Office of the Historian

58. Message From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to Thai Foreign Minister Thanat Khoman1

Washington, March 26, 1970.

As a one-time exception and because of the need to initiate coordination and local action promptly I have cleared a response to your message of March 22 through Ambassador Unger. He will therefore be informing your Government shortly of the President’s favorable decision on your request to introduce one of your battalions into Laos.2 In addition to the information which Ambassador Unger will be providing, you should also be aware that we have approved another two B–52 missions in support of the battle for Long Tieng. The latter is exclusively for your information.

Best regards.

  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 102, Country Files—Far East, Thanat (Foreign Minister), [2 of 2]. Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only. In a March 26 memorandum Haig requested that the message be transmitted “through our special channel” and “not be shared with any other individual.”↩
  2. On March 27 a message from Thanat for Kissinger was received over the same special channel, stating that the “Prime Minister has asked me to convey to the President and to you his deep appreciation for the very significant decision which the President has taken, which will go a long way to strengthen the defence of Laos as well as the security of the area, particularly that of Thailand.” (Ibid.)↩