Editing Lê Đức Thọ (section)

=== 1972 ===
In March 1972, the North Vietnamese launched the [[Easter Offensive]]. It was initially successful and provoked warnings that the United States would start bombing North Vietnam again.{{sfn|Langguth|2000|p. 598}} Thọ sent a message, saying if the bombing was resumed, it would be "a very serious step of escalation, aimed at stopping the collapse of the situation in South Vietnam and putting pressure on us".{{sfn|Langguth|2000|pp. 598–599}} 

On 2 May 1972, Thọ had his 13th meeting with Kissinger in Paris. The meeting was hostile, as the North Vietnamese had just taken [[Quảng Trị|Quang Tri City]] in South Vietnam, which led Nixon to tell Kissinger "No nonsense. No niceness. No accommodations". During the meeting, Thọ mentioned that Senator [[J. William Fulbright|William Fulbright]] was criticizing the Nixon administration, leading Kissinger to say: "Our domestic discussions are no concern of yours". Thọ snapped back: "I'm giving an example to prove that Americans share our views".{{sfn|Langguth|2000|p. 600}} When Kissinger asked Thọ why North Vietnam had not responded to a proposal he sent via the Soviet Union, Thọ replied: "We have on many occasions said that if you have any question, you should talk to directly to us, and we shall talk directly to you. We don't speak through a third person".{{sfn|Langguth|2000|p. 601}}

Thọ next met Kissinger on 19 July 1972.{{sfn|Langguth|2000|p. 604}} Kissinger asked: "If the United States can accept governments in large that are not pro-American, why should it insist on a pro-U.S government in Saigon?"{{sfn|Langguth|2000|pp. 604–605}} Thọ stated that Kissinger was not offering anything new. By August 1972, Kissinger was promising Thọ that he would pressure [[Nguyễn Văn Thiệu]] to resign only if Thọ would agree to make a peace deal before the presidential elections of that year. Thọ told Kissinger that the timetable for Thiệu's departure was no longer an immediate concern, and instead he wanted some $8 billion in reparations for war damage. Kissinger also told Thọ that he wanted to tell the world about their secret meetings since 1970 in order to give the impression that Nixon was making progress on peace in Vietnam, a suggestion that Thọ rejected, saying it was not his job to assist Nixon's reelection campaign.{{sfn|Langguth|2000|p. 605}} On 15 September 1972, Kissinger told Thọ: "We wish to end before October 15-if sooner, all the better".{{sfn|Langguth|2000|p. 606}} Thọ told Hanoi that Kissinger wanted a peace agreement before the election and now was the best time to settle.{{sfn|Langguth|2000|pp. 606–607}}

On 7 October 1972, Kissinger and Thọ agreed to a government of national reconciliation in Saigon that was to include the National Liberation Front. Kissinger told Thọ that he expected a peace agreement to be signed in Paris on 25 or 26 October 1972, saying that all that was needed now was the approval of Thiệu and Nixon.{{sfn|Langguth|2000|p. 607}} However, when Kissinger arrived in Saigon, Thiệu refused to sign the peace agreement.{{sfn|Langguth|2000|p. 609}} Nixon had initially agreed to the peace agreement, but, upon hearing of Thiệu's claims of betrayal, started to change his mind.{{sfn|Langguth|2000|p. 610}} 

On 20 November 1972, Kissinger met Thọ again in Paris. Kissinger no longer aimed at secrecy and was followed by paparazzi as he went to a house owned by the French Communist Party where Thọ was waiting for him. Kissinger announced that the Americans wanted major changes to the peace agreement made in October to accommodate Thiệu, which led Thọ to accuse Kissinger of negotiating in bad faith. Thọ stated: "We have been deceived by the French, the Japanese and the Americans. But the deception has never been so flagrant as of now". Kissinger insisted that the changes he wanted were only minor, but in effect he wanted to renegotiate almost the entire agreement. Thọ rejected Kissinger's terms, saying he would abide by the terms agreed to on 8 October.{{sfn|Langguth|2000|p. 612}} Putting more pressure, Nixon told Kissinger to break off the talks if Thọ would not agree to the changes he wanted. Kissinger told Nixon: "While we have a moral case for bombing North Vietnam when it does not accept our terms, it seems to be really stretching the point to bomb North Vietnam when it has accepted our terms and when South Vietnam has not". By December 1972, the talks had broken down, and Nixon decided to resume bombing North Vietnam.{{sfn|Langguth|2000|p. 613}} 

On 17 December 1972, the [[Operation Linebacker II|Christmas bombings]] began.{{sfn|Langguth|2000|p. 614}} On 26 December 1972, North Vietnam announced a willingness to resume peace talks in Paris again in January. Though Nixon had decided after all to accept the peace terms of 8 October, the bombings allowed him to portray himself as having forced North Vietnam back to the table. The American historian A.J. Langguth wrote the Christmas bombings were "pointless", as the final peace agreement of 23 January 1973 was essentially the same as that of 8 October 1972, as Thọ refused to make any substantial concessions.{{sfn|Langguth|2000|p. 626}}