88. National Security Study Memorandum 1331
Washington, July 2, 1971.
TO
- The Secretary of State
- The Secretary of Defense
- The Director, Central Intelligence
SUBJECT
- Contingency Planning on South Asia
The President has directed that a contingency planning paper be prepared concerning the U.S. position in light of possible developments in South Asia.
- —The paper should include a description of present U.S. strategy and steps taken to prevent the outbreak of hostilities. Additional steps in pursuing this strategy that could be considered in coming weeks to prevent or lessen the likelihood of the outbreak of hostilities should be discussed and their pros and cons assessed.
- —The paper then should discuss the options open to the United States should hostilities occur.
The study should be prepared by an Ad Hoc Group comprising representatives of the addressees of this memorandum and the NSC Staff, chaired by the representative of the Secretary of State. This paper should be submitted by July 12, 1971, for consideration by the Senior Review Group.
Henry A. Kissinger
- Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 365, Subject Files, National Security Study Memoranda, Nos. 104–206. Secret; Exdis. A copy was sent to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.↩