Office of the Historian

138. Memorandum From Michael V. Forrestal of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy)1

Washington, May 5, 1964.

SUBJECT

  • Vietnam

I attach a memorandum I just had from State2 on Lodge’s recent cable report of his conversation with Khanh (Saigon 2108).3 I agree that probably both Lodge and Khanh are somewhat shaken by events of the last few days.4 At your lunch today,5 however, you might want to make the following points:

There may well be a need to put Vietnam in general, and Saigon in particular, on a “war footing” and try to create throughout the country the impression that the GVN and the U.S. are determined to press the war against the Viet Cong to as rapid a conclusion as possible. There is no doubt that people in Vietnam are getting tired and probably we need to give them some hope that they will not indefinitely have to endure the casualties that are inflicted upon them by the guerrillas.

Mobilizing the country is fine, especially if the mobilization effort is designed to put the cities more on a wartime footing and give to the countryside a sense immediately of hope. One idea that has occurred to me is that in connection with a mobilization speech, Khanh should announce a very specific program to bring quickly and efficiently to the peasants in those areas which are relatively free of the VC as many of the aspects of the better life as we and the GVN can contrive. The point is to emphasize as dramatically as we can the difference between life in a government cleared area and life in a VC dominated area. At [Page 290] the same time we should encourage Khanh to bring the capital city more into the war, perhaps by introducing there some of the spirit of sacrifice which is continuously being demanded of the peasants.

Mike
  1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Vietnam Country Series, Vol. VIII. Top Secret.↩
  2. Document 137.↩
  3. Document 136.↩
  4. Apparent reference to the explosion during the early morning of May 2 which damaged USNS Card, a converted aircraft carrier used for aircraft and cargo transport; a terrorist attack wounding 8 U.S. military personnel also on May 2; and the generally increased tempo of Viet Cong attacks over the last 3 weeks. (Weekly Report of the Intelligence and Reporting Subcommittee of the Inter-Agency Vietnam Coordinating Committee, May 7; Johnson Library, National Security File, Vietnam Country File, Vol V111, Memos)↩
  5. See footnote 3, Document 137.↩