Office of the Historian

751G.00/10–2254: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Secretary of State, at Paris1

top secret
niact
Washington, October 22, 1954—7:46 p.m.

Tedul 13. Personal for Secretary. From Acting Secretary. I believe two subsequent telegrams on Viet-Nam2 situation faithfully reflect your thinking. Telegram of instructions to Heath and O’Daniel on starting limited MAAG program represents intensive week of work and debate in OCB finally culminating in Defense and JCS acceptance. This is significant step. Whole matter presented to President this morning at NSC.3 He approved general lines of action detailed by JCS and State in that telegram. We now have something concrete to work with. It carries risk but without some move we would remain on dead center.

Suggest if possible you inform Deputy Defense Secretary Anderson of this message and instructions to Heath and O’Daniel.

Hoover
  1. Drafted by Young of PSA.↩
  2. See Tedul 14 (1678 to Saigon), infra, and telegram 1679 to Saigon (Tedul 15), p. 2161.↩
  3. See extracts from the memorandum of discussion at the 218th Meeting of the National Security Council, Oct. 22, supra.↩