191. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern
Affairs (Harriman) to
the Secretary of State1
Washington, May 15,
1962.
According to a notation at the bottom of Cutlerʼs note, the memorandum
was never sent to the President.
SUBJECT
- Suggested Presidential Response to President Diemʼs Letter of March 31 to 92
Heads of State2
At our suggestion, President Diem
on March 31 addressed a letter to the Pope and to 92 heads of Free World
states, including the United States, calling attention to the Communist
attack on his country and requesting Free World moral support. This
action is intended to reinforce the impact on world opinion of the
Jorden report, “A Threat to the Peace”,3 and the US-GVN
Joint Communiqué of January 4.4
The effect of Diemʼs letter will
be further strengthened if President Kennedy makes an appropriate response. (A good US
response is also important for US-GVN
relations because the Diem letter
was sent at our suggestion.) It is recommended that the President send
the attached suggested letter to President Diem (Tab B), and that he call attention to it at his
next press conference. The President might also wish to take the
opportunity to restate briefly at his press conference US determination
to help the brave Vietnamese people defend themselves and our hope that
other nations will do likewise.
I recommend that you send the attached memorandum to the President. (Tab
A)
[Page 397]
[Attachment]
Draft Memorandum From the Secretary of
State to the President
SUBJECT
- Suggested Response to President Diemʼs Letter of March 31
On March 31 President Diem, at
our suggestion, sent a letter to the Pope and to 92 heads of Free
World states calling attention to the Communist assault on his
country and requesting Free World moral support. This action is
intended to reinforce the impact on world opinion of our report and
the U.S.-GVN Joint Communiqué of
January 4. The effect of the letter would be strengthened by a
public response from you. It is not intended to prompt a continuing
dialogue between you and President Diem.
We think it would be desirable for several replies from other heads
of state to be received before yours. The United Kingdom and
Cambodia have already replied. The Koreans have issued a formal
statement of support. The Filipinos say they intend to reply soon,
and we have urged the Thais to reply quickly.
A suggested text for your reply to Diem is enclosed as a proposed telegram to
Saigon.
You may wish to call attention to Diemʼs letter and your response at your next press
conference. You might also take this opportunity to observe that the
Diem letter is a good
statement of the threat not only to Viet-Nam, but to all Free
Nations, that the U.S. remains determined to help the brave
Vietnamese people defend themselves, and that we hope all Free World
nations will contribute what they can to the defense of
Viet-Nam.
I recommend that you approve the enclosed telegram to Saigon and that
you refer to the exchange of letters at your next press conference
along the lines indicated above.
[Attachment]
Draft Message From President Kennedy to President Diem5
Your letter of March 31 places before the world the picture of a
brave and determined people fighting to maintain their independence.
You have again exposed Communist responsibility for the continued
bloodshed and destruction in Viet-Nam by pointing to new and blatant
[Page 398]
evidence that it is
directed from Hanoi. And you have asked that the nations of the Free
World raise their voices in condemnation of this brutal attack.
Your letter, addressed to chiefs of state and government, will serve
the cause of freedom throughout the world by again alerting free men
to the menace of Communist aggression. The world must mark well the
daily heroism and sacrifices of your people—and the reasons for
them.
For our own part, we cannot express too strongly the indignation we
feel when we consider the nature of the war against your people.
Unable to compete in peace with your thriving nation, unable indeed
even to feed adequately their own hungry people, yet determined to
destroy what they cannot equal, the Communists in Hanoi have
employed systematic terror against your whole population. The
conscience of the world is deeply troubled by this savage and
unnecessary war.
The United States condemns in the strongest terms the authors of the
violence in Viet-Nam. We hope that our voice, added to that of other
Free Nations, may cause the Communists to pause. In the past we have
repeatedly urged them to give up their designs for conquest in favor
of peaceful plans for the betterment of all mankind. In particular,
we have asked that they abandon their effort to conquer the
Vietnamese nation. We again call upon them to cease their attacks on
your people and on the Free World.
But we cannot be content to appeal by words alone to the Communist
authorities in Hanoi. Meanwhile, we have already increased our
economic and military assistance to your nation, and we will
continue that support in order that your courageous people may both
build and protect what they are building. The Communists label as
aggression the extraordinary efforts we are making to assist you and
your own efforts of self-defense. If they want us to cease these
extraordinary efforts they need only call off their own attacks upon
you.
The United States is not alone in its support, both moral and
material, of your embattled country. Many other friendly countries
are already contributing to your defense. It is our hope that
additional Free World nations will also assist you in every way
possible, realizing that to help another country preserve its
independence is a way of protecting oneʼs own independence—and the
best way.
We are confident of your ultimate success. The strength and the
courage of your nation will prevail. Peace will be restored in
Viet-Nam, and your people will again be free to build their own
future in peace, in their own way and in their own great
traditions.
