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(song in foreign language)

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<i>NARRATOR: October 16th, 1964.</i>

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<i>Communist China prepares</i>
<i>to detonate its first atomic bomb.</i>

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(countdown in Mandarin)

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(opening theme song playing)

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<i>China modifies the Balance of Terror.</i>

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<i>It becomes the fifth country</i>
<i>to have nuclear capacity,</i>

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<i>after the United States, the USSR,</i>
<i>the United Kingdom and France.</i>

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<i>China's Leader, Mao Zedong, will carry</i>
<i>even more weight in the war in Vietnam.</i>

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<i>Recalling his 1950 intervention</i>
<i>in Korea, he threatens:</i>

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<i>"If the United States</i>
<i>attacks North Vietnam,</i>

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<i>they will have to remember</i>
<i>that the Chinese have legs,</i>

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<i>and that those legs are made for walking."</i>

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<i>A few months earlier,</i>

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<i>in January 1963...</i>

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<i>John F. Kennedy is often filmed with his</i>
<i>family, to seduce public opinion.</i>

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<i>He is increasingly concerned</i>
<i>about the situation in Vietnam.</i>

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<i>After a long war against the French,</i>

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<i>Indochina has split</i>
<i>into two separate countries.</i>

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<i>The Communist North is dominated by China.</i>

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<i>The South is part of the Western World.</i>

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<i>Its army, trained by</i>
<i>15,000 American "military advisors",</i>

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<i>fights against the Communist resistance</i>
<i>fighters of the Viet Cong,</i>

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<i>who pose a growing threat.</i>

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(gunshot)

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<i>They even defeat the South Vietnamese and</i>
<i>the Americans, in the Battle of Ap Bac.</i>

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(soldiers shouting)

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(gunfire)

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(explosion)

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(helicopter whirring)

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<i>In Saigon, in the spring of 1963,</i>

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<i>Buddhist monks stage protests.</i>

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<i>They accuse the South</i>
<i>Vietnamese government,</i>

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<i>backed by the Americans,</i>
<i>of favoring the Catholics.</i>

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<i>And the South Vietnamese accuse</i>

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<i>the Buddhists of being</i>
<i>manipulated by the Communists.</i>

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<i>The South Vietnamese</i>
<i>President, Ngo Dinh Diem,</i>

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<i>is accused by American</i>
<i>Ambassador Cabot Lodge,</i>

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<i>of not having control over the situation.</i>

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<i>Kennedy is reminded</i>
<i>of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.</i>

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<i>American aide hadn't</i>
<i>succeeded in stopping Mao.</i>

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<i>We don't want to</i>
<i>have a repetition of China</i>

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<i>because that was the most damaging event</i>
<i>certainly, that's occurred to us,</i>

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<i>perhaps in this century</i>

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<i>when that passed under</i>
<i>the control of the communists.</i>

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<i>NARRATOR: Kennedy</i>
<i>gives the South Vietnamese generals</i>

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<i>the green light to get rid of Diem,</i>
<i>who is considered powerless.</i>

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(gunshots)

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<i>November 2nd, 1963,</i>

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<i>the South Vietnamese army</i>
<i>storms the Presidential Palace</i>

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<i>and establishes a strict</i>
<i>military regime in Saigon.</i>

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(heavy gunfire)

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<i>South Vietnamese President Diem, and his</i>
<i>brother, are summarily executed.</i>

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(gunshot)

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<i>A few days later, on November 10th, 1963,</i>

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<i>Jackie and John Kennedy</i>
<i>take a family break together</i>

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<i>before their electoral trip</i>
<i>to Dallas, Texas.</i>

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<i>Jackie is trying</i>
<i>to overcome her depression</i>

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<i>after the loss of</i>
<i>her third child, Patrick.</i>

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<i>John-John and Caroline</i>
<i>are of great comfort to her.</i>

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<i>Jackie teaches her son</i>
<i>the military salute.</i>

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<i>She has no desire to go to Dallas, a town</i>
<i>known to be hostile towards her husband.</i>

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<i>Kennedy is also concerned.</i>

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<i>But he jokes around:</i>

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<i>"It would be easy to assassinate me.</i>

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<i>Just go to the top of a building</i>
<i>with a sniper rifle."</i>

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(dramatic music playing)

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(airplane landing)

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<i>November 22nd, 1963, at 11: 30 am,</i>

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<i>the Presidential couple arrives in Dallas.</i>

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(crowd cheering)

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<i>The never-ending cortège takes</i>
<i>an hour to reach downtown.</i>

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(gunshots)

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<i>12: 30.</i>

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(gunshot)

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(woman screaming)

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(chaotic chatter)

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(reporters speaking indistinctly)

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(woman screaming)

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<i>Vice-President, Lyndon Johnson</i>
<i>will replace Kennedy</i>

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<i>and become the 36th President</i>
<i>of the United States,</i>

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<i>as directed by the American Constitution.</i>

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<i>He is sworn in on the plane that</i>
<i>transports the body back to Washington.</i>

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<i>Jackie Kennedy,</i>
<i>still in shock, is with him.</i>

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(ceremonious funeral bugle playing)

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<i>At her husband's funeral,</i>

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<i>Jackie leans over to her 3-year-old son,</i>
<i>John-John and says:</i>

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<i>“Now, you can salute Daddy</i>
<i>and say goodbye to him.”</i>

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<i>The police find the prints</i>
<i>of a certain Lee Harvey Oswald</i>

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<i>on the gun which killed the President.</i>

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<i>He bought the gun by mail order for $21.</i>

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<i>Oswald is a 24-year-old who has recently</i>
<i>returned from the Soviet Union.</i>

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<i>He is quickly arrested,</i>
<i>and almost immediately assassinated</i>

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<i>live on television, by Jack Ruby.</i>

