220. Editorial Note
Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs George W. Ball met with President Kennedy on November 7, 1961, to discuss a subject not related to Vietnam. At the end of that meeting, according to Ball, they discussed Vietnam:
“I told him that I strongly opposed the recommendations of the Rostow mission. To commit American forces to South Viet-Nam would, in my view, be a tragic error. Once that process started, I said, there would be no end to it. ‘Within five years we’ll have three hundred thousand men in the paddies and jungles and never find them again. That was the French experience. Viet-Nam is the worst possible terrain both from a physical and political point of view.’ To my surprise, the President seemed quite unwilling to discuss the matter, responding with an overtone of asperity:’George, you’re just [Page 548] crazier than hell. That just isn’t going to happen.’…” (Ball, The Past Has Another Pattern, pages 366-367)
No other record of this conversation between Ball and the President has been found. Ball’s only meeting with the President on November 7 apparently was with Clarence Randall, 4-4:23 p.m., off the record. (Kennedy Library, Kennedy Log Book)