Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume II, Vietnam, 1962

32. Letter From the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Johnson) to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (Bundy)¹

Washington, January 24, 1962.

Dear Bill: The January 21 attack on a Cambodian village by Jungle Jim aircraft² has greatly increased our concern over the implications of recent messages from the Chief MAAG in Saigon concerning the use to which these aircraft are being put in attacking villages in Vietnam. While we must heavily rely on the judgment of the people on the spot in the selection of suitable aircraft targets, it seems to us that the error made with respect to the attack on the Cambodian village and the civilian casualties resulting therefrom, point up the extreme difficulty of selective use of air power against native villages.

I note, for example, in recent CHMAAG VN SITREPS that in response to VNAFL-19 identifications, apparently similar to those in the case of the Cambodian village, napalm bombs, rockets and 50 caliber ammunition have been employed against villages. Our fear is that unless identification of the target is very certain, the civilian casualties resulting from such air action may do severe damage to the basic objective of winning the people to the side of the government against the Viet Cong, whether or not the village is willingly or unwillingly sheltering some Viet Cong.

I fully appreciate the extreme difficulty of identifying targets and assuring that only Viet Cong are the victims of attack. However, the stakes of winning the population to the side of the government are so great that it seems to me we should err on the side of caution in the selection of targets. It does not seem to me that we can afford to alienate people in the countryside even though at the moment it may appear that they are temporarily controlled by the Viet Cong. I would hope that our guideline could continue to be to separate the Viet Cong from the people, not to destroy people as a byproduct of the effort to kill the Viet Cong.

If you agree, I suggest that it would be desirable to have this point of view translated into appropriate instructions to the military commanders concerned.

Sincerely,

Alex³

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 751K.00/1-2462. Secret. Drafted by Johnson; a copy was sent to General Taylor.
2. Telegram 956 from Saigon, January 24, reported that U.S. Jungle Jim aircraft, carrying mixed U.S. and Vietnamese crews, had mistakenly attacked a Cambodian village while on a mission against a Viet Cong concentration in an area west of Binh Hoa. (Washington National Records Center, RG 84, Saigon Embassy Files: FRC 68 A 5159, SGN (62)19, GVN, Jan-Jun)
3. Printed from a copy that bears this stamped signature.