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<i>The investigative committee will conclude</i>
<i>that Oswald was the President's assassin</i>

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<i>and that it was an isolated act.</i>

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<i>In Moscow, Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev</i>

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<i>comes to sign the book</i>
<i>of condolences at the American Embassy.</i>

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<i>He is genuinely devastated,</i>

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<i>and equally worried about</i>
<i>the consequences of Kennedy's death.</i>

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<i>Lyndon Johnson, is sworn in</i>
<i>as President of the United States,</i>

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<i>as a result of these sad circumstances.</i>

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<i>He is 55 years old.</i>

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<i>The Kennedy brothers</i>
<i>chose him as Vice-President</i>

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<i>because he is an elected Democrat from</i>
<i>the South with anti-racist views.</i>

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<i>Although he's determined to continue</i>

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<i>Kennedy's work for equal</i>
<i>civil and social rights,</i>

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<i>he is less involved in the fight against</i>
<i>Communism, which he knows little about.</i>

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(speaking indistinctly)

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(heavy gunfire)

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<i>The Communist insurgents of the Viet Cong</i>
<i>are uncatchable in the jungle.</i>

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<i>Kennedy had approved</i>
<i>getting rid of the jungle.</i>

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(airplane engines humming)

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<i>Ten years earlier,</i>
<i>the French had considered this option.</i>

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<i>But it is Kennedy who authorizes the use</i>
<i>of the herbicide, Agent Orange,</i>

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<i>made by Monsanto.</i>

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<i>Its effects are devastating,</i>

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<i>especially in the rice bowl of the south,</i>
<i>the Mekong Delta.</i>

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<i>The Operation is code named Ranch Hand,</i>

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<i>begun in 1962, it will continue</i>
<i>for eight more years.</i>

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<i>This doesn't impress Ho Chi Minh,</i>

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<i>who still rules North Vietnam</i>

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<i>and is very active</i>
<i>in front of the world's cameras.</i>

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INTERVIEWER (speaking foreign language):
Are you afraid that

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the Americans might bring
the war to North Vietnam?

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We are never afraid.

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As the French said: "Fear does not exist."

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<i>NARRATOR: Johnson</i>
<i>doesn't have the same determination.</i>

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<i>He calls his advisor,</i>
<i>McGeorge Bundy, and tells him:</i>

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<i>JOHNSON (on phone): I don't see what</i>
<i>we can ever hope to get out of there with</i>

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<i>once we're committed.</i>

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<i>I don't think it's worth fighting for and</i>
<i>I don't think we can get out.</i>

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<i>I just thought about ordering</i>
<i>all those kids in there.</i>

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<i>And what in the hell</i>
<i>am I ordering them out there for?</i>

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<i>What in the hell is Vietnam worth to me?</i>
<i>What is it worth to this country?</i>

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<i>NARRATOR: Johnson</i>
<i>and his Secretary of Defense, McNamara</i>

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<i>decide to send the head</i>
<i>of the American Army to Vietnam.</i>

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<i>General William Westmoreland, a brilliant</i>
<i>50-year old paratrooper officer,</i>

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<i>is a World War II and Korean War hero.</i>

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<i>His mission: save South Vietnam</i>
<i>from collapsing.</i>

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<i>When he arrives in June 1964,</i>

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<i>Westmoreland discovers</i>
<i>a very complex situation.</i>

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<i>The Americans are convinced</i>
<i>they are no longer confronting</i>

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<i>South Vietnamese</i>
<i>Viet Cong resistance fighters,</i>

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<i>but the regular North Vietnamese army,</i>

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<i>who has infiltrated</i>
<i>the southern part of the country.</i>

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<i>For the Americans to fight them legally,</i>
<i>they'll need a pretext.</i>

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<i>The Gulf of Tonkin incident</i>
<i>will provide them with one.</i>

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<i>On August 2nd, 1964,</i>

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<i>two US Navy ships sail</i>
<i>"too close" to North Vietnam.</i>

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<i>They claim they were attacked</i>
<i>by the North Vietnamese.</i>

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<i>This is the pretext needed to order</i>
<i>the American aircraft carriers to engage</i>

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<i>in a show of force</i>

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<i>and to ask the United States</i>
<i>Congress on August 7th, 1964,</i>

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<i>to authorize Johnson to officially</i>
<i>declare war on North Vietnam.</i>

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(speaking in Mandarin) Get out of Vietnam,
imperialistic Americans!

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<i>NARRATOR (in English): China immediately</i>
<i>mobilizes to denounce Uncle Sam,</i>

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<i>the symbol of America</i>
<i>and its murderous planes.</i>

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(speaking in foreign language)

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<i>In Moscow on October 14th, 1964,</i>

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<i>Soviet leaders, led by Leonid Brezhnev,</i>

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<i>remove Khrushchev from power</i>

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<i>in the hopes of rekindling relations</i>
<i>with China once again.</i>

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<i>Khrushchev's alienation also paves</i>
<i>the way for a rapprochement</i>

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<i>between the USSR and Vietnam.</i>

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<i>Kosygin, the new Soviet Prime Minister,</i>
<i>can travel to Hanoi</i>

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<i>and organize large-scale</i>
<i>aide for North Vietnam.</i>

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<i>Much of these supplies</i>
<i>transit through China,</i>

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<i>who helps itself to whatever</i>
<i>it likes, and copies the technology.</i>

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<i>Mao continues to calculate ruthlessly.</i>

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<i>He wants to weaken Russia.</i>

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<i>These large quantities of arms</i>
<i>delivered to North Vietnam</i>

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<i>will put a strain on the Soviet economy.</i>

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<i>Johnson, on the other hand,</i>

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<i>dismisses the idea of peaceful</i>
<i>coexistence in March 1965</i>

