74. Telegram From the White House to the President, at Squaw Island, Massachussets1
CAP 63496. Cable to Lodge follows; per Hilsman, Rusk requests you clear this with the President for release.
To Saigon, eyes only for Lodge:
Review of Deptels raises possibility we have not been sufficiently precise in telling you our thoughts about the possible removal of brother Nhu.
From the viewpoint of Vietnamese solidarity and world and domestic US opinion, it is important that Nhu not have a key role.
What we are not yet clear about is whether the step of insisting that he depart the country for an extended period would be necessary to restore the Vietnamese peoples’ confidence in their government so as to permit a victory in the war. It is on this point that we hope the reassessment you are now engaged in will shed some light. End of message.
- Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Vietnam Country Series, Memos and Miscellaneous. Secret; Priority; Eyes Only. Sent from the White House Situation Room to the President for delivery on the morning of September 8. The President did not clear the cable to Lodge; a note on the source text reads, “not sent to Saigon.”↩