1. Message From the Commander, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (Abrams) to the Commander in Chief, Pacific (McCain)

Source: National Archives, RG 330–75–0014, OSD Files, International Security Affairs, Vietnam Task Force, Box 3, File of Meetings, Senior Review Group. Top Secret; Immediate; Exclusive; Specat. Repeated to Moorer. Bunker and Berger in Saigon reviewed the message line by line with Abrams. (Sorley, A Better War, pp. 315–316) During a special briefing in Saigon on the cable and the requested authorities, the following exchange occurred between Abrams and Bunker. Abrams: “As messages go, this is probably the most unequivocal message we’ve ever sent.” Bunker: “I think it’s time to be unequivocal because there’s so much at stake.” Abrams: “I’m in hopes that this will get all the way, or the essence of this will get all the way, to him [the president]. I don’t see how they can afford not to.” Bunker: “I can send in—I can flag it to see that he does.” (Sorley, Vietnam Chronicles, p. 756; “the president” is bracketed in the original.) As it turned out, Bunker had no need to flag the message. When the message arrived, Moorer sent it to Laird and recommended that, “because of the importance of General Abrams’ assessment,” the message should be forwarded to the White House. (CM–1468–72, attached to Moorer Diary, January 20; National Archives, RG 218, Records of the Chairman)

2. Conversation Between President Nixon and the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Tapes, Oval Office, Conversation 652–17. No classification marking. The editors transcribed the portions of the tape recording printed here specifically for this volume. The transcript is part of a larger conversation, 6:08–6:36 p.m.

3. Memorandum From Philip A. Odeen and John D. Negroponte of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–062, Senior Review Group Meetings, SRG Meeting Vietnam Assessment 1/24/72. Top Secret; Sensitive. Sent for action.

4. Minutes of a Senior Review Group Meeting

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 158, Vietnam Country Files, Vietnam, Jan–Feb 1972. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. The meeting was held in the White House Situation Room. All brackets are in the original.

5. Editorial Note

6. Transcript of a Telephone Conversation Between the Governor of New York (Rockefeller) and the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, Kissinger Telephone Conversations, Box 13, Chronological File, January 25–31, 1972. No classification marking. Rockefeller was in New York; Kissinger was in Washington.

7. Transcript of a Telephone Conversation Between David Kraslow, Washington Bureau Chief of the Los Angeles Times, and the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, Kissinger Telephone Conversations, Box 13, Chronological File, January 25–31, 1972. No classification marking. All blank underscores are omissions in the original.

8. Joint United States and Republic of Vietnam Proposal

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 107, Country Files, Far East, Vietnam Negotiations, Paris Negotiations, January 25, 1972–January 1973. No classification marking. This proposal was submitted at the plenary session of the Paris Peace Talks. The text of the proposal was released on January 25, the day of President Nixon’s speech (see Document 5). It is also printed in Public Papers: Nixon, 1972, pp. 105–106.

9. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 493, President’s Trip Files, Dobrynin/Kissinger, 1972, Vol. 9 [Part 2]. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. The meeting was held in the White House Map Room. This memorandum of conversation was sent under a February 8 covering memorandum from Kissinger to the President summarizing the meeting. A notation on the February 8 memorandum indicates the President saw it. Printed in full in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XIV, Soviet Union, October 1971–May 1972, Document 41.

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

Source: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box TS 84, National Security Council, Meetings, January 1972. Top Secret; Sensitive. Sent for action. A note at the top of the first page by Butterfield reads: “Mr. President, Henry believes that you should at least read this memo prior to the NSC mtg at 3 pm.” A stamped notation on the memorandum indicates the President saw it. On January 27, Odeen and Kennedy sent a draft of this memorandum to Kissinger urging that he send it to the President. (Ibid.)

11. Memorandum From John H. Holdridge of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 550, Country Files, Far East, Laos, Vol. 9, Jan–Sep 1972. Top Secret. Sent for action. Haig initialed for Holdridge.

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

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–032, National Security Council Meetings, NSC Meeting Vietnam 2/2/72. Top Secret; Sensitive. A stamped notation on the memorandum indicates the President saw it. On February 1, Haig transmitted a nearly identical memorandum to Mitchell to assist him in his preparation for the February 2 NSC meeting; ibid., Alexander M. Haig Special File, Box 1001, Haig (General Files), 1972.

13. National Security Council Meeting

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Tapes, Cabinet Room, Conversation 89–1. No classification marking. The editors transcribed the portions of the tape recording printed here specifically for this volume. The transcript is part of a larger conversation, 10:05 a.m.–12:16 p.m. Kissinger noted in a 9:05 a.m., February 2, telephone conversation with Secretary of the Treasury John B. Connally that Nixon had changed the date of the meeting from January 29 to February 2 so that Connally could attend. (Ibid., Kissinger Telephone Conversations, Box 13, Chronological File, February 1–4, 1972) No other written record of this meeting has been found. In his memoirs, Kissinger noted, “I cannot find a record of the meeting.” (White House Years, p. 1100)

According to the President’s Daily Diary, the following attended the meeting: Nixon, Vice President Agnew, Rogers, Laird, Connally, Mitchell, Helms, Moorer, Bunker, Kissinger, Haig, Director of the Office of Emergency Planning Lincoln, and White House Press Secretary Ziegler. (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Central Files)

14. Conversation Among President Nixon, the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger), and the Ambassador to South Vietnam (Bunker)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Tapes, Oval Office, Conversation 665–3. No classification marking. The editors transcribed the portions of the tape recording printed here specifically for this volume. The transcript is part of a larger conversation, 10:53–11:33 a.m.