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<i>when he launches a massive aerial</i>
<i>offensive against North Vietnam.</i>

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(heavy gunfire)

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<i>Operation Rolling Thunder is intended</i>
<i>to impact public opinion,</i>

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<i>without risking</i>
<i>the loss of American lives.</i>

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<i>But the US Air Force</i>
<i>is not authorized to strike Hanoi,</i>

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<i>the Northern capital,</i>
<i>so as not to provoke China.</i>

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<i>So, once the supply routes towards</i>
<i>the South have been destroyed,</i>

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<i>along with the bridges,</i>
<i>barracks, and ammunition depots,</i>

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<i>the Americans run out of targets.</i>

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00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:06,320
<i>Enormous Boeing B-52 bombers,</i>

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00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:10,160
<i>based initially in the Pacific,</i>
<i>then in Thailand, make their entrance.</i>

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<i>Each one drops thirty tons</i>
<i>of bombs on the countryside.</i>

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<i>On March 30th, 1965,</i>

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<i>a Viet Cong car bomb terrorist attack</i>
<i>in front of the American embassy</i>

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<i>kills 20 and injures 200.</i>

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<i>There is no turning back</i>
<i>for President Johnson.</i>

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00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:50,240
<i>On July 28th, 1965,</i>

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00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:54,520
<i>he solemnly addresses</i>
<i>the American people on TV.</i>

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<i>My fellow Americans,</i>

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00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:01,000
<i>I do not find it easy</i>

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<i>to send the flower of our youth,</i>
<i>our finest young men into battle.</i>

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<i>But we must not</i>
<i>let this mask the central fact</i>

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<i>that this is really War.</i>

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<i>It is guided by North Vietnam and</i>
<i>it is spurred by communist China.</i>

200
00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:28,440
<i>NARRATOR: American</i>
<i>ground forces in Vietnam</i>

201
00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:33,000
<i>increase from 23,000 to 184,000 men.</i>

202
00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:40,400
<i>With the first wave of reinforcements,</i>

203
00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:43,520
<i>the American general staff can</i>
<i>implement major offensives</i>

204
00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:45,440
<i>to find and destroy Charlie.</i>

205
00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:52,920
<i>These operations mobilize</i>
<i>hundreds of helicopters,</i>

206
00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:56,440
<i>which have become the modern stallions</i>
<i>of the First Cavalry Division.</i>

207
00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:59,600
(energetic music playing)

208
00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:22,760
<i>The American army launches roughly</i>
<i>ten major operations in 1965,</i>

209
00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:26,120
<i>twenty in '66 and thirty in '67.</i>

210
00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:30,920
<i>The criteria of success for these</i>
<i>operations is the Body Count,</i>

211
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:36,200
<i>the total number of enemy casualties.</i>
<i>Like 600 in Operation Starlite.</i>

212
00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:43,400
<i>A new element, television,</i>
<i>makes its appearance,</i>

213
00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:46,400
<i>broadcasting uncensored</i>
<i>images and testimonies,</i>

214
00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:48,240
<i>punctuated by the powerful delivery</i>

215
00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:51,280
<i>of the star anchorman</i>
<i>of the day, Walter Cronkite.</i>

216
00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:55,280
<i>If the American public had not known</i>
<i>until then, they know now.</i>

217
00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:57,440
<i>The United States is indeed at war.</i>

218
00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:00,880
<i>NARRATOR: This soldier can finally be</i>
<i>heard by the American public.</i>

219
00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:05,720
<i>Yes it does... Yeah it was...</i>
<i>it was pretty bad to</i>

220
00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:09,760
<i>listen to your friends crying out for help</i>
<i>and not being able to do a thing.</i>

221
00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:14,040
<i>We just couldn't do anything.</i>
<i>We were all pinned down.</i>

222
00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:15,760
<i>And...</i>

223
00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:17,960
INTERVIEWER: I suppose,
there are two questions...

224
00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:21,160
<i>NARRATOR: Even General Westmoreland</i>
<i>appears exhausted.</i>

225
00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:25,960
INTERVIEWER: ...One is how long is this
war going to go on? And two,

226
00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:29,040
how many more American boys
will have to be sent here?

227
00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:31,840
Are they any answers to these questions?

228
00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:32,600
There is certainly no simple answers.

229
00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:40,160
This war is not going to end by any one
single battle or combination of battles.

230
00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:45,280
It could be a situation that
it could drag out for some time

231
00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:48,520
and I think we must prepare
for this eventuality.

232
00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:57,680
Certainly as the war gets more intense,
and I feel it will in coming months,

233
00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:01,520
<i>we will suffer more American casualties.</i>

234
00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:09,680
<i>NARRATOR: Westmoreland</i>
<i>obtains 250,000 additional troops.</i>

235
00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:12,200
-Yes, sir.
-WESTMORELAND: Well, you'll get...

236
00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:13,840
<i>NARRATOR: A few comforting words...</i>

237
00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:15,400
-WESTMORELAND: ...in few days.
-Thank you, sir.

