This is a telegram containing a letter from Ho Chi Minh, in French, to President Johnson. Johnson proposed peace talks to end the Vietnam War in February 1967. Although Ho Chi Minh had tried to initiate negotiations with the United States through third parties, he was constrained by official party policy. His response to President Johnson reflects that policy: “The Vietnamese people will never give way to force, it will never accept conversation under the clear threat of bombs.”
A partial translation of Ho Chi Minh’s letter is included in a State Department telegram from 2/15/1967.
