15. Editorial Note
On January 12, 1962, from 2:10 until 4:20 p.m., Ambassador Nolting testified in Executive Session before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He was accompanied by Sterling Cottrell of the Vietnam Task Force and John P. White of the Congressional Relations Office, neither of whom contributed in any substantive way to the discussion. In his opening remarks Nolting emphasized the minimal extent of United States involvement in Vietnam and discussed the condition of the Vietnamese Government and the low level of public morals. In response to questions Nolting speculated on whether the motivation for the upsurge in Viet Cong/North Vietnamese activity during the preceding 2 years was economic or political, discussed the viability of the Diem regime, expressed his feeling that the situation in Vietnam was primarily the result of Chinese Communist expansionism, commented on biased press coverage in Vietnam, and answered queries from Senator Fulbright on the need for social reform in Vietnam. Some of the discussion was off the record and therefore not recorded. For text of Noltingʼs statement to the Committee and related questions and answers, see Executive Sessions of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, volume XIV, pages 31-64.