"Everyone knows that the most arduous problem now existing between the two sides is the problem of power in South Viet Nam," said Le Due Tho, the chief North Vietnamese negotiator at the Paris peace talks during a recent press conference. What he meant by that diplomatic euphemism is the possible replacement of President Nguyen Van Thieu's government by a broader-based regime. Thieu, with the long war in Indochina winding slowly toward some sort of resolution, has become the sticking point in any serious peace discussions.
The U.S. Government still strongly backs Thieu. For...