Elsenhower Library, Dulles papers, “Meetings with the President”
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State1
[Extracts]
Memorandum of Conversation With the President
. . . . . . .
Re Indochina, I referred to my memorandum of the day before,2 which the President had read, reporting the talk with Ely, Radford, et al. The President said that he agreed basically that we should not get involved in fighting in Indochina unless there were the political preconditions necessary for a successful outcome. He did not, however, wholly exclude the possibility of a single strike, if it were almost certain this would produce decisive results.
I mentioned that it might be preferable to slow up the Chinese Communists in Southeast Asia by harassing tactics from Formosa and along the seacoast which would be more readily within our natural facilities than actually fighting in Indochina. The President indicated his concurrence with this general attitude.
. . . . . . .
Returning to Indochina, I said that I had in mind saying3 in a paraphrase of the Monroe address that the freedom of the Southeast Asia area was important from the standpoint of our peace, security and happiness, and that we could not look upon the loss to Communism of that area with indifference. The President agreed and also authorized us to give Ambassador Heath some discretionary authority to bolster up the morale of the Associated States leaders if there seemed to be evidence of a collapse of the French will. He did not, however, want anything said that would be an explicit promise that we might not be able to live up to.
- According to the Secretary’s appointment book, this conversation occurred at 8 a.m. (Princeton University, Dulles papers, “Daily Appointments”). EDC and policy toward Communist China were also discussed.↩
- Dated Mar. 23, p. 1141.↩
- Reference is to the address the Secretary was to deliver on Mar. 29; see the second editorial note, p. 1181.↩