61. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to Secretary of Defense Laird and the Director of the United States Information Agency (Shakespeare)1
Washington, December 15, 1969
SUBJECT
- Psywar Operations Against the Vietnamese Communists
The President has requested2 that you prepare an assessment of your programs designed to lower the morale of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese populace.3 The assessment should include suggestions for improving the programs, particularly against North Vietnam, and should also deal with any problems you foresee in the disruption of the psywar programs as Vietnamization proceeds.4
Henry A.
Kissinger
- Source: National Archives, RG 306, Associate Directorate for Programs, Subject Files of Basic Operating Documents, Entry P–100, Basic Documents 1970. Secret. An unknown hand wrote “DPO [Daniel P. Oleksiw]” in the top right-hand corner of the memorandum. The USIA assessment is printed as Document 66.↩
- For additional information about the President’s request, see Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, vol. VI, Vietnam, January 1969–July 1970, Document 156.↩
- An unknown hand underlined most of this sentence and placed a “1.” in the right-hand margin.↩
- An unknown hand underlined most of this paragraph and placed a “2.” in the left-hand margin next to the fragment “suggestions for improving the programs, particularly against North Vietnam” and a “3.” in the right-hand margin next to the fragment “you foresee in the disruption of the psywar programs as Vietnamization proceeds.”↩