78. Memorandum From the Executive Secretary of the Department of State (Read) to the Presidentʼs Special Assistant (Rostow)1
SUBJECT
- Foreign Relations Committee Study on Neutralization in Southeast Asia
With your memorandum of July 5, you enclosed a letter from Senator Fulbright and a study entitled “Neutralization in Southeast Asia: Problems and Prospects.” This study was carefully reviewed by several Departmental officers and referred to the Secretary. In accordance with his instructions, Messrs. Torbert and Kreisberg called on Chief of Staff Carl Marcy on August 8, having been delayed for some time by Marcyʼs absence from town.2
They told Mr. Marcy that after careful review of the study, it appeared to contain some thoughtful ideas which would be incorporated in our general thinking and study of the problem, but that we felt it was not quite comprehensive enough to be considered a definitive study of the problem. Furthermore, it presented only one of several possible solutions to the problem with admitted disadvantages. We did not foreclose neutralization, but the final solution would depend on the desires of all the parties at interest, once the preconditions which the study enumerated were achieved. For this reason, we hesitated to recommend publishing the study, although we would have no objection should the Committee decide to do so. We of course had no objection to its being circulated to the Committee (which Marcy then said had already been done). Finally, Marcy was told that the Secretary would be very happy to [Page 198] discuss the report further with Chairman Fulbright should the latter so desire.
Mr. Marcy pressed for a written opinion on the study from the Department, which he could furnish Committee Members for their discussion and possibly later to be published with the study if, as he expected, the Committee should vote to publish it. He was told that we would frankly prefer not to write such a letter in order to avoid being drawn into a controversy over the merits of the study, and/or to avoid committing the Department to any fixed positions in hypothetical future negotiations. If after consideration, however, the Committee still desired a written reply, we would further investigate the possibilities of producing one.
Marcy stressed his desire to get a clear Departmental position to minimize the risk of newspaper speculation on a further dispute between the Chairman and the Administration if and when the study was published. He also dwelled at some length on the Chairmanʼs feeling that the Administration was paying inadequate attention to long-range planning and research as opposed to crises management. Considerable effort was devoted to countering this impression.
It was left that Mr. Marcy would discuss this subject with the Chairman and would be in touch with us if further action was required.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27–13 ASIA SE. Limited Official Use. Drafted by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations, H.G. Tolbert, Jr., with the concurrence of Paul H. Kreisberg of FE/ACA.↩
- A fuller account of this discussion is in a memorandum of conversation, August 9. (Ibid., POL 8 ASIA SE)↩
- Larry C. Williamson signed for Read above Readʼs typed signature.↩