238
00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:19,360
<i>NARRATOR: ...but does high command already</i>
<i>know that their sacrifice will be useless?</i>

239
00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:24,560
<i>To bring the North to its knees,</i>
<i>other means are required.</i>

240
00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:27,640
<i>Famous Air Force general Curtis LeMay,</i>

241
00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:30,240
<i>an advocate</i>
<i>of strategic bombing, declares:</i>

242
00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,840
<i>"My solution is to tell</i>
<i>the North Vietnam Communists</i>

243
00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:36,480
<i>that we are going to send them</i>
<i>back to the Stone Age!"</i>

244
00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:51,880
<i>June 29th, 1966,</i>

245
00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:56,440
<i>for the first time, Johnson authorizes the</i>
<i>bombing of Hanoi and the Haiphong harbor.</i>

246
00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:01,480
<i>Johnson tells his daughter:</i>

247
00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:05,800
<i>"Your daddy may go down in history</i>
<i>for having started World War III."</i>

248
00:19:10,120 --> 00:19:12,960
<i>Bombing Haiphong harbor</i>
<i>is a dangerous undertaking.</i>

249
00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:16,000
<i>American planes risk</i>
<i>hitting Russian freighters,</i>

250
00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:18,480
<i>continually unloading war supplies,</i>

251
00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:21,520
<i>and a Soviet intervention</i>
<i>is always a possibility.</i>

252
00:19:25,360 --> 00:19:29,040
<i>The targets are very limited</i>
<i>and are on the outskirts of the city,</i>

253
00:19:29,120 --> 00:19:31,880
<i>but always result in</i>
<i>tragic human casualties.</i>

254
00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:36,080
<i>These are immediately exploited</i>
<i>by the North's propaganda machine.</i>

255
00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:38,200
(aircraft engines and alarm noise)

256
00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:51,120
<i>The destruction of Hanoi,</i>
<i>the capital of North Vietnam,</i>

257
00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:53,680
<i>would provoke</i>
<i>a violent reaction from China.</i>

258
00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:57,160
<i>So once again, the bombs fall</i>
<i>outside the city limits.</i>

259
00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:07,840
<i>Ho Chi Minh is confident.</i>

260
00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:11,600
<i>He parades along Haiphong harbor</i>
<i>with his friends from the Russian navy.</i>

261
00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:15,720
<i>He has nothing to fear, and makes</i>
<i>the most of the situation.</i>

262
00:20:18,120 --> 00:20:20,280
<i>His voice echoes daily in Hanoi:</i>

263
00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:23,400
(Ho Chi Minh voice on radio)

264
00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:27,000
<i>The war could last another five, ten,</i>
<i>twenty years or even more.</i>

265
00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:31,000
<i>Hanoi, Haiphong, and</i>
<i>other towns, businesses,</i>

266
00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:33,400
<i>factories may be totally destroyed.</i>

267
00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:37,000
<i>But the Vietnamese will not let</i>
<i>themselves be intimidated,</i>

268
00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:41,280
<i>because nothing is more precious to them</i>
<i>than independence and freedom!</i>

269
00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:49,320
(alarm blaring)

270
00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:50,840
(jet noise)

271
00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:58,800
<i>The American pilots know that their planes</i>
<i>full of electronic equipment,</i>

272
00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:01,760
<i>are vulnerable to ground fire,</i>
<i>even of small caliber.</i>

273
00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:10,120
<i>The pilots fear North Vietnamese</i>
<i>anti-aircraft attacks,</i>

274
00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:14,120
(heavy gunfire)

275
00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:19,960
<i>backed by the numerous Soviet canons</i>
<i>that are controlled by radar,</i>

276
00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:23,400
<i>and the highly sophisticated SAM missiles.</i>

277
00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:29,600
<i>Future Senator John McCain,</i>
<i>a pilot at the time,</i>

278
00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:32,320
<i>is hit by a missile</i>
<i>and parachutes to safety.</i>

279
00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:43,120
<i>Like many pilots, he is virtually</i>
<i>lynched by the crowds,</i>

280
00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:44,840
<i>especially for the cameras.</i>

281
00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:54,600
<i>His arms and legs are broken.</i>

282
00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:59,200
<i>He is spared at the last minute and</i>
<i>taken care of at the Hanoi hospital.</i>

283
00:22:00,120 --> 00:22:03,440
<i>Since he is the son of the admiral</i>
<i>in charge of the Pacific zone,</i>

284
00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:06,080
<i>the North Vietnamese</i>
<i>call in the TV cameras.</i>

285
00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:09,440
<i>I would just like to tell...</i>

286
00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:14,800
<i>my wife...</i>

287
00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:19,360
<i>I will get well...</i>

288
00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:22,520
<i>I love her...</i>

289
00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:27,320
<i>and I hope to see her soon.</i>

290
00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:31,560
<i>I would appreciate if you tell her that,</i>

291
00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:35,840
<i>that's all.</i>

292
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:39,160
(somber music playing)

293
00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:53,800
<i>NARRATOR: The captured American pilots</i>
<i>are locked up in the old French jail</i>

294
00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:57,960
<i>they facetiously refer</i>
<i>to as the Hanoi Hilton.</i>

295
00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:11,200
<i>They are kept alive to be used</i>
<i>as human shields in the town's center.</i>

296
00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:14,280
(crowd shouting)

297
00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:18,240
<i>English student, Trinh Thi Ngo,</i>

298
00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:21,520
<i>speaks to them every day</i>
<i>over Hanoi's radio waves.</i>

299
00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:25,320
<i>TRINH (on radio): GI,</i>
<i>your government has abandoned you.</i>

300
00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:28,600
<i>They lied to you GI.</i>

301
00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:32,040
<i>You have lost this war, GI.</i>

302
00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:36,200
<i>They cannot see you</i>
<i>from your airplanes, GI.</i>

303
00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:37,800
<i>They come to bomb you!</i>

304
00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:43,840
<i>NARRATOR: From now on, the Americans</i>
<i>limit their targets to the South.</i>

305
00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:48,560
<i>Their planes drop thousands of tons</i>
<i>of bombs on the Viet Cong,</i>

306
00:23:49,120 --> 00:23:52,120
<i>destroying a territory that</i>
<i>they are supposed to defend.</i>

307
00:23:56,360 --> 00:23:59,960
<i>The most common way of wiping out</i>
<i>fighters hidden in the jungle</i>

308
00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:02,400
<i>is phosphorus mixed with napalm,</i>

