SECRET WARNING TO HANOI DISCLOSED

# Nixon Acted Alone on Cambodia Decision

BY STUART H. LOORY
Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON—When it came down to the end, only four men had heard all of the arguments for and against the invasion of Cambodia by American troops.

They were President Nixon; Henry A. Kissinger, his assistant for national security affairs; William P. Rogers, secretary of state, and Melvin R. Laird, secretary of defense.

Kissinger, Rogers and Laird, without giving formal opinions, all argued against the invasion during the intense series of meetings on the problem conducted in Washington and at the presidential retreat of Camp David between Wednesday, April 22, and Monday, April 27.

Having heard enough, Mr. Nixon retired to his hideaway office in the

executive office building, across the street from the White House, on the evening of April 27.

By that time it was clear to the President that his credibility was on the line with the leaders in Hanoi. After the downfall of Prince Norodom Sihanouk as Cambodian chief of state, Mr. Nixon had sent word secretly to Hanoi through several channels that he would respect the Cambodian sanctuaries in which the enemy garrisoned 40,000 troops if they would make no effort to move out of the havens and threaten Cambodia. If they did move out, and threaten, he told Hanoi, he would have to take serious action.

Reports reaching his office from the field led the President to conclude on the 27th that the North Vietnamese had disregarded the warning. He felt he had to respond.

At least Kissinger, it was learned, agreed. But he favored, as a response, not the invasion of Cambodia but renewed, limited bombing of North Vietnam, a plan Mr. Nixon adopted along with the invasion.

Alone, surrounded by the memories of one of the most resilient careers in all the history of American politics, Mr. Nixon settled in to consider the problem and reach a decision on whether to order the implementation of Operation Shoemaker—the American invasion of the Fishhook area of Cambodia, just across the border from Tay Ninh province in South Vietnam.

Several times that evening he telephoned Kissinger. Then calls went out to his other key staff members, H. R. Haldeman, the White House

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Golden Opportunity

Now, Gen. William C. Westmoreland, Army chief of staff, was arguing that the change in government in Cambodia presented a golden opportunity to solidify the process of Vietnamization by cleaning out the sanctuaries.

A suggestion of the operation appeared in early papers presenting various military and political options to Kissinger but nothing more was heard of it.

Gen. Creighton Abrams, the American commander in South Vietnam, wanted the April withdrawal announcement set at 35,000 spread out over four months. That would have been a drastic setback in Mr. Nixon's schedule for removing American troops.

By April 20, Mr. Nixon made up his mind to take out 150,000 troops. The announcement came at the same time the North Vietnamese made their move in Cambodia. By April 22, the President and his advisers were extremely worried. On top of everything else, the President was concerned about the appearance of Soviet fighter pilots in Egypt, at the time the North Vietnamese were threatening Cambodia.

In March, when the President announced he was postponing action on the Israeli request for more F-4 Phantom fight-

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