ASSESSMENT OF THE U.S. ROLE AND THE DECISION TO EXPAND THE U.S. COMMITMENT, JUNE 13-JULY 28
31. Telegram From the Commander, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (Westmoreland) to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Wheeler)
Source: Center of Military History, Westmoreland Papers,COMUSMACV Message Files. Top Secret. Also sent to Admiral Sharp.
32. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Secret; Priority; Nodis. The source text does not indicate a time of transmission; the telegram was received at 6:16 a.m. and passed to the White House. McGeorge Bundy sent a copy of this telegram to the President on June 30 with a covering memorandum in which he noted that the important aspects of the message were the “hard military and economic questions” outlined by Taylor. (Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Vietnam, Vol. XXXV, Memos (C))
33. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to President Johnson
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Memos to the President, McGeorge Bundy, Vol. XI. Confidential.
34. Memorandum Prepared in the Central Intelligence Agency
Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 330, McNamara Files: FRC 71 A 3470, 7/65 SVN Trip and Memos—Misc. Papers. Top Secret; Sensitive. Sent to McNamara by Raborn, under cover of a memorandum indicating that the comments were in response to McNamara’s request.
35. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to Secretary of Defense McNamara
Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 330, McNamara Files: FRC 71 A 3470, 7/65 SVN Trip and Memos—Misc. Papers. Top Secret.
36. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to President Johnson
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Memos to the President, McGeorge Bundy, Vol. XI. Secret.
37. Letter From the Ambassador to Vietnam (Taylor) to Prime Minister Ky
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 1 VIET S. Secret. Transmitted to the Department of State as Enclosure 1 of airgram A-6 from Saigon, July 2.
38. Memorandum From Secretary of Defense McNamara to President Johnson
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Vietnam, Vol. XXXVII, Memos (C). Top Secret. A note on the source text indicates that the memorandum was drafted on June 26 and revised on July 1. A covering note on a copy circulated to the Joint Chiefs on July 1 by General Wheeler indicates that the memorandum was drafted by McNaughton. (U.S. Military History Institute, Johnson Papers, Miscellaneous)
39. Paper by Secretary of State Rusk
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Vietnam, Vol. XXXVII. Top Secret. According to William Bundy, Rusk did not circulate this paper before submitting it to the President. (Johnson Library, Papers of William P. Bundy, Ch. 27, p. 11)
40. Paper by the Under Secretary of State (Ball)
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Vietnam, Vol. XXXVII, Memos (C). Top Secret. Sent by Ball to McGeorge Bundy on July 1, with a covering note indicating that the paper was “for inclusion in your book for the President.” Also printed in The Pentagon Papers: New York Times Edition, pp. 449-454.
41. Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Bundy)
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Vietnam, Vol. XXXVII, Memos (C). Top Secret. Included in memoranda sent to the President by McGeorge Bundy on July 1; see Document 43. William Bundy later recalled that this memorandum was sent to the President at the latter’s request. Bundy drafted it after helping Ball prepare his June 28 paper (Document 26) advocating U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam. Bundy could not agree with that conclusion, and was influenced by U. Alexis Johnson, who believed that military reports from Vietnam were too bleak and that the introduction of more than 15 U.S. battalions would cause serious problems for the South Vietnamese Government. Accordingly, Bundy concluded that “there must be a presentation to the President of a military operation looking not to early compromise on the most crucial issue, but to a genuine trial period to see if the South Vietnamese were tough and American forces effective.” The memorandum printed here was a summary of a longer memorandum, dated June 29, entitled “Holding On in South Vietnam,” which was discussed on June 30 by the senior review group that earlier had discussed Ball’s June 28 paper. (Johnson Library, Papers of William P. Bundy, Ch. 26, p. 26 and Ch. 27, p. 7) Bundy’s June 29 memorandum is ibid., National Security File, Country File, Vietnam, Vol. XXXV.
42. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to President Johnson
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Memos to the President, McGeorge Bundy, Vol. XII. Secret.
43. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to President Johnson
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Memos to the President, McGeorge Bundy, Vol. XII. Top Secret.
45. Memorandum From the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence (Helms) to the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Bundy)
Source: Central Intelligence Agency,DCI (Helms) Files, Job 80 B 01285A, Chrono as DDP and DDCI, 1 Jan-31 Dec 65. Secret; Sensitive.
46. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Nodis. Drafted by Unger and approved by Ball.
47. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Nodis. Drafted by Unger, cleared by William Bundy, and approved by Ball. Repeated to Paris.
48. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to President Johnson
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Memos to the President, McGeorge Bundy, Vol. XII. Secret; Exdis. There is an indication on the source text that the President saw the memorandum.
49. Telegram From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to President Johnson, in Texas
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Vietnam, NODIS-LOR, Vol. II(B). Top Secret; Nodis; Eyes Only.
50. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Priority; Nodis. The source text does not indicate a time of transmission; the telegram was received at 12:39 a.m. on July 5.
51. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Secret; Priority; Nodis. The source text does not indicate a time of transmission; the telegram was received at 9:29 a.m.
52. Memorandum From Secretary of State Rusk to President Johnson
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Vietnam, Vol. XXXVII. Secret.
53. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to President Johnson
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Memos to the President, McGeorge Bundy, Vol. XII. Top Secret.
54. Telegram From Secretary of Defense McNamara to the Embassy in Vietnam
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Vietnam, NODIS-LOR, Vol. II(A). Top Secret; Immediate; Nodis. Drafted by McNamara. Repeated to CINCPAC with instructions to pass to General Westmoreland, who was visiting CINCPAC headquarters. The source text contains handwritten revisions by McNamara; see footnotes 2–4 below.
55. Notes of Meeting
Source: Department of State, S/S Files: Lot 66 D 150, Meeting of Foreign Affairs Consultants. Secret; Exdis. Drafted by William Bundy on July 10.
56. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Secret; Limdis. Repeated to CINCPAC for POLAD.
57. Memorandum From the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Wheeler) to Secretary of Defense McNamara
Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OSD/ADMIN Files: FRC 70 A 1265, Vietnam 381. Top Secret.
58. Special Memorandum
Source: Department of State, EA/ACA Files: Lot 69 D 277, Communist Positions & Initiatives—Soviet. Secret; No Foreign Dissem. Prepared by the Office of National Estimates, Central Intelligence Agency. Forwarded to William Bundy by Sherman Kent under a July 15 covering memorandum.
59. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 1 US-USSR. Secret; Exdis. Transmitted as enclosure 1 of airgram A-120 from Moscow, July 22. The meeting was held in Premier Kosygin’s office in the Kremlin. Harriman sent a summary of this conversation to the President and Secretary Rusk in telegram 138 from Moscow, July 15. McGeorge Bundy forwarded the telegram to the President on July 15, under cover of a memorandum in which he noted that what was striking about the conversation was the routine character of Kosygin’s comments, including a standard exchange on Vietnam. A notation on Bundy’s covering memorandum indicates that the President saw it. (Johnson Library, National Security File, Memos to the President, McGeorge Bundy, Vol. XII)
60. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Secret; Limdis. Drafted on July 24 by Manfull. Transmitted as enclosure 1 of airgram A-66 from Saigon, July 27. The meeting was held in the Prime Minister’s office. The McNamara party arrived in Saigon on the morning of July 16 and returned to Washington on the afternoon of July 20. Members of the party included McNamara, Lodge, Wheeler, Goodpaster, McNaughton, Sylvester, Unger, Cooper, and Colby. Unger replaced William Bundy, who withdrew from the trip because of illness.