380. Letter From the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (Warnke) to the Presidentʼs Special Assistant (Rostow)1
Dear Walt:
This responds to your memorandum of January 22 to Secretaries Rusk and McNamara concerning the assurances the President desires relative to the Thai deployment to Vietnam.2
Equipment for the Thai force is being delivered to Thailand on an accelerated basis. Items are being airlifted when necessary to meet [Page 841] the training schedule. While there may be certain temporary shortages of minor items, there is no possibility that these could be a cause or an excuse for delay.
Target dates for the deployment of the Thai force have been set and are clearly understood by both sides. The first of the two increments commenced training earlier this month and will deploy in mid-July. The second increment will begin training immediately thereafter and will deploy in January 1969.
The Thai have made clear publicly from the beginning that this deployment shall not be to the detriment of their internal security capability and that it shall consist of volunteers from the active forces, the reserves, and civilian life. Deploying an existing unit would run directly counter to this firm public commitment of the RTG to their people, and to His Majestyʼs insistence that the force be composed of volunteers. An attempt at this juncture to induce the RTG to change our jointly agreed-upon plans would be not only to no avail but might cause considerable political damage. Bill Bundy concurs in this judgment.
Please be assured that all levels of the Department of Defense recognize the importance of early deployment of additional Thai forces to Vietnam.
Sincerely,
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, DEF 6 THAI. Secret; Exdis. Drafted by J.B. Devine of ISA. Copies were sent to McNamara, Wheeler, and Bundy.↩
- Document 378.↩
- Printed from a copy that indicates Warnke signed the original.↩