Dec. 27, 1963 - Premier Khrushchev predicted today that the U.S. would be expelled from South Vietnam with “even less ceremony” than were the French in 1954. The Soviet leader spoke at a Moscow reception in honor of a high-level Algerian delegation led by Haj Ben Alla, President of the National Assembly. The group ends a 10-day visit tomorrow after having signed an accord for Soviet economic and technical assistance. After recalling the French withdrawal from Algeria last year and before that from Vietnam, Mr. Khrushchev added: “While we are talking about Vietnam, I would like to say a few words about South Vietnam. The French colonizers have been replaced there by the American imperialists. I don’t know how many years it will take for the American forces to be expelled from South Vietnam, but there is not the slightest doubt that the people of South Vietnam will throw out the American invaders with even less ceremony than the French colonizers.” Soviet official statements have repeatedly called for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from South Vietnam on the grounds that the Communist rebellion is an internal affair. Only a few days ago, the Soviet authorities publicly pledged support to the rebels on the third anniversary of the South Vietnam National Liberation Front (NLF), as the rebels designate themselves.
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