Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume I, Vietnam, 1961

2. Editorial Note

General Lansdale visited Vietnam from January 2 to 14, 1961. On January 17, he reported on his trip in a memorandum to Secretary of Defense Gates, recommending: “The U.S. should recognize that Vietnam is in a critical condition and should treat it as a combat area of the cold war, as an area requiring emergency treatment.” For text of the memorandum, see United States-Vietnam Relations, 1945-1967, Book 11, pages 1-12.