227. Draft Memorandum by the Ambassador at Large (Harriman)1
I think it is important that the President make one or more statements amplifying Point V of his March 25 statement2 to capture world opinion as well as to give the enemy a political and economic carrot. Ambassador Taylor’s return might be a suitable occasion.
The statement should be couched in terms that would not disturb but strengthen the morale of SVN.
Its objective would be to make an impact on the following groups:
1. The people and governments of friendly countries, as well as groups in the US that are concerned over where we are going in Viet-Nam.
The statement should show that the President is thinking in terms of peace and the future welfare of the people of Indochina.
2. The leaders of North Viet-Nam.
The statement should imply that NVN could have a political and economic future free from fear of Chinese domination. It would also imply that NVN would be recognized as a state and would share in the development of the area, and specifically have a source of supply other than China for rice and other essential products.
3. The Soviet Government.
Statement should propose a non-aligned area for Indochina with its security guaranteed by the US, USSR, Red China, etc. This would assure the Soviets against ChiCom advance to the south.
4. Peiping.
By the non-aligned set-up, Peiping could have the security of a comfortable buffer area. They might be ready to accept such a buffer, as long as they were sure that there would be no attempt to make it a Western [Page 506] bastion. The ChiCom leadership is patient and it might be willing to put off for the time being its expansionist hopes.
To achieve these purposes, the statement should propose close economic relationship among the four Indochinese countries, with the opportunity for Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, and perhaps others to join if desired.
This economic relationship should include free exchange of products, common development planning, as well as mutual educational institutions, with emphasis on agriculture, engineering, and medicine. The US should offer material and technical assistance.
The Soviet Union and Red China should be invited to join as well as France, other industrial countries of Europe, and Japan. The US should indicate a willingness to be generous, but show no desire to control.
The statement should not attempt to be detailed, but should be sufficiently specific to have meaning.
- Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Files of McGeorge Bundy, SE Asia Regional Development. Secret. The source text was attached to Harriman’s covering memorandum of April 1 to McGeorge Bundy, in which he explained that the draft paper contained suggestions for clearing up the confusion regarding U.S. policy toward Vietnam that Harriman believed existed abroad and in the United States.↩
- Point V of the President’s statement of March 25 dealt with the need for further cooperative ventures by the United States and Southeast Asian nations in the economic and social realms. (Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965, Book I, p. 319)↩