309
00:24:04,360 --> 00:24:08,640
<i>gelled gasoline that burns everything</i>
<i>upon impact when it explodes.</i>

310
00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:26,720
<i>The Viet Cong go underground.</i>
<i>They dig hundreds of miles of tunnels.</i>

311
00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:30,640
<i>Like the famous underground complex</i>
<i>in Cu Chi, near Saigon.</i>

312
00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:37,840
<i>Survival shelters, "living" spaces,</i>
<i>military hospitals,</i>

313
00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:42,160
<i>food and weapon storage.</i>

314
00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:53,400
<i>Westmoreland says: They are human moles!</i>

315
00:24:58,880 --> 00:24:59,920
(helicopter whirring)

316
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:04,400
<i>At the end of 1967, the Viet Cong</i>
<i>receive orders from Hanoi</i>

317
00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:08,360
<i>to prepare a major offensive across</i>
<i>the entire southern part of the country.</i>

318
00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:15,520
<i>The launch date is carefully chosen.</i>

319
00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:20,080
<i>January 30th, 1968,</i>

320
00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:23,720
<i>the day of the Vietnamese</i>
<i>New Year, the Tet.</i>

321
00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:27,000
<i>It will be known as the Tet Offensive.</i>

322
00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:33,280
<i>In Saigon, the year of the Monkey,</i>
<i>a very good omen, begins.</i>

323
00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:38,200
<i>The unicorn dance chases the evil spirits.</i>

324
00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:41,080
<i>Ancestors are honored.</i>

325
00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:46,080
<i>Half the South Vietnamese</i>
<i>Army is on leave.</i>

326
00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:52,240
<i>Good Morning, Vietnam!</i>

327
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:55,720
(lively music playing)

328
00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:00,800
<i>NARRATOR: The young Americans spend</i>
<i>a tropical New Year at the beach.</i>

329
00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:06,400
<i>North Vietnam has even</i>
<i>called for a cease-fire,</i>

330
00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:09,680
<i>while secretly sending</i>
<i>reinforcements to the South.</i>

331
00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:16,320
(explosion)

332
00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:17,440
<i>During the night,</i>

333
00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:21,240
<i>the North Vietnamese Army initiates</i>
<i>its attack throughout the country.</i>

334
00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:27,040
<i>On the morning of January 31st, 1968,</i>
<i>the situation is unclear.</i>

335
00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:29,640
(gunfire and people shouting)

336
00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:33,720
<i>The Communists had bet on a massive</i>
<i>popular uprising in their favor.</i>

337
00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:37,680
<i>But the people, terrorized,</i>
<i>seek protection.</i>

338
00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:41,080
(speaking in foreign language)

339
00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:43,840
<i>The South Vietnamese Army</i>
<i>manages to hold its own</i>

340
00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:45,640
<i>against the soldiers from the North.</i>

341
00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:49,480
(heavy gunfire)

342
00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:09,720
<i>The Marines fight to regain control</i>
<i>of the American Embassy's gardens.</i>

343
00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:14,240
<i>A powerful symbol that the Viet Cong</i>
<i>has managed to occupy.</i>

344
00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:20,680
(heavy gunfire and soldiers shouting)

345
00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:26,400
(gunfire continues)

346
00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:57,200
<i>By the evening of January 31st,</i>

347
00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:00,280
<i>the situation in Saigon</i>
<i>has returned to normal.</i>

348
00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:02,600
<i>But not in the hundreds</i>
<i>of towns of the South</i>

349
00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:04,520
<i>which were attacked at the same time.</i>

350
00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:07,200
(explosions)

351
00:28:08,360 --> 00:28:12,720
<i>Especially in Hué, where the Viet Cong</i>
<i>has taken over the Imperial City</i>

352
00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:14,480
<i>and are now holed-up inside.</i>

353
00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:20,040
<i>They have raised their flag, which the</i>
<i>Americans are struggling to take down.</i>

354
00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:28,200
<i>These particularly violent</i>
<i>combats last 28 days.</i>

355
00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:30,320
(gunfire)

356
00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:45,560
<i>In the end, the South</i>
<i>Vietnamese and Americans</i>

357
00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:49,360
<i>count 700 men killed and 4000 injured.</i>

358
00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:52,080
<i>8000 Communist fighters died.</i>

359
00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:59,120
<i>But not before executing</i>
<i>3000 South Vietnamese civilians,</i>

360
00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:03,040
<i>dignitaries, and civil servants</i>
<i>along with their families.</i>

361
00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:08,720
<i>In eight months of offensive warfare,</i>

362
00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:11,680
<i>North Vietnam has lost 50,000 soldiers</i>

363
00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:13,960
<i>and must now recruit children.</i>

364
00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:23,640
<i>But it is also a failure</i>
<i>for the Americans,</i>

365
00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:27,160
<i>one which costs Westmoreland</i>
<i>and McNamara their jobs.</i>

366
00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:33,080
<i>These images, like those</i>
<i>of the American camp of Khe Sanh,</i>

367
00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:36,400
<i>create a widespread</i>
<i>change in public opinion.</i>

368
00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:41,560
(electric guitar music playing)

369
00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:46,440
<i>Mass protests, refusal to enlist</i>

370
00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:48,720
<i>and desertions take place everywhere.</i>

371
00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:52,280
<i>The younger generation</i>
<i>rebels across the country.</i>

372
00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:56,440
<i>This revolt spreads around the world.</i>

373
00:29:57,800 --> 00:29:58,800
<i>To Tokyo,</i>

374
00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:01,960
<i>Berlin,</i>

375
00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:03,400
WE DEMAND FREEDOM
FOR VIETNAM

376
00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:05,200
<i>Madrid,</i>

377
00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:08,160
<i>London,</i>

378
00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:11,760
<i>Sydney,</i>

