Political instability within South Vietnam; U.S. retaliatory air strikes against North Vietnam January 1–February 11
91. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Immediate; Nodis; LOR. Drafted and cleared by McGeorge Bundy and approved by William Bundy.
92. Memorandum From Senator Mike Mansfield to President Johnson
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Name File, Vietnam—Mansfield Memo and Reply. No classification marking. Mansfield was Majority Leader of the Senate.
93. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Priority; Exdis. Repeated to the White House, DOD, CINCPAC for POLAD, Bangkok, and Vientiane.
94. Letter From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to Senator Mike Mansfield
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Name File, Vietnam—Mansfield Memo and Reply. Confidential.
96. Diary Entry by the Ambassador to the United Kingdom (Bruce)
Source: Department of State, Bruce Diaries: Lot 64 D 327, January-March 1965. Secret. Bruce had returned to Washington on February 8 for consultations.
97. Memorandum of Meeting of Principals
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File,NSC Meetings File, Vol. III. Top Secret. Prepared by Cooper on February 11. The source text bears the letters “OK” in McGeorge Bundy’s handwriting at the top of the first page. The meeting was held in the Cabinet Room of the White House.
98. Summary Record of the 548th Meeting of the National Security Council
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, NSC Meetings File, Vol. III. Top Secret. The drafter is not indicated, but it was apparently Bromley Smith. The time of the meeting is taken from the President’s Daily Diary. (Ibid.) The meeting was held in the Cabinet Room.
99. Memorandum for the Record
Source: Johnson Library, John McCone Memoranda of Meetings with the President. Secret. Dictated by McCone and transcribed by his office.
100. Notes on the Congressional Leadership Meeting
Source: Johnson Library, President’s Daily Diary. No classification marking. Prepared by Lawrence O’Brien. Attending the meeting in addition to the President, were Senators Mansfield, Smathers, Kuchel, Fulbright; Representatives Boggs, McCormack, Albert, Mahon, and Rivers; McGeorge Bundy, Vice President Humphrey, McNamara, Ball, Admiral McDonald, and McCone; and O’Brien, Valenti, and Watson of the White House Staff. For McCone’s notes of this meeting, see paragraphs 16–20 of Document 99.
101. Memorandum From Senator Mike Mansfield to President Johnson
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Name File, Vietnam—Mansfield Memo and Reply. No classification marking.
102. Memorandum From James C. Thomson, Jr., of the National Security Council Staff to Chester Cooper of the National Security Council Staff
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Vietnam, Reprisal Program, Vol. I. Top Secret; Sensitive.
103. Memorandum of Telephone Conversation Between President Johnson and Prime Minister Wilson
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Memos to the President, McGeorge Bundy, Vol. VIII. Secret. Prepared by Bundy on February 15. For Prime Minister Wilson’s account of this conversation, along with extracts from a transcript apparently made in London, see Harold Wilson, The Labour Government, 1964–1970: A Personal Record (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson and Michael Joseph, 1971), pp. 79–80.
104. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Priority; Exdis. Received in the Department of State at 12:52 a.m.
105. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 15 VIET S. Secret; Priority; Limdis. Received in the Department of State at 4:25 a.m.
107. Letter From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to Senator Mike Mansfield
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Name File, Vietnam—Mansfield Memo and Reply. Confidential.
108. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to President Johnson
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Memos to the President, McGeorge Bundy, Vol. VIII. No classification.