Office of the Historian

61. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State1

Saigon, February 15, 1962—1 p.m.

1047. I am sorry to have to raise again the matter of US organizational arrangements in Vietnam. However, an issue of principle and a question of my personal good faith vis-à-vis the government of Vietnam are involved. On the basis your letter of January 20,2 and in response to specific questioning on this point from President Diem, I gave him written assurance on February 23 that “the US Ambassador will continue to be the senior US representative in Vietnam, responsible for coordination and supervision of US official activities here, including, of course, relations with your government.”Diem stressed to me that it was on the basis of this assurance that he concurred in the establishment of the new Command.

(In response to persistent questions, I also made substantially the same reply to the press on a background basis.)

In the light of your statement that there is now “No piece of paper”, I was surprised and disappointed to see CINPACʼs 081600Z,4 which has just been passed to me. This message, repeated apparently to all military establishments subordinate to CINCPAC as well as to JCS, sets out the terms of reference for the commander, US Military Assistance Command Vietnam, in precisely the same terms as those to which I had made clear to you and Secretary McNamara my objections and which I had understood from your letter were to be dropped.

In the circumstances, I should appreciate a clarification. In view of the personal commitments I have made to President Diem and in view of my belief that the chances of success here depend on clear US organizational arrangements, as explained more fully in my proposed letter to President Kennedy sent you from Honolulu on January 17,5 I cannot, as I explained to you earlier in Washington, accept the responsibility attaching to this assignment on the basis set out in the CINCPAC message cited above. I am not prepared to carry forward on a task of this magnitude and importance under conditions which have unfortunately now developed, where ambiguous or conflicting instructions [Page 129] to US military establishment, on the one hand, and to me via your personal letter, on the other, jeopardize the essential unity of US effort and action here.

I hardly need add that none of this reflects in any way on General Harkins. I am sure that we could work harmoniously and effectively together on the basis of a clear definition of relationships and responsibilities.

Last month in Washington the President requested me to let him know if I thought organizational arrangements here were not clear or satisfactory. I therefore request that this matter be brought to his attention, and that my previous messages on this subject January 17 message … from Honolulu, Embtels 801, December 13, 819, December 19, 963, January 24, 980, January 27, 1004, February 2, and 1008, February 36) be made available to him.

Nolting
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 751K.00/2-1562. Top Secret; Priority; Eyes Only. Action was assigned to U. Alexis Johnson, who wrote at the top of the first page: “No reply required.”↩
  2. See Document 40.↩
  3. Not further identified.↩
  4. Document 53.↩
  5. Document 25.↩
  6. None printed. (Department of State, Central Files, 751K.00/1-2462, 1-2762 and 2-262)↩