Office of the Historian

68. Memorandum From John H. Holdridge of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)1

Washington, June 5, 1970.

SUBJECT

  • Thai Actions on Cambodia

From Ambassador Unger [less than 1 line of source text not declassified]in Bangkok we have received a number of reports covering actions which the Thai are planning to take on Cambodia. These are:

  • —The Thai Cabinet has agreed to send two regiments to Vietnam for augmentation of the Black Panthers, and the commitment of Black Panther units inside Cambodia in the sanctuary area. These will go probably a battalion at a time.
  • —The decision has been made to proceed with the recruiting and training of two Thai ethnic Khmer regiments, with U.S. support. These will be trained in Thailand by battalions, and the process might take 8–16 weeks.
  • —The Thai will train 8 Cambodian pilots (but characteristically want us to pay).
  • —The Thai will also train regular Cambodian Army and Navy personnel.
  • —The question of giving Cambodian forces Thai Air Force support is being looked into. The Thai are also considering using the RTAF to support their forces in Cambodia.
  • —There is some possibility that the Thai will give a few (perhaps 5)T–28’s to the Cambodians2 while their T–28’s are being prepared.

In addition to the foregoing, the Thai would like our help on the following:

  • —Furnishing trucks. They want us to provide 30–50 and are unwilling to take them from their own MAP.
  • —Provide 5–10 kilowatt transmitters for giving psychological warfare assistance to the Cambodians. It would be set up in Thailand near the Cambodian border.3

  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 562, Country Files, Far East, Thailand, Vol. IV. Top Secret; Sensitive. Sent for information. A notation on the memorandum in Kissinger’s handwriting (in addition to his initials) reads: “Take up in June 9 WSAG.” Another notation in Haig’s handwriting reads: “John next WSAG.”↩
  2. A notation in Kissinger’s handwriting next to this sentence reads: “Let’s push this.”↩
  3. Kissinger wrote next to this paragraph: “Why not.”↩