Foreign Relations of the United States, 1917–1972, Volume VIII, Public Diplomacy, 1969–1972

128. Memorandum From the Director of the United States Information Agency (Shakespeare) to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)¹

Washington, April 13, 1971

During the March 4 press conference² the President said “. . . the purpose of our going into Cambodia was to cut American casualties . . .”³ and later on in reference to the use of American airpower in support of Lam Son 719,⁴ “. . . the purpose is to save American lives.”⁵

This point surely registers with the American audience but overseas it tends to conjure a picture of Asians (South Vietnamese in this case) being used to buy American lives. It would be helpful if our top level statements reflected the view that our military operations are designed ultimately to reduce the scale of fighting and thus to save lives for all nations involved in the conflict.

I recognize this is a sticky point for a President who so very much needs to retain the support of the American public. I would appreciate your doing whatever you can.⁶

Frank Shakespeare⁷

1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 294, Agency Files, USIA—Vol. III—1971 [Jan–Dec 1971] [2 of 2]. Confidential. Attached as Tab B to an April 16 memorandum from Holdridge to Kissinger, in which Holdridge noted that Shakespeare “expresses concern about the fact that we are continually talking about saving American lives but not stressing the fact that we are trying to save the lives of other peoples involved in the conflict in Vietnam. Mr. Shakespeare has a valid point which we probably need to keep in mind more frequently. The Communists in Paris are starting to make propaganda of it.” Another copy of Shakespeare’s memorandum is ibid., RG 306, Director’s Subject Files, 1968–1972, Entry A1–42, Box 20, OGA—White House January thru May 1971. Giddens sent a copy of the memorandum to Shakespeare under an April 6 memorandum, commenting that Holdridge recently had briefed the “top personnel” at the Voice of America and that, during the discussion period, the VOA personnel had pointed out that describing Lam Son 719 as saving American lives “creates a problem for VOA and USIA” since it prioritized saving American lives over Asian ones. Giddens added that Holdridge, in reference to presidential speeches, stated that the “White House staff would appreciate whatever advice the Agency may have in this regard.” (Ibid.)
2. The President’s news conference on foreign policy took place at 9 p.m. in the White House East Room and was broadcast live on radio and television. For the transcript, see Public Papers: Nixon, 1971, pp. 386–395.
3. Noting that Cambodia “still troubles” many of the reporters assembled for the news conference, Nixon continued: “I recall at the time that we went into Cambodia—and all of you out there looking on television will remember what I said—I said the purpose of our going into Cambodia was to cut American casualties and to ensure the success of our withdrawal program.” (Ibid., p. 392)
4. Reference is to a February–March 1971 operation in Laos by South Vietnamese forces to interdict the Ho Chi Minh trail. For documentation, see Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, vol. VII, Vietnam, July 1970–January 1972, Documents 124–174.
5. The President remarked: “I said then, and I repeat now, the purpose is not to expand the war into Laos; the purpose is to save American lives, to guarantee the continued withdrawal of our own forces, and to increase the ability of the South Vietnamese to defend themselves without our help, which means, of course, their ability to help our Vietnamization program and our own withdrawal program.” (Public Papers: Nixon, 1971, p. 392)
6. Kissinger’s April 20 response, attached as Tab A to the April 16 memorandum from Holdridge to Kissinger (see footnote 1, above), reads: “I want to thank you for the suggestion in your memorandum of April 13 that we should stress how our efforts in Vietnam are intended to save lives for all nations involved in the conflict, not just for ourselves.” He concluded: “We shall bear this in mind in future statements.” A typed notation at the end of the memorandum reads: “Dispatched 4/20/71 (rb) Outside Rcpt.” (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 294, Agency Files, USIA—Vol. III—1971 [Jan–Dec 1971] [2 of 2])
7. Shakespeare signed “FS” above this typed signature.