Office of the Historian

116. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to President Johnson1

Washington, June 28, 1965, 7:45 p.m.

Agenda for Tuesday Lunch

There are a number of special issues which need brief discussion in order to have your guidance clearly understood, and it may save you time to list them this evening.

[Here follow items on Vietnam, Disarmament, the India-Pakistan Problem, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.]

7. Communication with the Soviets—I continue to be troubled by the fact that you yourself are not in direct communication with any member of the Soviet Government, and I would like to raise for consideration the possibility of an interview between you and Dobrynin after his interview with Rusk. I believe myself that it would have a helpful holding effect in a relatively cool period. The alternative would be a Pen Pal letter, but I see no good basis on which to generate such a message right now.2

[Here follows item 8 on China.]

McG. B.
  1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Memos to the President-McGeorge Bundy, Vol. 11. Secret. An “L” on the memorandum indicates that the President saw it. A handwritten notation at the top of page 1 reads, “Put on desk.”↩
  2. The President met for lunch with Bundy, Rusk, and McNamara from 1:25 to 2:35 p.m. on June 29, but no record of the discussion has been found. (Ibid., President’s Daily Diary)↩