1973 in the Vietnam War for the U.S. Christmas bombing (Operation Linebacker II) and that "we deplore the action." President Nixon wrote a letter to President Nguyen Thieu of South Vietnam asking for Thieu's cooperation in the Paris peace negotiations and stating that "the unity of our two countries...would be gravely jeopardized if you persist in your present course." Thieu had scuttled a draft peace agreement reached in October 1972. Nixon pledged to respond with "full force" if North Vietnam violated the peace agreement. As U.S. National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger prepared to resume peace talks with North Vietnam in Paris, United States President Nixon
1954 in the Vietnam War government if he continued to implement democratic reforms. This letter was later cited by U.S. President Lyndon Johnson as the first step in the U.S. commitment to support South Vietnam. 8 September In Manila, the U.S., Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, and the United Kingdom signed the treaty creating the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), a collective defense agreement that had among its objectives protecting Laos, Cambodia, and South Vietnam from communist aggression. 15 September Prime Minister Diệm faced the first crisis of his new government. He dismissed the Army chief of staff General Nguyễn Văn Hinh and