Office of the Historian

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

Saigon, October 6, 1963, 7 p.m.

642. 1. Your 534.2

2. An excellent instruction outlining a course of action which should yield constructive results.

3. I plan to let the continued suspension of the Commodity Import Program become evident without my calling attention to it in so many words. I am credibly informed that it is worrying Diem now, and that he will have to speak to me about it.

4. In general, U.S. representatives in Saigon will handle specific matters in accordance with your para. 10.

5. I am calling key Country Team members together tomorrow and am passing your cable to them individually now.

6. Assume this supersedes previous telegram concerning suspension or cutting off of aid.3

Lodge
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 15 S VIET. Top Secret; Immediate Eyes Only. Received at 7:59 a.m. and passed to the White House at 8:17 a.m.↩
  2. Document 181.↩
  3. Apparent reference to Document 148.↩