January 31, 1965 to December 1967: Demise of the Rightists; Controversy Over Interdiction Strategies; Souvanna’s Visits to the United States
222. Letter From the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Johnson) to the Deputy Secretary of Defense (Vance)
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 LAOS. Top Secret.
223. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 LAOS. Top Secret; Limdis; Priority. Repeated to JCS, CINCPAC, COMUSMACV, 2d Air Division, and Bangkok.
224. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 LAOS. Top Secret; Priority. Repeated to Bangkok, Saigon, CINCPAC, COMUSMACV, 2d Air Division, and Deputy Commander, 2d Air Division, Udorn.
225. Memorandum From the Director of the Joint Staff (Burchinal) to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (McNaughton)
Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OASD/ISA Files: FRC 70 A 6649, Laos 000.1 (373.5 Laos), 1966. Top Secret.
226. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 ASIA SE. Top Secret; Limdis. Repeated to Bangkok, Saigon, Moscow, London, Hong Kong, and CINCPAC. The time of dispatch on this telegram is an error; it was received at the Department of State at 5:17 a.m., March 23.
227. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Laos
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 Laos. Top Secret; Limdis. Drafted by Slutz; cleared with Blouin, Mustin, Jorden, in substance with Trueheart, and paragraph 5 with Richard L. Sneider, the Public Affairs Officer, and FE; and approved by Unger. Repeated to Bangkok, Saigon,CINCPAC, COMUSMACV, and 2d Air Division.
228. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 2 LAOS. Confidential. Repeated to Bangkok, Saigon, Tokyo, London, Moscow, Hong Kong, and CINCPAC.
229. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 17–1 LAOS–US. Confidential. Drafted by DeSebera of Language Services and James P. Murphy of SEA, neither of whom are cited as participants. Approved in the White House on April 16.
230. Memorandum From R.C. Bowman of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Special Assistant (Rostow)
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Laos, Vol. XVI, Memos, 2/66–1/67. Top Secret.
231. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret.
232. Memorandum From the Deputy Director of the Far East Region, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (Hamilton) to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Unger)
Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OASD/ISA Files: FRC 70 A 6648. Laos 000.1 (200.2 Laos). Secret. Sent through Admiral Blouin. Copies were sent to Truehart, Barbis, Colonel Mobley, and the Air Force Foreign Liaison Branch.
233. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, DEF 6–3 LAOS. Secret; Flash; Limdis. Repeated to Bangkok, CINCPAC, JCS, and Saigon. Passed to the White House upon receipt at the Department of State.
234. Action Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Bundy) to Acting Secretary of State Ball
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 LAOS. Top Secret; Sensitive. Drafted by Lieutenant Colonel Robert M. Cowherd of FE and cleared by Trueheart, Assistant Legal Adviser George H. Aldrich, Seymour Weiss of G/PM, and Unger.
235. Telegram From the Commander, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (Westmoreland) to the Commander in Chief, Pacific (Sharp)
Source: Center of Military History, Westmoreland Papers, Message Files, COMUSMACV, 1 April–30 June 1966. Secret; Eyes Only.
236. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 7 LAOS. Secret. Repeated to Bangkok, London, Moscow, Saigon, and CINCPAC. The substance of this telegram was retyped in the White House and sent on June 10 to the President by Rostow who suggested, “This account of Souvanna and the King of Laos in Moscow will interest you—notably paras 6 and 7, which have the ring of credibility.” His initial on the source text indicates the President read the telegram. (Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Laos, Vol. XVI, Cables, 2/66–1/67)
237. Action Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Bundy) to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Johnson)
Source: Department of State, Central Files, DEF 6–12 US. Top Secret; Sensitive. Drafted by Cowherd and cleared by Trueheart, Weiss, and James F. Leonard of INR/RES. This memorandum was originally directed to Rusk through Johnson, but Johnson approved it for the Secretary on June 11.
238. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL LAOS. Confidential. Repeated to Bangkok, London, Paris, Saigon, CINCPAC, Hong Kong, and Moscow. This telegram was retyped in the White House, but there is no indication whether or not it was sent to the President. (Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Laos, Vol. XVI, Cables, 2/66–1/67)
239. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OASD/ISA Files: FRC 70 A 6649, Laos 000.1 (333 Laos), 1966. Top Secret. Drafted by Mobley on July 5 and cleared by Blouin. The meeting was held at the Pentagon.
240. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 2 LAOS. Secret; Immediate; Limdis. Passed to the White House upon receipt at the Department of State.
241. Telegram From the Commander, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (Westmoreland) to the Commander in Chief, Pacific (Sharp)
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 LAOS. Top Secret. Repeated to the Department of State for Unger, which is the source text,OSD, and JCS. Handled as Exdis upon receipt at the Department of State.
242. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Laos
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 LAOS. Secret; Immediate; Limdis. Drafted by Slutz, cleared by Hamilton of DOD/ISA, and Ewing, and approved by Bundy. Repeated to Bangkok, CINCPAC, COMUSMACTHAI, COMUSMACV, DEPCHJUSMAG/THAI. As of July 1, 1966, Department of State telegrams to all posts were numbered consecutively according to the time they were sent. Telegrams repeated to posts for information used the same number.
243. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs (Sylvester) to Secretary of Defense McNamara
Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OSD/Admin Files: FRC 70 A 4443, Laos 1966 (Laos 704). Secret.
244. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Secret; Limdis. Repeated to CINCPAC, Bangkok, Saigon, COMUSMACTHAI, COMUSMACV, DEPCHJUSMAG, and OSD. The substance of this telegram was retyped in the White House and sent to the President under cover of a note from Rostow, August 3, 3 p.m., which reads: “We often forget there is a significant—secondary—war going on in Laos. Here is an interesting account of recent operations.” (Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Laos, Vol. XVI, Cables, 2/66–1/67)
245. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant (Rostow) to President Johnson
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Laos, Vol. XVI, Memos, 2/66–1/67. Confidential.
246. Report by the Chief of the Far East Division, Directorate for Plans, Central Intelligence Agency (Colby) to Director of Central Intelligence Helms
Source: Library of Congress Manuscript Division, Harriman Papers, Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, Far East General. Secret.
247. Central Intelligence Agency Information Report
Source: Johnson Library, National, Security File, Country File, Laos, Vol. XVI, Memos, 2/66–1/67. Secret; No Foreign Dissem.
248. Memorandum From the Central Intelligence Agency to the 303 Committee
Source: Department of State,INR/IL Historical Files, 303 Committee, 9/15/66. Secret; Eyes Alone. No drafting information or attribution appears on the source text. A September 13 memorandum from William Bundy to Alexis Johnson commenting on this report indicates that it was prepared by CIA. Bundy supported the recommendations that the operations be continued and expanded by 3,000 persons in FY 1967, but he believed that the justification for these operations were not tied exclusively to Vietnam. Bundy believed that they were important for the security of Laos and the Mekong Valley. (Ibid.)
249. Telegram From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 LAOS. Secret.
250. Memorandum From Secretary of Defense McNamara to President Johnson
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Indonesia, Vol. VII, 5/66–6/67. Top Secret.
251. Telegram From the Commander, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (Westmoreland) to the Commander in Chief, Pacific (Sharp)
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Vietnam, Vol. 58, Cables, 9/1–18/66. Top Secret; Immediate; Limdis. Repeated to JCS for Wheeler.