Office of the Historian

262. Telegram From the White House to the Embassy in Vietnam1

Washington, April 17, 1965, 5:32 p.m.

CAP 65120. From McGeorge Bundy to Ambassador Taylor (deliver opening of business 18 April 1965). Secretary Rusk and I have reported your concerns to the President in Texas and he has directed that all actions and visits be suspended until after McNamara’s meetings with Westmoreland in Honolulu.

We hope you will give Westie fullest account of your thinking and when McNamara returns here, the President will review situation again and consult once more with you.

My own belief is your views and ours can be brought very close together if we work at it. You can be sure that we will try to respect your heavy responsibilities for the large-scale programs you already have entrain.2

  1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Vietnam, Vol. XXXII, Memos. Top Secret; Nodis.↩
  2. Taylor was called by Rusk on April 17, apparently before McGeorge Bundy’s message was sent, and “was ordered to proceed to Honolulu on Sunday, April 18, to consult with McNamara and party.” (National Defense University, Taylor Papers, Diaries, T-272–69)↩