357. Action Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (Bundy) to Secretary of State Rusk1
SUBJECT
- Restrictions on Barrel Roll Operations—for Tuesday Luncheon
When the President gave orders to suspend air strikes north of the 20th parallel in North Vietnam, Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma of Laos was told that this limitation would not have a serious effect on the military situation in his country because additional air power, used until then in the North, would probably be used in Laos—and that, in any case, no policy change was contemplated as regards air operations in Laos.
Then came Hanoi’s allegation of an attack on Lai Chau, in North Vietnam. Since it was possible that that attack might have been related to U.S. air operations in Laos, the President issued an order that operations in Northern Laos along the North Vietnamese border be more effectively controlled. As a result, operations in the entire Barrel Roll area have been temporarily suspended.
Subsequently, it turned out that Lai Chau could not have been attacked by U.S. planes. Improved controls were promptly worked out to make any strikes across the Lao border even less possible. Our Embassy in Vientiane worked out such measures with Seventh Air Force and recommended on April 13 that strikes in the Barrel Roll area be authorized again. Our good faith vis-à-vis the Lao Government is involved. Strikes in the Barrel Roll area are very important to the Lao Armed Forces in view of friendly guerrilla assets there and North Vietnamese road traffic feeding into other areas.
State, Defense and CIA are agreed to reinstitute strikes (carefully controlled) in the two southern segments (Bravo and Coco) of the Barrel Roll area, but to retain temporarily the suspension for the Alpha zone which is strategically less important and closer to Communist China. General Wheeler had intended to discuss this matter with the President in Honolulu, but had been unable to do so. An early decision is very desirable.
Action Requested: At the luncheon today,2 support JCS and CIA in urging the lifting of current restrictions on air strikes in the Bravo and Coco zones of the Barrel Roll area in Northern Laos.
- Source: Department of State,EA/Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Files: Lot 75 D 394, TS. Top Secret. Drafted by Herz.↩
- The issue was apparently not discussed at the April 23 luncheon meeting, see Document 358; but it was discussed at the April 30 meeting, see footnote 3, Document 361.↩