The ‘Most Distinguished Envoy of Peace’: Averell Harriman and the Vietnam War in the Johnson Years

Colman, Jonathan orcid iconORCID: 0000-0003-1223-9679 (2015) The ‘Most Distinguished Envoy of Peace’: Averell Harriman and the Vietnam War in the Johnson Years. International History Review, 38 (1). pp. 66-87. ISSN 0707-5332

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Official URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0707533...

Abstract

From 1965 to 1969 the eminent diplomat Averell Harriman was at the forefront of US efforts to achieve a negotiated peace in Vietnam, pursuing numerous initiatives with vigour. He grew frustrated and embittered at how, in his view, President Johnson and his advisers were responsible for missing a number of opportunities for peace. However, recent research indicates that Communist attitudes were at least as much a sticking point. Harriman was also keen to enlist Soviet assistance, but it has become clear that Moscow was ambivalent towards engaging wholeheartedly with the peace effort. The article provides a fresh perspective on Harriman's attempts to bring peace in Vietnam, not least through the use of recent research in Communist archives.


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