Office of the Historian

65. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to Secretary of State Rogers, Secretary of Defense Laird, and Director of Central Intelligence Helms1

Washington, November 4, 1970.

SUBJECT

  • Contingency Planning for Indo-China
1.
The President has reviewed the indicators pointing to the likelihood of intensified North Vietnamese/Viet Cong military activity in Indo-China during the forthcoming dry season, notably the rise in enemy infiltration, and has directed that contingency studies be developed to cover the following points:2
  • —Areas where major enemy attacks can be anticipated, e.g. North Laos; MRs 3 and 4 of the Laotian Panhandle; MRs I and II of South Vietnam; the Phnom Penh, Kampong Thom, Seam Riep and the Battambang areas of Cambodia; etc.
  • —Estimates of the likely magnitudes of enemy attacks to the extent available intelligence data permits.
  • —The capacity of local forces in threatened areas to deal with the anticipated enemy attacks.
  • —Availability of South Vietnamese and Thai forces to assist in Laos and Cambodia.
  • —Availability of U.S. air, ground and naval forces to assist in the defense.
2.
The President also has directed that plans be developed on the basis of the foregoing studies setting forth options for the coordinated employment of U.S., South Vietnamese, Thai, Cambodian and Lao forces to meet each contingency. Accompanying political steps which should be taken to support each option should be included.
3.
These studies should be performed by an Ad Hoc Group comprising representatives of the addressees and of the NSC staff and chaired by the representative of the Secretary of Defense.
4.
The contingency studies and related plans should be completed and submitted to the Assistant to the President for National Security [Page 162] Affairs for review by the Washington Special Actions Group. The contingency studies should be submitted not later than November 20, 1970, and the related plans should be submitted not later than December 1, 1970.
Henry A. Kissinger
  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 530, Country Files, Far East, Indochina, Vol. I. Top Secret; Sensitive. A copy was sent to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Kennedy and Holdridge forwarded a draft of this memorandum to Haig on November 2 noting that, “There is already considerable thrashing around the bureaucracy at the moment. This draft should help focus the effort and get some realistic options and scenarios which we can begin to refine (our own people are already working to this end).” On an attached note, Kissinger wrote, “OK.”↩
  2. See Documents 59 and 60.↩