Office of the Historian

46. National Security Action Memorandum No. 2801

Washington, February 14, 1964.

MEMORANDUM TO

  • The Secretary of State
  • The Secretary of Defense
  • The Director of Central Intelligence
  • The Administrator. AID
[Page 80]

I have today determined that it is essential to establish in Washington a small committee for the management of U.S. policy and operations in South Vietnam. After consultation with the Secretary of State, I have designated Mr. William Sullivan of the Department of State to serve as Chairman of this committee, under the direct supervision of the Secretary of State.

I now request that the Secretary of Defense, the Director of Central Intelligence, and the Administrator of the Agency for International Development nominate to me individuals from their departments and agencies to serve as members of Mr. Sullivan’s committee. The officers so nominated will be expected to give an absolute priority to their obligations as members of this committee and as agents for the execution of approved decisions. On this basis, I have already designated Mr. Michael Forrestal to serve as the White House representative on this committee.

Major questions of policy and operations will be subject to my approval in consultation with heads of departments and agencies as appropriate. In the execution of approved policy, it is my desire that Mr. Sullivan’s committee shall move energetically, and that department appeal from Mr. Sullivan’s decisions shall be kept to a minimum. He is being appointed because he commands the confidence not only of myself and of the Secretary of State, but also of senior officials of all agencies concerned.

It is my hope and expectation that the establishment of this committee will permit an energetic, unified and skillful prosecution of the only war we face at present.2

“Re the Viet-Nam task force, Sec. said he put a burr under their tail; told them that their mission is as broad as the problem, top priority, that we have got to win this war. B. thought it important to have the other track explored; Sec. said we were moving full speed on this as an adjunct to the task force.” (Ibid., Rusk Files: Lot 72 D 192, Telephone Conversations)

Lyndon B. Johnson
  1. Source: Department of State, S/S-NSC Files: Lot 72 D 316, NSAM 280. Secret.↩
  2. On February 15, at 11:33 a.m., Rusk called McGeorge Bundy. The transcript of their conversation relating to the establishment of the Vietnam Committee reads as follows:↩