342. Memorandum From the Presidentʼs Special Assistant (Rostow) to President Johnson1
SUBJECT
- Thai Bases Announcement
Secretary Rusk wants to add to the luncheon agenda2 the matter of our acknowledgement of the Thai decision to permit U.S. use of the U-Tapao base.
Facts:
The Thai have made the basic announcement this morning; it has moved on all wires and been carried on the radio;
[Page 761]Our announcement would simply be a follow-up acknowledgement; its purpose is mainly to express our gratitude for the cooperation the Thai are offering in the Viet-Nam effort;
The Thai dropped their suggestion that a special Presidential emissary be sent to Bangkok for this purpose on the understanding that the White House would be making a statement after the Thai announcement.
My own feeling is that the U-Tapao decision was not an easy one for the Thai. It is going to open them up to strong attack from the Communists. The kind of warm reception by us of their decision that has been proposed is not out of order. If we handle the matter otherwise, we can expect trouble from Foreign Minister Thanat at the Troop Contributors meeting here next month.
We may want to take another look at the proposed full text. But I see no overwhelming reason for us to back away from the understanding Ambassador Martin reached with the Thai Prime Minister and his Government. I suggest that George Christian make the statement this afternoon along the general lines proposed.3
- Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Thailand, Vol. VI, Memos, 3/67–8/67. Confidential.↩
- Apparently the agenda for the Presidentʼs weekly lunch with Rusk, McNamara, Rostow, and Christian, March 22, 12:43 to 2 p.m. (Ibid., Presidentʼs Daily Diary) No other record has been found.↩
- Rusk, not Christian, made a long and effusive statement on March 22; the text is printed in American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1967, pp. 809–810.↩