Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume IV, Vietnam, 1966

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

Washington, February 21, 1966, 7:15 p.m.

2478. Eyes only for Lodge and Westmoreland from the Secretary. We are sure you will have been watching the discussions in the Foreign Relations Committee and also the statement of Senator Robert Kennedy,² with public reactions to it. We are sure that your own understanding of the Administration position will not have been affected by comments of critics, but it seems important here that Thieu and Ky should be informed not only of debates and discussions, but of this Administrationʼs position. We therefore hope that you will make sure that the essentials of the position presented by General Taylor and myself are fully understood by the government in Saigon. In particular it can be assured that our position on the NLF has not changed. We do believe that their views can be considered (see Presidentʼs statement of July)³ but we do not believe that the United States should force a place for them in a coalition government. We share the hopes and purposes of the GVN for elections with safeguards which will permit a really free choice without coercion or fraud.

What we hope you can communicate to the GVN, in short, is a full understanding of both our own firmness and determination and of the real problems created by critics here who seize upon any minor difference to exploit. The government in Saigon can rely on us, and at the same time they can help us by implementing and accelerating the policy and purpose of progressive social action set forth by them in Honolulu and afterwards.⁴

Rusk

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Secret; Priority; Nodis. Drafted by Read; cleared by President Johnson, McGeorge Bundy, and Rusk; and approved by Read. Drafts of the telegram with the Presidentʼs handwritten revisions are in the Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Vietnam, vol. XLVII. Attached to the drafts is a note stating that the President read the telegram to Goldberg and Moyers for their approval while they were in his office on February 21.
2. In a statement at a press conference on February 21, Kennedy stated that admitting “discontented elements in South Vietnam”—including the National Liberation Front— “to a share of power and responsibility is at the heart of the hope for a negotiated settlement. For excerpts from Kennedyʼs statement, see The New York Times, February 20, 1966.
3. Reference is to the Presidentʼs remarks on the Viet Cong made at his press conference on July 28, 1965. For text, see Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965, Book II, p. 803.
4. In telegram 3061 from Saigon, February 22, Lodge responded that “Thieu and Ky are well aware of administrationʼs position arising out of current debate in Washington. Coverage of your statements and those of General Taylor is good here and I will see to it that they are aware of all you are saying and what it means.” (Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S)