15. National Security Decision Memorandum 149

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–230, National Security Council Decision Memoranda, NSDM 149. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. A copy was sent to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

16. Editorial Note

17. Transcript of a Telephone Conversation Between President Nixon and the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, Kissinger Telephone Conversations, Box 13, Chronological File, February 5–10, 1972. No classification marking.

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

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 1330, Unfiled Material [2 of 8]. Top Secret; Sensitive. A stamped notation on the memorandum indicates the President saw it. The President wrote the following comment on the memorandum: “K—Is there anything Abrams has asked for I have not approved?”

19. Telephone Conversation Between President Nixon and the President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (Haig)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Tapes, White House Telephone, Conversation 20–84. No classification marking. The editors transcribed the portions of the tape recording printed here specifically for this volume. The transcript is part of a larger conversation, 11–11:24 a.m.

20. Memorandum From John H. Holdridge of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 191, Paris Talks/Meetings, Paris Talks, January–June 1972. Secret; Sensitive. Sent through Haig. Sent for action. Haig and Kissinger initialed the memorandum.

21. Message From the Embassy in Laos to the Department of State

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 550, Country Files, Far East, Laos, Vol. 9. Secret; Immediate; Nodis. Repeated Immediate to Bangkok.

22. Joint Message From the White House, Department of State, Department of Defense, and Central Intelligence Agency to the Embassies in Thailand and Laos

Source: Washington National Records Center, OSD Files: FRC 330–77–0094, 385, Laos. Top Secret; Sensitive. Repeated to CINCPAC, COMUSMACV, Deputy COMUSMACV, and Commanders 1st and 7/13 AF. The text printed here is the copy approved for transmission. Drafted at a meeting of the Ad Hoc Group on Laos on February 12, the joint message reflected a State, NSC, CIA consensus to which Defense acquiesced. The Defense Department’s representative, Dennis Doolin, wrote to Rear Admiral Daniel J. Murphy, Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense: “I argued as forcefully as I could that Godley should be ordered to thin out the forces at Long Tieng and stop the Pha Dong operation.” However, representatives from the Department of State, the CIA, and the NSC, convinced by Godley, decided that they could not direct the operation from Washington (see Document 21).

23. Memorandum From John D. Negroponte of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (Haig)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 550, Country Files, Far East, Laos, Vol. 9. Secret; Sensitive. Sent for information. At the top of the memorandum, Haig wrote: “Agree—Let’s watch.”

24. National Security Decision Memorandum 152

Source: Washington National Records Center, OSD Files: FRC 330–77–0094, 370.64, Viet. Secret. A copy was sent to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. A notation on the document reads: “Sec Def has seen.” In a telephone conversation between Kissinger and Laird at 3:05 p.m., February 2, Laird said: “Another thing you can help me on over there. Herbicides. I can’t give authority to SVN—.” Kissinger then asked: “Have you sent a memo?” Laird replied: “It’s been over 5 months,” which prompted Kissinger to say: “I will move it this week.” (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, Kissinger Telephone Conversations, Box 13, Chronological File, February 11–29, 1972)

25. Memorandum Prepared in the Central Intelligence Agency

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 158, Vietnam Country Files, Vietnam, Jan–Feb 1972. Secret; Sensitive. In an attached covering memorandum transmitting a copy of the memorandum to Kissinger, Negroponte wrote: “Director Helms has sent you a report of conversation between Thieu and the ROK Defense Minister [less than 1 line not declassified]. The entire report is worth reading, with pages 15 through 23 [the section printed here] particularly noteworthy.” Kissinger initialed Negroponte’s memorandum.

26. Memorandum From John D. Negroponte of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 1331, NSC Unfiled Material, 1972 [8 of 8]. Secret. Sent for information. Lord initialed for Negroponte.

27. Memorandum From John D. Negroponte of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 1135, Jon Howe, Trip Files, John Negroponte Negotiations File, 1972–1973. Secret; Eyes Only. Sent for action.

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

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 1330, NSC Unfiled Material, 1972 [3 of 8]. Top Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only. A stamped notation on the memorandum indicates the President saw it.

29. National Security Decision Memorandum 154

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–231, National Security Decision Memoranda, NSDM 154. Confidential. Copies were sent to the Secretary of the Treasury and Director of Central Intelligence.

30. Memorandum From John D. Negroponte of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 158, Vietnam Country Files, Vietnam, Jan–Feb 1972. Secret. Sent for information. Lord initialed for Negroponte. Kissinger initialed the memorandum.