Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume III, Vietnam, June–December 1965

123. Memorandum of Meeting¹

Washington, August 19, 1965.

SUBJECT

• Points Discussed in the President’s Luncheon with the Secretary and Senior State Department Officers, Thursday, August 19, 1965²

1. The President laid great stress on the importance of intelligence in South Viet-Nam. Mr. Bundy commented that this was in part a matter of specific actions, but also heavily related to the general improvement in popular morale and cohesion which was the objective of Ambassador Lodge and of the Lansdale group.

2. The President commented at some length on the state of public opinion in the United States concerning the Viet-Nam problem. He hoped that all officers of the Department could be as active as possible in getting the Administration point of view fully expressed in public forums, and also in dealing with critical segments of the press such as the New York Times and, occasionally, the “Kennedy columnists.” The President expressed the general view that public support for Administration policies was generally satisfactory at present, but that this would become more doubtful if the conflict were prolonged another year or more. For this reason, but above all for the overriding reason of its own importance he stressed over and over again that the Department was the agency responsible for finding a proper way to peace. He had several exchanges with the Secretary and with Ambassador Goldberg on the UN and other efforts in progress, and made abundantly clear his whole-hearted support for these efforts.

3. In connection with the Viet-Nam problem, but also more broadly, the President also laid great stress on the importance of relationships with Congress. He particularly underlined the vital necessity of advance consultation with Congressional leaders and interested committees on all actions being contemplated by the Department.

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 15-1 US/Johnson. Confidential. Drafted by William Bundy on August 26.
2. The senior Departmental officials included Rusk, Ball, Harriman, Goldberg, William Bundy, Thomas Mann, Jack Vaughn, G. Mennen Williams, Joseph Sisco, Harlan Cleveland, Phillips Talbot, and John Leddy. Lloyd Hand and Jack Valenti of the White House staff were also present. The meeting lasted from 1:48 to 4:05 p.m. (Johnson Library, President’s Daily Diary)