173. National Security Action Memorandum No. 800
Washington,
August 29,
1961.
Decisions approved by the President at the Meeting on Southeast Asia, August 29, 1961
PARTICIPANTS
- The Secretary of Defense
- The Secretary of State
- The Attorney General
- Ambassador Harriman
- Mr. Allen Dulles
- General Lemnitzer
- Mr. Edward Murrow
- Mr. Alexis Johnson
- Mr. John Steeves
- Mr. Robert Johnson
- General Taylor
- Mr. Bundy
The President approved the following actions:
- 1.
- An intensification of the diplomatic effort to achieve agreement to the Paris proposals on the part of Souvanna, especially by direct conversations between Ambassador Harriman and Souvanna, with an emphasis not only upon the interlocking importance of the Paris proposals, but also upon U.S. support of Souvanna in the event that he accepts the Paris plan.
- 2.
- Authorization to undertake conversations with SEATO allies both bilaterally and with the SEATO Council, exploring the possibility of an enlargement of the concept of SEATO Plan 5. It must be understood that this exploration was in the nature of contingency planning and did not represent a flat commitment of the United States to participate in such an enlarged enterprise.
- 3.
- An immediate increase in mobile training teams in Laos to include advisers down to the level of the company, to a total U.S. strength in this area of 500, together with an attempt to get Thai agreement to supply an equal amount of Thais for the same purpose.
- 4.
- An immediate increase of 2,000 in the number of Meos being supported to bring the total to a level of 11,000.
- 5.
- Authorization for photo-reconnaissance by Thai or sanitized aircraft over all of Laos.
It is assumed that these actions will be carried out under the general direction of the Southeast Asia Task Force under the direction of Deputy Under Secretary Johnson.
McGeorge Bundy1