379
00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:19,160
<i>and Paris, where the student protests</i>
<i>turn May '68 into a national crisis.</i>

380
00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:23,640
<i>Peace talks between</i>
<i>North Vietnam and the United States</i>

381
00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:25,320
<i>begin in the French capital.</i>

382
00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:29,800
<i>In Washington, Johnson has lost</i>
<i>a great deal of popularity</i>

383
00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:34,960
<i>and has already decided not to run</i>
<i>for re-election in November '68.</i>

384
00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:40,360
<i>He is followed by President Richard Nixon,</i>

385
00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:42,960
<i>who brings on Henry Kissinger</i>
<i>as an advisor.</i>

386
00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:47,320
<i>Kissinger is thought to be capable</i>
<i>of resolving this impossible situation.</i>

387
00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:54,160
<i>Kissinger is a German</i>
<i>who fled Nazi persecution.</i>

388
00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:58,880
<i>He became an American citizen</i>
<i>and taught at Harvard.</i>

389
00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:03,800
<i>Because of his European origins,</i>

390
00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:05,760
<i>he is one of the rare people in Washington</i>

391
00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:08,440
<i>able to understand the workings</i>
<i>of the Communist world</i>

392
00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:11,280
<i>and the very essence of the Vietnam war.</i>

393
00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:17,280
<i>He explains to Nixon</i>
<i>that the key is China.</i>

394
00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:21,880
<i>Once they give in to Mao's demands,</i>
<i>the war will end.</i>

395
00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:28,440
<i>Mao, to eliminate those</i>
<i>he calls "inside enemies",</i>

396
00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,400
<i>has launched</i>
<i>a so-called "cultural revolution".</i>

397
00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:38,240
<i>Mao wants American recognition...</i>

398
00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:41,440
<i>a seat on the UN Security Council.</i>

399
00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:45,560
<i>He also wants American</i>
<i>troops pulled out of Taiwan.</i>

400
00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:48,560
<i>Will Nixon give in?</i>

401
00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:53,360
<i>In the meantime, in South Vietnam,</i>
<i>the war continues,</i>

402
00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:57,040
<i>with the never-ending patrols</i>
<i>on the hostile streams and rivers.</i>

403
00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:01,120
(gunfire)

404
00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:07,600
(indistinct chatter)

405
00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:14,920
<i>Many desperate American soldiers</i>
<i>fall prey to madness,</i>

406
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:17,600
<i>drugs and senseless bloodshed,</i>

407
00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:20,880
<i>like the massacre at My Lai,</i>

408
00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:24,680
<i>a village where the entire</i>
<i>population of 400 are killed by soldiers</i>

409
00:32:24,760 --> 00:32:26,720
<i>from the 23rd infantry division.</i>

410
00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,560
<i>At the same time, in early March of '69,</i>

411
00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:36,440
<i>on the front line of the Cold War,</i>

412
00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:39,760
<i>the USSR and China go</i>
<i>head to head in Siberia,</i>

413
00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:41,120
<i>on the Chinese border.</i>

414
00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:46,920
<i>Colonel Leonov's tanks advance.</i>

415
00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:51,240
<i>The Chinese Red Guard,</i>
<i>fanaticized by the Cultural Revolution,</i>

416
00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:53,200
<i>shoots and kills Leonov.</i>

417
00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:56,080
<i>The Soviets retaliate.</i>

418
00:32:56,760 --> 00:33:00,280
<i>A hundred Chinese and Russian soldiers</i>
<i>die in this brief conflict</i>

419
00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:02,560
<i>over domination of the Communist world.</i>

420
00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:08,000
<i>At the time, most observers</i>
<i>believe that a war,</i>

421
00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:12,720
<i>possibly even a nuclear war, will break</i>
<i>out between China and the USSR.</i>

422
00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:17,800
<i>On the other side of the globe,</i>

423
00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:21,160
<i>the Americans get their revenge</i>
<i>in the race to Space.</i>

424
00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:24,560
<i>July 1969.</i>

425
00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:28,960
<i>Neil Armstrong and two other astronauts</i>
<i>board for a round-trip to the Moon.</i>

426
00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:30,160
(cameras flashing)

427
00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:39,000
<i>And also demonstrate to the world</i>

428
00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:44,240
<i>that America can now easily send a loaded</i>
<i>nuclear weapon anywhere on the planet.</i>

429
00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:45,800
(indistinct conversation on the radio)

430
00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:49,040
<i>During the night of July 20th, 1969,</i>

431
00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:53,560
<i>Armstrong pronounces these famous words</i>
<i>for 500 million TV viewers:</i>

432
00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:56,120
<i>NEIL ARMSTRONG: That's</i>
<i>one small step for man,</i>

433
00:33:56,760 --> 00:33:59,720
<i>one giant leap for Mankind!</i>

434
00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:05,160
(gunfire)

435
00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:08,000
<i>NARRATOR: In Vietnam,</i>
<i>major operations continue.</i>

436
00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:15,760
(explosion)

437
00:34:16,720 --> 00:34:18,040
(screaming)

438
00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:20,800
(indistinct conversation)

439
00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:24,920
<i>They reach as far as Cambodia in 1970.</i>

440
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:29,120
<i>And in 1971 in Laos, Operation Lam Son,</i>

441
00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:34,200
<i>8000 American and South Vietnamese troops</i>
<i>are killed and 20,000 injured</i>

442
00:34:34,280 --> 00:34:36,760
<i>while trying to cut off</i>
<i>the famous Ho Chi Minh Trail,</i>

443
00:34:36,840 --> 00:34:39,280
<i>which enables</i>
<i>the North to infiltrate the South.</i>

444
00:34:46,160 --> 00:34:48,920
<i>In Paris, the peace conference</i>
<i>has been turning in circles</i>

