July 22 Communist leaders believe in Lenin’s precept: Probe with bayonets. If you encounter mush, proceed; if you encounter steel, withdraw. Richard M. Nixon, 37th President, 1969-1974 Well, let me go back historically to how this all relates to Vietnam. President Kennedy met Khrushchev at Vienna. And Scotty Reston of The New York Times reported that sk--Khrushchev bullied him, Khrushchev following the usual Leninist dictum, which says, "Probe with bayonets. If you find mush, proceed. If you find steel, withdraw." Now, President Kennedy was not a weak man. He was not a soft man. He was a tough guy, and after all these things happening, he was determined that Khrushchev, and the Communists generally, should not assume that they had found mush. Now that, of course--if--you have to understand that to understand why he felt it was important to increase the number of Americans in Vietnam. That was why he thought it was important to as--have these Americans participate in military exercise, even though it cost some casualties. Day 2, Tape 1 00:31:34 [Frank Gannon] THE NIXON/GANNON INTERVIEWS