Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume II, Vietnam, January–June 1965

Political instability within South Vietnam; U.S. retaliatory air strikes against North Vietnam January 1–February 11

31. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam

Washington, January 21, 1965, 7:52 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Immediate; Nodis;LOR. Drafted by Unger; cleared by Cooper, McNamara, and Rusk; and approved by William Bundy.

32. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Saigon, January 22, 1965, 1 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Exdis. Also sent to CINCPAC for POLAD and repeated to Vientiane.

33. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Saigon, January 23, 1965, 3 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Priority; Nodis;LOR. Received in the Department of State at 3:46 a.m.

34. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Saigon, January 23, 1965, 3 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Priority; Nodis;LOR. Received in the Department of State at 4:28 a.m.

35. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam

Washington, January 25, 1965, 9:34 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Immediate; Nodis;LOR. Drafted by McNaughton and Unger, cleared by Cooper, and approved by William Bundy and Rusk.

36. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Saigon, January 26, 1965, 10 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Confidential. Repeated to Hong Kong, CINCPAC for POLAD, Moscow, Paris, London, Vientiane, Phnom Penh, and Bangkok. Received at 11:25 a.m.

37. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to President Johnson

Washington, January 26, 1965.

Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Vietnam, Vol. XXVI, Memos. No classification marking.

38. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam

Washington, January 26, 1965, 6:49 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, EP 6–1 HUE. Top Secret; Flash; Limdis. Drafted by Corcoran, cleared by W. Bundy, and approved by Unger.1

39. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to President Johnson

Washington, January 26, 1965.

Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Vietnam, Vol. XXVI. Secret.

40. Memorandum From the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (Denney) to Secretary of State Rusk

Washington, January 27, 1965.

Source: Kennedy Library, Thomson Papers, Southeast Asia, Vietnam, 1965 General, 1/65–2/65. Secret; No Foreign Dissem; Limit Distribution.

41. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Saigon, January 27, 1965, 9 a.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Secret; Immediate; Nodis. Received in the Department of State at 9:31 a.m. Although the source text indicates 9 a.m. as the time of transmission, this was apparently an error, given the time of receipt in the Department of State and the contents of the telegram.

42. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to President Johnson

Washington, January 27, 1965.

Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Memos to the President, McGeorge Bundy, Vol. VIII. Secret.

43. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam

Washington, January 27, 1965, 8:48 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Secret; Immediate; Nodis; LOR. Drafted by William Bundy, cleared by McGeorge Bundy and McNamara, and approved by Rusk.

44. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam

Washington, January 27, 1965, 9:46 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Immediate; Nodis; LOR. The text was drafted in the White House and approved by McGeorge Bundy.

45. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Saigon, January 28, 1965, 8 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIETS. Top Secret; Immediate; Nodis; LOR. Received in the Department of State at 8:11 a.m.

46. Memorandum for the Record

Saigon, January 28, 1965.

Source: Center of Military History, Westmoreland Papers, History Backup, #13. Secret. Prepared by Westmoreland. Copies were sent to Taylor, U. Alexis Johnson, and Manfull.

47. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam

Washington, January 28, 1965, 8:31 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Immediate; Nodis; LOR. Drafted by McGeorge Bundy; cleared in substance by Ball, McNamara, and Unger; and approved by the President.

48. Telegram From the Embassy in France to the Department of State

Paris, January 29, 1965, 2 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Secret; Limdis; Noforn.

49. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Saigon, January 29, 1965, 7 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 15 VIET S. Secret; Priority; Limdis. Repeated to the Department of Defense, the White House, CIA, Bangkok, Vientiane, and CINCPAC for POLAD. Received in the Department of State at 10:27 a.m.

50. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam

Washington, January 29, 1965, 7:55 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 15 VIET S. Secret; Immediate; Limdis. Repeated to CINCPAC for POLAD.

51. Memorandum From the Joint Chiefs of Staff to Secretary of Defense McNamara

Washington, January 29, 1965.

Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OSD Files: FRC 70 A 1265, Viet 381. Top Secret; Sensitive.

52. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam

Washington, January 30, 1965, 7:41 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Immediate; Nodis; LOR. Drafted in the White House; cleared by William Bundy, McNaughton, and Unger; and approved by McGeorge Bundy.

53. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Saigon, January 31, 1965, 4 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Priority; Limdis. Repeated to CINCPAC.

54. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Saigon, February 1, 1965, 6 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Secret; Immediate; Nodis; LOR. Received in the Department of State at 7:36 a.m.

55. Intelligence Memorandum

Washington, February 1, 1965.

Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, International Meetings and Travel File, McGeorge Bundy—Saigon, Vol. III. Secret; No Foreign Dissem. Prepared by the Office of Current Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency. The Bureau of Intelligence and Research produced a similar analysis of the Kosygin delegation on February 1. (Memorandum from Denney to Rusk; ibid.) Also on February 1, Robert Komer wrote a memorandum to McGeorge Bundy stating: “my hunch is that Soviets have decided we’re probably licked in VN, and are climbing on bandwagon. Kosygin’s visit, and inevitable aid promises when there, strike me as Soviet effort to prevent ChiComs from getting full credit for the victory.” (Ibid., Country File, Vietnam, Vol. XXVII) In Special Memorandum No. 7–65, dated February 5, CIA’s Office of National Estimates made a point similar to Komer’s while emphasizing that Kosygin’s trip reflected “a basic Soviet decision to contest the spread of Chinese Communist influence in the Far East.” (Department of State, INR Files: Lot 81 D 343)