427. Editorial Note
On February 21, 1968, President Johnson and UN Secretary General U Thant met for a discussion of the Secretary General’s most recent effort to find a solution to the Vietnam war. U Thant reported that the North Vietnamese were willing to begin talks “immediately” upon the cessation of U.S. bombing raids on their territory. The Secretary General urged the President to undertake another bombing pause to test the sincerity of the North Vietnamese. The President expressed his doubts about North Vietnam’s objectives but encouraged U Thant’s efforts. A tape recording of their conversation is in the Johnson Library, Recordings and Transcripts of Cabinet Room Meetings, Tape C002A–1D. A 3-page summary of the meeting and an unedited transcript are ibid. Johnson discussed the meeting in The Vantage Point, page 395.