263. Memorandum for the Record of Discussion at the Daily White House Staff Meeting1
Washington, November 1,
1963, 8 a.m.
- 1.
- Mr. Bundy presided throughout the meeting.
- 2.
- Vietnam. Bundy opened the meeting by stating that “they” (presumably himself and Forrestal) had spent a quiet night watching the cables from Vietnam. I asked how many forces were actually involved, hoping to draw out some of Bundy’s thinking. He responded by saying that, with the exception of the palace guard, the army in Saigon and in the field seem to be firmly behind the Generals. Forrestal added that it was a well executed coup, much better than anyone would have thought possible. Bundy then commented that Diem was still holding out in the palace, adding that no one wanted to go in for the kill. They preferred that Diem leave the country. He continued that the Lodge trip is obviously off, and concluded by saying that all we could do for the present was continue to watch. At one point Dungan jokingly said that if we recognized this military regime quickly, it would put him in trouble in Latin America. Someone responded that the group in Vietnam was “representative.” Bundy, I believe, added that this was an example of the acceptable type of military coup Martin of State had in mind when he made his statement some weeks ago.2
[Here follows discussion of matters unrelated to Vietnam.]
- Source: National Defense University, Taylor Papers, T-646-71. Secret; Eyes Only. Drafted by W.Y Smith.↩
- Reference is to Edwin M. Martin, Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, and his statement written for and published in the New York Herald Tribune, October 6, 1963. The statement is also printed in Department of State Bulletin, November 4, 1963, pp. 698-704.↩