445
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:51,480
<i>for three years, without any results.</i>

446
00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:57,760
<i>Nixon decides to go to Peking,</i>

447
00:34:57,840 --> 00:35:01,200
<i>now Beijing, with Kissinger,</i>
<i>to break the deadlock.</i>

448
00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:05,920
<i>He is the first American President</i>
<i>ever to visit China.</i>

449
00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:10,080
<i>Nixon must bow to Mao, the Great helmsman.</i>

450
00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:14,880
<i>But the worst part for him</i>

451
00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:18,840
<i>is having to announce that he will be</i>
<i>leaving South Vietnam to its fate.</i>

452
00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:24,600
(people cheering)

453
00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:27,760
<i>Paris, January 23rd, 1973.</i>

454
00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:32,120
<i>The North Vietnam and United States</i>
<i>peace agreement is signed.</i>

455
00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:38,280
<i>It is more like</i>
<i>a cease-fire in three parts:</i>

456
00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:42,760
<i>cessation of hostilities,</i>
<i>release of all prisoners,</i>

457
00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:48,320
<i>upholding the Southern regime</i>
<i>and its 1954 borders at the 17th parallel,</i>

458
00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:51,640
<i>but leaving the country</i>
<i>to face the menacing North.</i>

459
00:35:56,760 --> 00:35:59,800
<i>For the North, the Vietnam</i>
<i>war has been won.</i>

460
00:36:01,600 --> 00:36:05,560
(lively music playing)

461
00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:11,440
<i>The Americans can pack up, as can all</i>
<i>those who came to fight with them.</i>

462
00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:16,480
<i>A hundred thousand Australians,</i>
<i>New Zealanders,</i>

463
00:36:17,080 --> 00:36:20,560
<i>Thais, Taiwanese Chinese, Filipinos</i>

464
00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:23,480
<i>and even some Spaniards</i>
<i>from Health Services.</i>

465
00:36:25,560 --> 00:36:29,760
<i>The North Vietnamese release fighter</i>
<i>pilot prisoners, including John McCain.</i>

466
00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:36,000
<i>Yet barely two years after the signature</i>
<i>of these "Peace Agreements",</i>

467
00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:40,120
<i>the South Vietnamese population</i>
<i>massively flees the Northern Army,</i>

468
00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:43,080
<i>who sweep down on them,</i>
<i>in total violation of the agreements,</i>

469
00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:45,480
<i>which were intended to protect the South.</i>

470
00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:48,600
(explosion)

471
00:36:49,160 --> 00:36:53,440
<i>The Southern Army begs for American</i>
<i>air support, which will no longer come.</i>

472
00:36:58,240 --> 00:37:02,080
<i>On April 30th, 1975, Saigon falls.</i>

473
00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:08,920
<i>Thirty years after the beginning of</i>
<i>the first war of Indochina against France,</i>

474
00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:12,120
<i>the Viet Cong flag flies</i>
<i>over the Presidential palace.</i>

475
00:37:16,560 --> 00:37:19,520
<i>Ho Chi Minh is no longer there</i>
<i>to savor his victory.</i>

476
00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:24,840
<i>After a stroke, he died in 1969,</i>
<i>at the age of 79.</i>

477
00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:30,800
<i>His body, embalmed like Stalin's,</i>
<i>is displayed in his mausoleum,</i>

478
00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:33,960
<i>which becomes a place</i>
<i>of pilgrimage for the Vietnamese</i>

479
00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:35,840
<i>and later, for tourists.</i>

480
00:37:40,240 --> 00:37:44,800
<i>The Vietnam War cost the Americans</i>
<i>the equivalent of 300 billion dollars.</i>

481
00:37:46,280 --> 00:37:49,000
<i>58,000 Americans have perished.</i>

482
00:37:49,080 --> 00:37:52,400
<i>Hundreds of thousands</i>
<i>are physically or emotionally injured.</i>

483
00:37:53,080 --> 00:37:55,200
<i>America is deeply divided.</i>

484
00:37:59,840 --> 00:38:04,840
<i>Eight million tons of bombs have been</i>
<i>dropped on Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia,</i>

485
00:38:05,560 --> 00:38:09,160
<i>four times as many as on Germany</i>
<i>during World War II.</i>

486
00:38:10,760 --> 00:38:14,080
<i>The Earth has been severely</i>
<i>contaminated for generations.</i>

487
00:38:19,120 --> 00:38:21,120
<i>Two million Vietnamese are dead.</i>

488
00:38:23,240 --> 00:38:26,840
<i>Millions of widows and orphans</i>
<i>wander the streets aimlessly.</i>

489
00:38:30,560 --> 00:38:32,920
<i>A million boat-people flee Vietnam,</i>

490
00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:38,320
<i>risking their lives once again</i>
<i>in overcrowded vessels.</i>

491
00:38:55,720 --> 00:38:58,560
<i>Mao has won on all fronts.</i>

492
00:38:59,720 --> 00:39:05,640
<i>He dies on September 9th, 1976,</i>
<i>after killing 80 million Chinese.</i>

493
00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:11,240
<i>Communism has spread</i>
<i>to the majority of South East Asia.</i>

494
00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:15,040
<i>To Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia,</i>

495
00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:18,520
<i>where the Khmer Rouge</i>
<i>will massacre a quarter of its population.</i>

496
00:39:19,440 --> 00:39:24,440
<i>Although Mao weakened the United States,</i>
<i>he crippled the Soviet Union even more.</i>

497
00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:27,720
<i>Soviet aid to North Vietnam,</i>

498
00:39:27,800 --> 00:39:31,320
<i>the Middle East, and the insurrections</i>
<i>in Africa and South America</i>

499
00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:33,320
<i>have bankrupted the USSR.</i>

500
00:39:34,280 --> 00:39:37,280
<i>To survive, a wartime</i>
<i>economy is instituted.</i>

501
00:39:37,360 --> 00:39:40,280
<i>The iron fist of the KGB,</i>
<i>the political police,</i>

502
00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:42,920
<i>is the only way to force</i>
<i>the population to accept</i>

503
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:44,480
<i>shortages and rationing.</i>

504
00:39:45,920 --> 00:39:48,040
<i>Against the regime, many become dissidents</i>

505
00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:51,080
<i>and even defectors,</i>
<i>like Nureyev, the dancer</i>

506
00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:55,160
<i>and Stalin's own daughter, Svetlana!</i>

507
00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:02,080
Hello to everybody,
I am very happy to be here.

