September 21-22, 1992

Senate Select Committee on Paris Peace Accords

SEPTEMBER 21, 1992

Paris Peace Accords, Day One, AM Session

The committee heard testimony from former defense and administration officials on the investigations into missing servicemen from the Vietnam War during peace negotiations with North Vietnam at the end of the war. The committee sought to determine the extent to which leads from intelligence on missing servicemen were pursued toward the end of the war, and the operations of the Nixon administration at the Paris Peace Accords. Mr. Laird and Mr. Schlesinger testified that the Nixon administration knew North Vietnam had not accounted for all American servicemen known to be held in captivity at the time of the Paris Peace Accords, and Mr. Schlesinger said the U.S. failure to press the issue stemmed from its weak bargaining position at the end of the Vietnam War. Mr. Laird criticized the Nixon administration’s handling of the issue and the war in Vietnam.

To view the original C-SPAN web page and recording, please click here. The C-SPAN page goes into detail on those who were speaking with links to other C-SPAN POW/MIA recordings and some transcripts of the words spoken during the session. The video is 3 hours, 46 minutes long.

SEPTEMBER 21, 1992

Paris Peace Accords, Day One, PM Session

The committee continued to hear testimony from former administration officials on the government’s investigation of missing servicemen before and during the Paris Peace Accords at the end of the Vietnam War.

To view the original C-SPAN web page and recording, please click here. The C-SPAN page goes into detail on those who were speaking with links to other C-SPAN POW/MIA recordings and some transcripts of the words spoken during the session. The video is 4 hours, 48 minutes long.

SEPTEMBER 22, 1992

Paris Peace Accords, Day Two, AM Session

The committee heard testimony from the former secretary of state during the second day of hearings on the government’s investigation into missing American servicemen at the end of the Vietnam War. The previous day, members of the Nixon administration testified that the U.S. knew North Vietnam had not accounted for missing servicemen at the time of the Paris Peace Accords, but the U.S. lacked sufficient bargaining power at the negotiating table to press the issue. Dr. Kissinger testified that the claim the U.S. knew of missing servicemen were left behind in Vietnam was “a flat out lie.” He did state he recognized at the time of the peace negotiations that North Vietnam had not sufficiently accounted for missing U.S. servicemen, and said it was possible that some U.S. soldiers lived and were left behind after the American withdrawal from Vietnam.

To view the original C-SPAN web page and recording, please click here. The C-SPAN page goes into detail on those who were speaking with links to other C-SPAN POW/MIA recordings and some transcripts of the words spoken during the session. The video is 2 hours, 45 minutes long.

SEPTEMBER 22, 1992

Paris Peace Accords, Day Two, PM Session

The committee continued to hear testimony from former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on the fate of missing American servicemen from the Vietnam War and the peace negotiations at the end of the conflict.

To view the original C-SPAN web page and recording, please click here. The C-SPAN page goes into detail on those who were speaking with links to other C-SPAN POW/MIA recordings and some transcripts of the words spoken during the session. The video is 3 hours, 08 minutes long.

To view the United States Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs Reference Documents (Originally downloaded from the Library of Congress), please select the below hyperlink.