Office of the Historian

214. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam1

Washington, August 19, 1966, 6:54 p.m.

31851. Personal for Lodge from Secretary. I am encouraged by information developed through Thrush2 traffic. I am sure that it will occur to you that if we get through a good South Vietnamese election and operation Thrush comes to a successful conclusion before too long, the combined impact of both in the forthcoming General Assembly could be very constructive indeed. Even more importantly, such an event just might jar [Page 589] some of those on the other side to begin to think about a peaceful settlement. We will all keep our fingers crossed.

Rusk
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 30 VIET S/THRUSH. Secret; Nodis; Thrush. Drafted and approved by Rusk.↩
  2. See footnote 4, Document 204.↩