187. Memorandum of White House Staff Meeting1
[Here follows discussion of matters unrelated to Vietnam.]
8. Vietnam. Everyone is bracing for Madame Nhu’s visit. Forrestal remarked Madame Nhu has great attractive powers; even Hilsman is weakening and agrees some of the things she says make sense. On Vietnam in general, Bundy commented that he was surprised that some people were taking as “pollyanna-ish” the “McNamara-Taylor” statement that we could pull out of Vietnam in two years.2 He said what struck him was that two years was really a long time, considering that by then the war would have lasted four years—or longer than most wars in US history. General Clifton said the President undoubtedly would be asked about it Wednesday at his press conference.3 (The conference was news to all assembled.) The general line will be that in two years the Vietnamese will be able to finish the job without US military forces on the scene—a position considered reasonable by everyone around the table.
Bundy also asked Forrestal to draw together the recent materials on Vietnam and issue an appropriate NSAM. He said that the New York Times had the only version of what was decided at a recent NSC meeting, and while he did not mind communicating with various agencies through the Times, General Taylor had suggested the need for something more official.
[Here follows discussion of matters unrelated to Vietnam.]
- Source: National Defense University, Taylor Papers, T-646-71. Secret; Eyes Only. Draffed by W.Y White.↩
- See Document 170.↩
- The President was asked questions on Vietnam at his October 9 press conference, but not specifically about the 2-year projected time span for American disengagement from Vietnam. For the transcript of the conference, see Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1963, pp. 767-774.↩