Planning and Decisions for Operations in Cambodia and Laos, October 9, 1970–February 7, 1971


107. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 208, Agency Files, CIA, Vol. IV. Secret; Sensitive; Contains Codeword Material. A stamped notation on the memorandum reads, “The President has seen.”


108. Minutes of a Meeting of the Washington Special Actions Group

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–115, WSAG Meetings Minutes, Originals, 1971. Top Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only. The meeting took place in the Situation Room of the White House. It ended at 5:23 p.m. (Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 438, Miscellany, 1968–76, Record of Schedule)


109. Memorandum for the President’s File by the President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (Haig)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Special Files, President’s Office Files, Box 84, Memoranda for the President, Beginning January 24, 1971. Top Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only. Sent for information.


110. Minutes of a Meeting of the Senior Washington Special Actions Group

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–115, WSAG Meetings Minutes, Originals, 1971. Top Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only. The meeting took place in the Situation Room of the White House. According to Kissinger’s Record of Schedule, the meeting ended at 5:35 p.m. (Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 438, Miscellany, 1968–76)


111. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 83, Vietnam Subject Files, Special Operations File, Vol. II. Top Secret; Sensitive. A stamped notation on the memorandum reads, “The President has seen.”


112. Memorandum for the President’s File by the President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (Haig)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Special Files, President’s Office Files, Box 84, Memoranda for the President, Beginning January 24, 1971. Top Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only. Sent for information.


113. Minutes of a Meeting of the Senior Washington Special Actions Group

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H–Files), Box H–115, WSAG Meetings Minutes, Originals, 1971. Top Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only. The meeting took place in the Situation Room of the White House. It ended at 4:55 p.m. (Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 438, Miscellany, 1968–76, Record of Schedule)


115. Minutes of a Meeting of the Senior Washington Special Actions Group

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–115, WSAG Meetings Minutes, Originals, 1971. Top Secret; Sensitive. The meeting took place in the Situation Room of the White House. The meeting ended at 12:56 p.m. according to a chronology attached to a February 9 memorandum from Howe to Haig. (Ibid., NSC Files, Box 84, Vietnam Subject Files, Special Operations File, Vol. IV) All brackets are in the original with the exception of those indicating omitted material.


116. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 83, Vietnam Subject Files, Special Operations File, Vol. III. Top Secret; Sensitive. A stamped notation on the memorandum reads, “The President has seen.”


117. Diary Entry by the White House Chief of Staff (Haldeman)

Source: The Haldeman Diaries: Inside the Nixon White House, the Complete Multimedia Edition.


118. Minutes of a Meeting of the Senior Washington Special Actions Group

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–115, WSAG Meetings Minutes, Originals, 1971. Top Secret; Sensitive. The meeting took place in the Situation Room of the White House. According to a chronology attached to a memorandum from Howe to Haig, February 9, the meeting ended at 4:15 p.m. (Ibid., NSC Files, Box 84, Vietnam Subject Files, Special Operations File, Vol. IV) All brackets are in the original with the exception of those indicating omitted material.


119. Memorandum for the 40 Committee

Source: Department of State, INR/IL Historical Files, 40 Committee Meetings. Secret; Eyes Only. Coerr forwarded the memorandum to Johnson on February 4, and recommended that he ask at the 40 Committee meeting that day about the risks of press or Congressional detection of the covert assistance, the chances for South Vietnamese legislators if they were not given covert support, and the implications if the legislators whom the United States supported lost their elections. He also recommended that Johnson propose making approval contingent on developments in the next few weeks. On the back of the memorandum is the following undated note: “Karamessines now says: 1. CIA favors and will support in 40. 2. It is a relatively modest plan. 3. CIA believes it can maintain security.” In a February 3 memorandum to Kissinger, Chapin recommended that he ask for Helms’ and Johnson’s assessment of the prospects for the election and Minh’s chances, Helms’ and Packard’s view on how a GVN leadership change would affect current U.S. programs, Helms’ ideas on avoiding detection, everyone’s assessment of telegram 307 (Document 100), and the relative effectiveness of overt and covert actions. (National Security Council, Nixon Intelligence Files, Subject Files, Vietnam, 14 Jan 1971–22 Dec 1971)


120. Minutes of a Meeting of the Senior Washington Special Actions Group

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–115, WSAG Meetings Minutes, Originals, 1971. Top Secret; Sensitive. The meeting took place in the Situation Room of the White House. According to a chronology attached to a memorandum from Howe to Haig, February 9, the meeting ended at 4:21 p.m. (Ibid., NSC Files, Box 84, Vietnam Subject Files, Special Operations File, Vol. IV) All brackets are in the original.


121. Minutes of a Meeting of the Senior Washington Special Actions Group

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–115, WSAG Meetings Minutes, Originals, 1971. Top Secret; Sensitive. The meeting took place in the Situation Room of the White House. According to a chronology attached to a memorandum from Howe to Haig, February 9, the meeting ended at 4:45 p.m. (Ibid., NSC Files, Box 84, Vietnam Subject Files, Special Operations File, Vol. IV) All brackets except those that indicate omission of unrelated material are in the original.


122. Summary of Decisions of a Meeting of the Senior Washington Special Actions Group

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–79, WSAG (Principals Only) Vietnam 2–6–71. No classification marking. According to the separate minutes of the meeting, it ended at 2:15 p.m. (Ibid.)


123. Minutes of a Meeting of the Washington Special Actions Group

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–115, WSAG Meetings Minutes, Originals, 1971. Top Secret; Sensitive. The meeting took place in the Situation Room of the White House. According to a chronology attached to a memorandum from Howe to Haig, February 9, the meeting ended at 12:22 p.m. (Ibid., NSC Files, Box 84, Vietnam Subject Files, Special Operations File, Vol. IV) All brackets except those that indicate omission of unrelated material are in the original.