124. Memorandum From James C. Thomson of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy)1
As I reported to Alice2 by telephone, Marshall Green and John McNaughton are ready for an inter-departmental meeting on the Laos T–28 problem any time in the next day or so.
Marshall suggests, however, that the two problems—general T–28 operations and SAR operations—might properly be separated in terms of (1) Unger’s incoming cable (Vientiane 337 attached)3 requesting advance authorization for use of Air America pilots in T–28 SAR operations; and (2) the Department’s query to Vientiane (Deptel 174 attached)4 asking for Unger’s comments on the more general problem of T–28 operations during the weeks ahead.
Although State and DOD are perfectly willing to discuss both questions in the same meeting, Marshall’s inclination is to send out at once a favorable reply to Unger’s SAR request and to delay discussion of the general T–28 strike question until we have had Unger’s response5 to our query. That response would provide a more solid basis for your proposed meeting.6
- Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Laos, Vol. IX, Memos, 8/64. Secret.↩
- Alice Boyce, McGeorge Bundy’s secretary.↩
- Dated August 20; not attached. (Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 LAOS)↩
- Dated August 19; not attached. (Ibid.)↩
- See Document 125.↩
- In an August 21 memorandum to McGeorge Bundy Thomson stated that Green felt that “we have accumulated a series of inter-related T–28 and SAR problems that should be examined together.” Green recommended an inter-departmental meeting on August 24 or 25. Bundy wrote a note on the memorandum agreeing to the meeting. (Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Laos, Vol. IX, Memos, 8/64)↩