Robert F. Kennedy’s plan: quit bombing, negotiate now

Kennedy, Robert F. “Vietnam.” Congressional Record, Proceedings and Debates of the 90th Congress, First Session. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1967.  4to.; 6 pp, central crease; rectos and versos. On March 2, 1967, Robert Kennedy (D-NY), proposed in the Senate that the United States halt the bombing of North Vietnam and declare its willingness to open peace talks with the Communists “within the week.” The plan included the gradual withdrawal of U.S. and North Vietnamese troops from South Vietnam with replacement by an international force. Secretary of State Dean Rusk rejected Kennedy’s proposal because he believed that the North Vietnamese would never agree to withdraw their troops. Kennedy had been Attorney General under his brother, President John F. Kennedy. When the elder Kennedy was assassinated, Robert stayed on to serve his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, but resigned his post in 1964 to run for the Senate. In the Senate, Kennedy initially continued to support U