These are the top
stories for July 13,
1968.
Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford stated today that he saw
no chance of an immediate cease fire in Vietnam. Citing North Vietnamese
aggression, Clifford said that other actions must occur before the U.S. will
consider a cease fire. He reiterated that the North Vietnamese have increased
their bombing after the U.S. declared a bombing restriction on March
31.
In New York, U.N. Secretary U Thant said that if the U.S.
declared a complete bombing moratorium, then the North Vietnamese would make
concessions towards peace. Meeting with reporters after speaking with both sides
in the conflict, Thant said that the U.S. will have to take the first step
towards peace in the region. But if they do that, then he believes peace will be
achieved.
U.S. Marines declared victory today in a battle for a hill two
miles west of Khe Sanh. The Marines were scheduled to leave the hill for
strategic reasons, but decided to fight once attacked by the Vietcong. 46 men
were killed and 130 were wounded during the six-day
battle.
Riots broke out once again in France Saturday evening.
Parisian police shot tear gas as demonstrators threw pavement and waved
communist and anarchist flags. Authorities believe that the riots could be
attributed to the celebration of France's independence day, which is July 14th.
The movement to recall California Governor Ronald Reagan from
office seems to be running into some difficulty. General Manager of the
recall effort, Edward Koupal, said that he is uncertain if he has enough
registered voters to meet the petition requirements. He is also uncertain
if there's another prominent Democrat who is willing to run against Reagan in
the recall election. While citizens of California have attempted numerous times
to recall their governors, their efforts have never reached the ballot
stage.
