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1972 in the Vietnam War saw foreign involvement in South Vietnam slowly declining. Two allies, New Zealand and Thailand, which had contributed a small military contingent, left South Vietnam this year. The United States continued to participate in combat, primarily with air power to assist the South Vietnamese army, while negotiators in Paris tried to hammer out a peace agreement and a withdrawal strategy for the United States. One American operation that was declassified years after the war was Operation Thunderhead, a secret mission that attempted to rescue POWs. ==January== ; 1 January U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam numbered 133,200 a reduction from more than 500,000 in 1968.〔Lewy, Guenter, (1978), America in Vietnam'', New York: Oxford University Press, p. 147〕 ; 10 January The Cambodian army withdrew from the town of Ponhea Kraek (Krek) near the Fishhook abandoning the last remaining road link between Cambodia and South Vietnam. Further south in the Parrot's Beak the South Vietnamese army (ARVN)) began Operation Prek Ta against the North Vietnamese forces (PAVN) in that area of Cambodia. The objective of the offensive was to disrupt the preparations of the North Vietnamese for an anticipated offensive on Tết, 15 February.〔Deac, Wilfed P. (1996), "Losing Ground to the Khmer Rouge", ''Vietnam Magazine,'' Dec 1996, http://www.historynet.com/losing-ground-to-the-khmer-rouge.htm, accessed 9 Jun 2015〕 ; 12 January Le Duc Tho, Politburo member and secret negotiator for North Vietnam in the Paris peace talks, cabled the head of COSVN in South Vietnam that "we and the enemy are preparing for a ferocious confrontation...during the upcoming spring and summer." In addition to supporting the North Vietnamese troops in South Vietnam, Tho instructed COSVN to devote attention to attacking the pacification program and to the political struggle in the cities of South Vietnam.〔''(FRUS) Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume VIII, Vietnam, January–October 1972'', Document 1, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v08/d1#fn3, accessed 8 Jun 2015〕 ; 16 January Leaders of 46 Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish organizations met in Kansas City and asked for the withdrawal of American military personnel from South Vietnam and a cut-off in aid to the South Vietnamese government.〔Summers, Jr., Harry G. (1985), ''Vietnam War Almanac'', Oxford: Facts on File Publications, p. 55〕 ; 20 January The head of MACV in South Vietnam, General Creighton Abrams cabled Washington that "the enemy (Vietnam ) is preparing and positioning his forces for a major offensive...There is no doubt this is to be a major campaign." Abrams requested additional authority to use U.S. American air power to mount an effective defense.〔FRUS, document 1〕 ; 25 January President Richard Nixon revealed that National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger had been meeting secretly with North Vietnam representatives for more than 2 years. He also revealed the U.S. peace plan that had been proposed to Hanoi. Nixon proposed that, within six months of an agreement, all U.S. military be withdrawn from South Vietnam, Prisoners of War exchanged, an internationally supervised cease fire implemented, and a presidential election held in South Vietnam. Nixon did not demand the withdrawal of North Vietnamese military forces from South Vietnam.〔"Address to the Nation on Plan for Peace in Vietnam", Miller Center. http://millercenter.org/president/nixon/speeches/speech-3879, accessed 8 Jun 2015〕 ; 31 January North Vietnam criticized the U.S. for making public the details of secret peace talks. North Vietnam introduced its peace plan which demanded the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of U.S. military personnel from South Vietnam and the resignation of the Thieu government.〔"North Vietnam presents 9 Point Peace Proposal," http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/north-vietnam-presents-nine-point-peace-proposal, accessed 8 Jun 2015〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「1972 in the Vietnam War」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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