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During his TV exposition, Kissinger took pains to picture the council as a nongovernment body that would have no lasting political impact. But indeed, the very vagueness of the future it limns for Viet Nam is a brilliant part of the nine-point plan. As a State Department expert summed the agreement of last week: "Things cannot be settled to everyone's satisfaction. Thieu got what we promised: no imposed coalition, and a reasonable chance for South Viet Nam's survival." That is not really a great deal to show for a U.S. investment of ten years of fighting, more than $100 billion and 56,000 lives, but for most Americans, it will probably be enough if it suffices to liquidate the U.S. share in the war at last.