Office of the Historian

35. Memorandum of Telephone Conversation Between the Secretary of State and the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy)1

Washington, August 31, 1963—9:55 a.m.

TELEPHONE CALL FROM MR. BUNDY (WH)

Mr. Bundy said it was very fortunate the Sec has rewritten the message to Saigon.2 The Sec. said even our hunches were better than we had a right to expect. The Sec. said the mtg. here at eleven o’clock3 this morning would be largely a political one. Bundy said there was no reason for cutting back in numbers; we would have one more meeting and then have the military. The Sec. asked if he should call the Vice President. Bundy said to tell him it was no longer an emergency and it wasn’t necessary that he come. Dillon had gone to the country.

Bundy said he had spoken briefly with the Pres and either the Pres would call here around 11:30 or vice versa. The Sec. said another hunch he had was the French involvement. The Sec. said he would call the Vice Pres.

(The Pres. called Mr. Bundy during the mtg c 11:30 and Mr. Bundy gave him a report on the mtg.)

  1. Source: Department of State, Rusk Files: Lot 72 D 192, Telephone Conversations. Transcribed by Mildred Asbjornson.↩
  2. Apparent reference to Document 31.↩
  3. See Document 37.↩