251. Letter From Secretary of State Rusk to Secretary of Defense Clifford1
Dear Clark:
Thank you for your letter transmitting a JCS memorandum on contingency measures which might exert pressure on the Cambodian Government to release LCU 1577 and its personnel.2
I fully share your view that it would be premature to resort now to military or other direct pressures, and that we are more likely to recover the men and the landing craft through diplomatic efforts supplemented by unofficial approaches. For example, our staffs are currently exploring the feasibility of a proposal by the Australian Embassy in Phnom Penh for an approach through the Cambodian Red Cross.
I am sure you share my relief at the reports from the Australians, and from a State Department officer who visited the men during Eugene Blackʼs trip to Phnom Penh, that the men are being well treated and are undergoing no serious hardships. Should their situation change, or should it appear that direct forms of pressure are likely to be successful, I shall be in touch with you about possible implementation of the JCS contingency plans.
With warm regards,
Sincerely,
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL CAMB–US. Top Secret. Drafted by Bennett and cleared by Corcoran and Porter.↩
- Both attached, neither printed. In the September 2 letter Clifford noted that the JCS had proposed in JCSM–536–68, September 6, “conceptual plans for harassment of commercial traffic to and from Cambodia on the Mekong and Bassac Rivers.” The JCS also suggested using Market Time ships to capture Cambodian naval craft that were violating South Vietnamese territorial waters in the Gulf of Siam. Clifford suggested that Eugene Blackʼs visit to Cambodia suggested to him that the 11 U.S. soldiers held captive by Cambodia were being used as pawns by Sihanouk to obtain a U.S. declaration on Cambodiaʼs frontiers. Clifford thought military moves would be counter-productive at this time.↩