Eisenhower Library, Eisenhower papers, Whitman file
Memorandum of Discussion at the 188th Meeting of the National Security Council, Thursday, March 11, 19541
eyes only
[Extracts]
Present at the 188th Meeting of the Council were: The President of the United States, presiding; the Vice President of the United States; the Acting Secretary of State; the Secretary of Defense; the Director, Foreign Operations Administration; and the Director, Office of Defense Mobilization. Also present were the Secretary of the Treasury; the Attorney General (for Items 2, 3 and 4); the Secretary of Commerce (for Items 5, 6 and 7); Mr. Morrison for the Director, Bureau of the Budget; the Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (for Items 2, 3 and 4); the Federal Civil Defense Administrator (for Items 2, 3 and 4); the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; the Director of Central Intelligence; Sherman Adams, the Assistant to the President; Robert Cutler and C. D. Jackson, Special Assistants to the President; [Page 1108] Gen. Persons, Deputy Assistant to the President; Walter S. DeLany and Kenneth R. Hansen, Foreign Operations Administration; Marshall Smith, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Internal Affairs; the Executive Secretary, NSC; and the Deputy Executive Secretary, NSC.
There follows a summary of the discussion at the meeting and the main points taken.
. . . . . . .
1. Significant world developments affecting U.S. security
. . . . . . .
The most serious developments in Indochina were the Vietminh raids against airfields in the Tonkin Delta. Mr. [Allen] Dulles thought it obvious that the Vietminh were attempting to create incidents which would involve U.S. mechanics stationed at airfields within the Delta.
. . . . . . .
- Prepared by S. Everett Gleason, Deputy Executive Secretary of the National Security Council, on Mar. 12.↩