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62 results
- . The purpose of this private session was to have been a
discussion of the differences between General Wheeler and the Chiefs and
Secretary McNamara with respect to future military actions in Vietnam.
The meeting in the President's office included, in addition
- are fewer , smaller, of s h orte r durat ion and less frequent than in
the early mo n t hs of the year.
I at tribute this f all -off inlarge and
moder ate scale combat actions by VC/NVA units to the attrition of supplies
b y our air campaign against North
- not constitute a new commit
ment for the United States but rather gave promise of action by reaffirming
our existing commitments under the UN Charter. He reported that the
ENDC had now submitted to the UN its repoi-t forwarding the draft text of
the trreaty
- would be to follow a different course of action than we were
now following. As regards the sale of petro - chemical plants, this is a
different issue because such plants verge on being strategic by definition.
Ambassador Thompson said our only hope
- . M .
Vietnam -- POL
The P r esident summa ri zed the actions r equired and the j udgments wh ich wi ll
have to be made in the next several weeks , emphasiz ing the decision to strike
POL targets .
In genera l, we should seek J with min imum loss
- ics in Arab
Africa, our ·political actions in t he Mediterranean and the
Near Eas t will be of primar y import ance, but economic
support will remain an essential element in restoring political
stability and American influence. It is t herefor e
- to apply to this problem may be less than
indicated in the State Department's paper. Essentially, he added,
continental countries have confidence in London and have welcomed
British actions reflected in the last UK budget . However, the London
- and that the Japanese Gove rn
ment doesn 1 t seem to want that either. He said that things to be decided
were:
(1) what we need prim.a rily for our defense purposes, and
(2) the timing and stages of new movement toward rever
sion.
He thought that action
- the occasion offers.
The Secretary want ed the President t o have t his repor t of staff work
in progress .
The President asked the Secretary to spend a couple of minutes
discussing action in the UN tre day before.
The Secretary misunderstood briefly
- are dismayed
and outline what should be antici pated.
Secretary Clifford:
They had first meeting. It seemed to go well.
They had a meeting of the Warsaw Pact countries.
I am not clear as to the reason the Soviets took this action .
The President: We have been
- military force s . He said
the Army was U .S. - oriented; the Navy and Air Force were S oviet - oriented.
The military is capable of maintaining inte rnal security. He saw no need
for "fancy" military equipment. The main n eed was for civic action
support
- what the end result of such an iniciative would be.
Amendments could be attached to our resolution which would be difficult to
handle. They fear beginning a course of action when they can:1ot estimai:e
where it will end up . Ii our friends stood with us
- . But the
declaration may provide a platform for talks with the Russians on
this issue, and progress is possible in the longer term.
~editerranean - We anticipate some low key actions .
The Soviet
threat there is primarily political and secondarily r.-lilitary
- President Thieu
would join in an announcement of the bombing suspension.
The President: Asked each per son in turn whether he had any doubts as to
the ac t ion proposed. Every person agreed with the proposed action.
a. Two weeks ago we had a firm agreement
- -- if not from us,
then from the USSR. The supersonic jets Jordan wants to buy are not defensive
weapons --therefor it is difficult for us to provide them.
There is no good solution to this problem and there are disadvantages from
every course of action. If we
- are taking actions in anticipation of a resumption of
the bombing. The y have improved their air defense. Equipment is being airlifted
to Dien Bien Phu. The Chinese are moving forces up to their border wit h North
Vietnam. The infiltration of North Vietnamese
-
force deployments in Vietnam. It is doubtful that we should go back to Congress
to get additional authority every t ime we take a new action. The President
already has , under the Constitution, all the power he needs to depl oy additional
forces abroad
- . underground testing. li 1.-nplies the Soviet Union ha8 been ta.ken in.
Carl T. l:ow:m
Director
5ECRE'f
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
RECORD OF ACTIONS
NSC
Action
2.482.
VISIT OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO
THE FAR EAST
Noted Secretary Rusk's report
- is such that
they are not willin g to make adequate force c ontributions. Ou r allies face the
difficult probl e m of not wanting to a ccept de Gaulle 's solution but not wa nting to
pay for a NATO solution.
The P resident: Recent French, British and German actions make clear
- that they
can allow this significant action to pass without reaction of some kind . )
- - Attrition of friends a.broad and people at home .
This would be regarded in the world as a major step and there are bound to
be reactions.
What are the alternativ?s? Don't
-
going down for the third time. I want to see Wilson and De Gaulle out
there with their ships all lined up too . " But all of these things have a
way of falling apart. He mentioned, for instance , early Congressional
support for his actions in Vietnam
- to approve a
new and expanded UN mandate covering Cyprus. We do not think Council action
is necessary but the problem is in the hands of the Secretary General and the heat
is off us. The Turks can more easily live with th e failure of the Secretary
General