508
00:40:04,160 --> 00:40:06,320
<i>NARRATOR: The Soviet Empire</i>
<i>begins to crack.</i>

509
00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:09,400
<i>In 1980, after Budapest and Prague,</i>

510
00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:13,280
<i>the Polish workers</i>
<i>led by Lech Walesa rise up.</i>

511
00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:21,640
<i>The Afghan trap closes in on the Red Army.</i>

512
00:40:24,560 --> 00:40:28,160
<i>The Soviet Union had</i>
<i>set up a so-called Socialist regime,</i>

513
00:40:28,720 --> 00:40:31,360
<i>which was rejected</i>
<i>by the local population.</i>

514
00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:38,680
<i>For ten years, from 1979 to 1989,</i>

515
00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:42,160
<i>young Russian soldiers confront</i>
<i>the elusive Afghan fighters.</i>

516
00:40:44,600 --> 00:40:47,520
<i>Only the Soviet helicopters</i>
<i>manage to locate them.</i>

517
00:40:51,480 --> 00:40:53,800
<i>But, consistent with Cold War logic,</i>

518
00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:57,000
<i>the Americans and their allies</i>
<i>supply the insurgents</i>

519
00:40:57,080 --> 00:40:59,240
<i>with Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.</i>

520
00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:04,200
(speaking in foreign language)

521
00:41:08,920 --> 00:41:12,080
<i>These missiles contribute</i>
<i>to shaking the balance of terror</i>

522
00:41:12,560 --> 00:41:15,040
<i>and provoke a Soviet withdrawal.</i>

523
00:41:19,720 --> 00:41:23,040
<i>Ronald Reagan, President of</i>
<i>the United States since 1980,</i>

524
00:41:23,120 --> 00:41:26,120
<i>plays a major role by launching a new race</i>

525
00:41:26,200 --> 00:41:27,760
<i>for more sophisticated weapons.</i>

526
00:41:30,440 --> 00:41:31,640
(beeping)

527
00:41:31,720 --> 00:41:34,920
<i>The USSR can't engage</i>
<i>in this ruinous space adventure,</i>

528
00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:36,600
<i>nicknamed "Star Wars".</i>

529
00:41:38,560 --> 00:41:42,520
<i>The country is now governed by</i>
<i>a high-ranking Communist civil servant,</i>

530
00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:44,680
<i>Mikhail Gorbachev,</i>

531
00:41:44,760 --> 00:41:46,920
<i>who has no choice but to concede.</i>

532
00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:50,600
<i>This sets off an explosion</i>
<i>in the Soviet Union,</i>

533
00:41:51,320 --> 00:41:55,080
<i>Glasnost, or transparency,</i>
<i>truth and freedom.</i>

534
00:41:57,240 --> 00:41:58,360
<i>And Perestroika,</i>

535
00:41:59,240 --> 00:42:00,320
<i>the reconstruction,</i>

536
00:42:01,400 --> 00:42:03,240
<i>the major economic reform.</i>

537
00:42:07,160 --> 00:42:09,720
<i>On November 9th, 1989,</i>

538
00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:14,600
<i>the Soviet government lets Berlin's</i>
<i>population destroy the Wall of Shame,</i>

539
00:42:16,600 --> 00:42:19,040
<i>which leads to Germany's reunification.</i>

540
00:42:22,440 --> 00:42:26,240
<i>The Soviet Empire explodes</i>
<i>into ten independent nations.</i>

541
00:42:27,320 --> 00:42:31,240
<i>Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia,</i>

542
00:42:31,320 --> 00:42:32,280
<i>Poland,</i>

543
00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:34,520
<i>and the Baltic States,</i>

544
00:42:34,600 --> 00:42:37,520
<i>all reject the regimes imposed by Moscow.</i>

545
00:42:41,240 --> 00:42:43,520
<i>On July 2nd, 1990,</i>

546
00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:47,720
<i>the 28th and last Congress of the Party</i>
<i>is held at the Kremlin.</i>

547
00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:50,160
(singing 'The Internationale')

548
00:42:50,240 --> 00:42:55,680
<i>General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev sings</i>
<i>"The Internationale" one last time.</i>

549
00:42:59,800 --> 00:43:04,840
<i>Like a farewell to a social utopia</i>
<i>corrupted by bloodthirsty tyrants.</i>

550
00:43:21,760 --> 00:43:25,000
<i>In the new Russia,</i>
<i>the Communist Party is forbidden.</i>

551
00:43:27,440 --> 00:43:29,880
<i>On December 25th, 1991,</i>

552
00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:34,440
<i>the Soviet Union's red flag</i>
<i>is taken down from the Kremlin roof...</i>

553
00:43:36,720 --> 00:43:38,880
<i>and replaced by the Russian flag.</i>

554
00:43:41,440 --> 00:43:43,000
<i>The Cold War is over.</i>

555
00:43:47,040 --> 00:43:48,720
<i>The hands of the Doomsday clock</i>

556
00:43:49,240 --> 00:43:51,600
<i>back away from the Apocalypse!</i>

557
00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:56,520
<i>For now!</i>