January to December 1968: The Fall of Phou Pha Thi; Reassessment of Policy; Laos and the Paris Peace Talks; Increased Bombing in Laos
356. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (Bundy) to Secretary of State Rusk
Source: Department of State,EA/Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Files: Lot 75 D 394, TS. Top Secret. Drafted by Herz.
357. Action Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (Bundy) to Secretary of State Rusk
Source: Department of State,EA/Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Files: Lot 75 D 394, TS. Top Secret. Drafted by Herz.
359. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 LAOS. Secret; Priority; Nodis.
360. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 LAOS. Top Secret; Priority; Nodis.
361. Action Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (Bundy) to Secretary of State Rusk
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret. Drafted by Slutz and cleared in draft by Herz and Habib. An April 29 covering note from Bundy to Rusk informed the Secretary that Bundy told the JCS and DOD (at staff levels) of this proposal and they were sympathetic. Wheeler insisted that the President must make the decision and that the initiative must come from Rusk. A note on the covering note indicated that Rusk agreed to include it on the April 30 luncheon agenda.
362. Letter From the Ambassador to Laos (Sullivan) to the Country Director for Laos and Cambodia (Herz)
Source: Department of State, EA/Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Files: Lot 75 D 394, TS. Top Secret.
363. Intelligence Memorandum Prepared by the Directorate of Intelligence of the Central Intelligence Agency
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Laos, Vol. XVIII, Memos 1/68–1/69. Secret; No Foreign Dissem. A note at the bottom of page 1 reads:” This memorandum was prepared solely by CIA. It was prepared by the Office of Economic Research and was coordinated with the Director’s Special Assistant for Vietnamese Affairs and the Office of Current Intelligence.”
364. Letter From the Ambassador to Laos (Sullivan) to the Country Director for Laos and Cambodia (Herz)
Source: Department of State, EA/Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Files: Lot 75 D 394, TS. Top Secret; Official-Informal.
365. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, DEF 6 LAOS. Confidential; Limdis. Repeated to Bangkok, Saigon, and CINCPAC.
366. Letter From the Under Secretary of State (Katzenbach) to the Deputy Secretary of Defense (Nitze)
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 LAOS. Top Secret. Bundy sent a draft of this letter to Katzenbach under cover of a memorandum of May 3, drafted by Herz on April 23, recommending that Katzenbach sign the letter and give it to Nitze on the evening of May 8. A note on another copy indicates that Nitze saw it. (Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OSD/Admin Files: FRC 73A 1304, Laos 381, 1968)
367. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 LAOS. Secret; Nodis; Exdis. Repeated to Bangkok.
368. Telegram From the Commander in Chief, Pacific (Sharp) to the Director of the Joint Staff (Spivy)
Source: Center of Military History, Westmoreland Papers, Message Files, COMUSMACV, 1 May–31 May 1968. Top Secret. Repeated to Westmoreland, General Beach (CINC–USARPAC), General Ryan (CINPACAF), and Admiral Hyland (CINCPACFLT). Lieutenant General Berton E. Spivy, Jr., was Director of the Joint Staff April 1, 1967–July 31, 1968.
369. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Commander in Chief, Pacific (Sharp)
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 LAOS. Secret; Limdis. Repeated to the Department of State, which is the source text.
370. Intelligence Memorandum Prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Laos, Vol. XVIII, Memos 1/68–1/69. Secret; No Foreign Dissem. A note on the source text indicates that this memorandum was produced solely by the CIA’s Office of Economic Research in coordination with the Director’s Special Assistant for Vietnamese Affairs.
371. Memorandum From the Joint Chiefs of Staff to Secretary of Defense McNamara
Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OASD/ISA Files: FRC 72 A 1499, Laos 000.1—(381 Laos), 1968. Top Secret. A note on the source text indicates that Warnke saw this memorandum.
372. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Embassy in France
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 2 LAOS. Secret. Repeated to the Department of State, which is the source text, Bangkok, Saigon, and CINCPAC.
373. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 LAOS. Secret. Repeated to Bangkok, Paris for Ambassador Sullivan, Saigon, JCS,CINCPAC, COMUSMACV, Seventh AF, and DIA.
374. Memorandum From the Chief, Far East Division, Directorate of Plans (Nelson) to Director of Central Intelligence Helms
Source: Central Intelligence Agency, DDO Files, Job 79–207A. Box 1, Folder 7. Secret. Sent through the Deputy Director for Plans.
375. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 15–4 LAOS. Confidential. Repeated to Bangkok, Paris, Saigon, and CINCPAC.
376. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, DEF 6–6 Laos. Secret; Limdis. Repeated to Bangkok, Saigon, and CINCPAC.
377. Study of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Laos Paramilitary Program Prepared by the Chief of the Far East Division, Directorate of Plans (Nelson)
[Source: Central Intelligence Agency, DDO Files, Job 79–207A, Box 1, Folder 1. Secret. 8 pages of source text not declassified.]
378. Paper Prepared by the East Asian and Pacific Interdepartmental Regional Group
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Vietnam 5 EE 910 Laos, 10/67–12/68. Secret. According to a covering memorandum from the Staff Director of the Group to its members, including William Bundy who was its chairman, the EA/IRG (formerly FE/IRG) was asked on May 29, 1968, to prepare a paper on the repercussions in Laos of de-escalation in Vietnam. This paper, coordinated with the relevant agencies and with the Embassy in Laos, was the result. The staff director asked for any final comments or changes before it was discussed by the EA/IRG.
379. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, DEF 7 LAOS–US. Secret.
380. Intelligence Memorandum Prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Laos, Vol. XVIII, Memos, 1/68–1/69. Secret; No Foreign Dissem. A note on the source text indicates that this memorandum was produced by the CIA’s Office of Current Intelligence and coordinated with the Office of National Estimates and the Clandestine Services.
381. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 LAOS. Secret; Nodis.
382. Memorandum From Marshall Wright of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Special Assistant (Rostow)
Source: Johnson Library, National Security Files, Country File, Laos, Vol. XVIII, Memos 1/68–1/69. No classification marking.
383. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 15–1 LAOS. Confidential; Limdis. Repeated to Bangkok, London, Moscow, Paris, Saigon, and CINCPAC.
384. Memorandum From the Director of Intelligence and Research (Hughes) to Acting Secretary of State Katzenbach
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Laos, Vol. XVIII, Memos, 1/68–1/69. Secret; No Foreign Dissem.
385. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (Warnke) to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Wheeler)
Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OASD/ISA Files: FRC 72 A 1499. LAOS 000.1—(381 Laos), 1968. Top Secret. Drafted by Steadman. Also sent to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Systems Analysis.