107.67 | 14.16 |
| April 27, 1972 | 945.97 | 107.05 | 15.74 |
| April 26, 1972 | 946.94 | 106.89 | 17.71 |
| April 25, 1972 | 946.49 | 107.12 | 17.03 |