Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume VII, Vietnam, July 1970–January 1972

Operation Lam Son 719, February 8–April 7, 1971

154. Summary of Conclusions of a Meeting of the Washington Special Actions Group

Washington, March 16, 1971, 5:10–6:40 p.m.

155. Summary of Conclusions for a Meeting of the Washington Special Actions Group

Washington, March 18, 1971, 5:05–6:07 p.m.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–115, WSAG Meetings Minutes, Originals, 1971. Top Secret; Nodis; COMINT. The meeting took place in the Situation Room of the White House. Smith informed Kissinger in a March 18 memorandum that the “intelligence community is obsessed with preparing for today’s WSAG and would not accomplish the analytical tasks we set out.” Smith assured Kissinger that the NSC staff and CIA analysts had devised a simple model to assess Lam Son’s effects but that the CIA believed it needed a White House order to gain DIA’s cooperation in doing the calculations. Smith wrote that the underlying problem was that CIA, unlike DIA, believed that the operation did not cut off all enemy supplies. (Ibid, Box H–80, WSAG Meeting File, Intelligence on NVSM 3–18–71)

156. Backchannel Message From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to the Ambassador to Vietnam (Bunker)

Washington, March 18, 1971, 1719Z.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 84, Vietnam Subject Files, Special Operations File, Vol. VI. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. In Ending the Vietnam War, pp. 203–204, Kissinger wrote that this backchannel message was in response to Bunker’s March 12 message, Document 149.

157. Conversation Among President Nixon, the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger), and the White House Chief of Staff (Haldeman)

Washington, March 18, 1971.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Tapes, Oval Office, Conversation 469–13. No classification marking. The editors transcribed the portion of the conversation printed here specifically for this volume. The conversation was part of a larger conversation that took place between 6:25 and 7:32 p.m.

158. Backchannel Message From the President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (Haig) to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

Saigon, March 19, 1971.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 549, Vietnam Country Files, Laos, Vol. VII. Top Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only. The original is a retyped copy of backchannel message 640 from Saigon, 1310Z.

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

Washington, March 20, 1971.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 82, Vietnam Subject Files, Vietnam Operations in Laos and Cambodia, Vol. V. Top Secret. Sent for information. A stamped notation reads, “President has seen.” According to a March 27 memorandum from Kennedy to Kissinger, the President requested that a summary of this memorandum be sent to Congressmen Boggs, Albert, and Ford. (Ibid., Box 314, Subject Files, Congressional Jan–Jul 1971, Vol. II [2 of 2]) Haig also sent a modified version to Klein under an April 15 covering memorandum authorizing him to share the information with columnist Jack Anderson. (Ibid., Box 154, Vietnam Country Files, Viet 9 Apr 71–30 Apr 71)

160. Transcript of a Telephone Conversation Between Secretary of Defense Laird and the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

Washington, March 21, 1971.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, Kissinger Telephone Conversations, Box 9, Chronological File. No classification marking. There is no indication on the original what time the call was placed. Transcribed on March 22.

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

Washington, March 22, 1971.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 153, Vietnam Country Files, Vietnam, 11 February–28 March 1971. Secret. Sent for information. A stamped notation on the memorandum reads, “The President has seen.”

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

Washington, March 22, 1971.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 549, Country Files, Far East, Laos, Vol. VII. Top Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only. Sent for information. A stamped notation on the memorandum reads, “The President has seen.”

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

Washington, undated.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 85, Vietnam Subject Files, Special Operations File, 20 March 71. Secret; Sensitive.

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

Washington, March 23, 1971, 3:06–4:30 p.m.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–115, WSAG Meetings Minutes, Originals, 1971. Top Secret; Nodis. The meeting took place in the Situation Room of the White House. All brackets except those that indicate the omission of unrelated material are in the original. In a March 23 briefing memorandum to Kissinger, Kennedy and Holdridge noted that the purpose of the meeting was to make a preliminary assessment of Lam Son 719, but that the participants would not be informed of this until the morning of the meeting to ensure that they “will not be armed with arguments or pre-cooked factual base.” (Ibid., Box H–80, WSAG Meetings, Evaluation of Lam Son Operation 3–23–71)

165. Memorandum of Conversation

Washington, March 25, 1971, 5–6:50 p.m.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 491, President’s Trip Files, Dobrynin/Kissinger, 1971, Vol. 5, Part 1. Top Secret; Sensitive; Nodis. The meeting was held in the Map Room of the White House. The ending time of the meeting is taken from Kissinger’s Record of Schedule. (Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 438, Miscellany, 1968–76) The memorandum of conversation was forwarded to Nixon under a March 30 covering memorandum in which Kissinger wrote, “Dobrynin pressed me repeatedly on March 25 for a possible communication for him to carry to the North Vietnamese leaders who would be in Moscow for the Party Congress.” Kissinger added that he refused to provide a specific message that exceeded the January 9 terms, namely “that a separation of political and military issues was a possible negotiating approach.” Both memoranda are printed in full in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XIII, Soviet Union, October 1970–October 1971, Documents 154 and 164.

166. Memorandum From K. Wayne Smith of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

Washington, March 25, 1971.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–80, WSAG Meetings, Lam Son 3–26–71. Top Secret. Sent for information.

167. Summary of Conclusions of a Meeting of the Washington Special Actions Group

Washington, March 26, 1971, 10:09–11:29 a.m.

168. Summary of Conclusions of a Meeting of the Washington Special Actions Group

Washington, March 26, 1971, 10:09–11:29 a.m.

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

Washington, March 26, 1971, 4 p.m.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 997, Haig Chronological Files, Haig Memcons, 12/70–12/71, 3 of 3. Top Secret; Nodis.

170. Backchannel Message From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to the Ambassador to Vietnam (Bunker)

Washington, March 27, 1971.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 85, Vietnam Subject Files, Special Operations File March 20 on. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. Drafted by Kissinger and Haig. The original is the text as approved for transmission. It was sent as message WHS 1026.

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

Washington, March 29, 1971.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 153, Vietnam Country Files, Viet 29 Mar 71–8 Apr 71. Top Secret; Sensitive. Sent for information. A stamped notation on the memorandum reads, “The President has seen.”

172. Minutes of a Meeting of the 40 Committee

San Clemente, March 31, 1971, 10:26–11:55 a.m.

Source: Department of State, INR/IL Historical Files, 40 Committee Meetings. Top Secret; Nodis; Eyes Only. The meeting took place in the Conference Room of the Western White House. All brackets except those that indicate omissions are in the original.

173. Backchannel Message From the Ambassador to Vietnam (Bunker) to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

Saigon, April 5, 1971, 1020Z.