Office of the Historian

751G.00/2–1054: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Secretary of State, at Berlin1

top secret
priority niact
Washington, February 10, 1954—2:58 p.m.

Tedul 37. Eyes only for Secretary from President.

“I refer to your Number 54 of 9 February. It is true that certain legislators have expressed uneasiness concerning any use of American maintenance personnel in Indochina. They fear that this may be opening the door to increased and unwise introduction of American troops into the area. Administration has given assurances to guard against such developments and has promised categorically to withdraw recently shipped increment of 200 air technicians no later than June 15. [Page 1032] This we must do even if we have to recruit civilian technicians to take their place.

“There is no ground whatsoever for assuming we intend to reverse or ignore US commitments made to French. Those commitments were based upon assumptions that French would act comprehensively and vigorously in prosecuting war; and their commitment in this regard is as binding as is ours in providing additional money and equipment. The so-called Navarre plan visualized substantial victory by summer of 1955.

“General O’Daniel’s most recent report2 is more encouraging than given to you through French sources. I still believe that the two things most needed for success are French will to win and complete acceptance by Vietnamese of French promise of independence as soon as victory is achieved. To summarize Administration has no intention of evading its pledges in the area providing the French performance measures up to the promises made by them as basis for requesting our increased help.

“With warm regard, Eisenhower”

Smith
  1. Text of letter copied from a White House draft of Feb. 10 by Bonsal of PSA.↩
  2. For extracts from “Report of U.S. Special Mission to Indochina,” Feb. 5, 1954, by Lt. Gen. John W. O’Daniel, Chief of the Mission, see United States-Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967, Book 9, pp. 246–258. A complete copy of the report and a two-page summary of it, dated Feb. 9, are in Eisenhower Library, White House Office Records, “Project ‘Clean Up’ “,↩