( Intro in text-only and this file with links to documents as text-only format. )

Article: 486 of sgi.talk.ratical
From: (dave "who can do? ratmandu!" ratcliffe
Subject: INTRODUCTION: Foreign Relations of the U.S., Volume IV, Vietnam August-December 1963
Keywords: if we don't read available books, it won't matter about the rest
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc.
Date: Tue, 18 Feb 1992 18:10:51 GMT
Lines: 1428

I recently purchased an amazing resource, sections of which I want to share with you. It is a new volume in the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series, published by the U.S. Government Printing Office. This is Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, Volume IV, Vietnam August-December 1963 published by the U.S. GPO in 1991. It contains hundreds of pages of documents which, taken as a whole, constitute the record of the formulation of U.S. foreign policy with regard to Vietnam during the uniquely critical period of August-December, 1963. In this volume, each document has its own number and is listed chronologically.

The first paragraph of the Preface (included below in this post) lays out the basis for this official record:

        The publication Foreign Relations of the United States constitutes the official record of the foreign policy of the United States. The volumes in the series include, subject to necessary security considerations, all documents needed to give a comprehensive record of the major foreign policy decisions of the United States together with appropriate materials concerning the facts that contributed to the formulation of policies. Documents in the files of the Department of State are supplemented by papers from other government agencies involved in the formulation of foreign policy. This volume also includes documents from the private collections of various government officials connected with U.S. policy toward Vietnam.

The following documents are currently included here:

194.   National Security Action Memorandum No. 263

this is the 10/11/63 NSAM that recorded JFK's approval of withdrawing 1,000 U.S. military personnel by the end of 1963, as well as other recommendations from the Taylor/McNamara Memo (document #167, 10/2/63, listed below) which included withdrawal of "the bulk of U.S. personnel by . . . the end of 1965."

167.   Memorandum From the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
          Staff (Taylor) and the Secretary of Defense (McNamara)
          to the President

NSAM #263 (document #194, above) approves Section I B (1-3) of this Memorandum created as a result of the Taylor/McNamara trip to South Vietnam in late September-beginning of October.

169.   Summary Record of the 519th Meeting of the National
          Security Council, White House, Washington, October 2,
          1963, 6 p.m.

More background on the policy decision made in light of the Taylor/McNamara Report presented to JFK earlier in the day.

170.   Record of Action No. 2472, Taken at the 519th Meeting of
          the National Security Council, Washington, October 2, 1963

NSC confirmation of the endorsements made by JFK of the Taylor/ McNamara Report.

179.   Memorandum for the Files of a Conference With the
          President, White House, Washington, October 5, 1963

NSAM #263 directly refers to this Memorandum.

181.   Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in
          Vietnam

NSAM #263 directly refers to this Telegram.

331.   National Security Action Memorandum No. 273

this is the 11/26/63 NSAM that initiated LBJ's alteration of the plans JFK had been implementing for the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam.

321.   Memorandum of Discussion at the Special Meeting on
          Vietnam, Honolulu, November 20, 1963

NSAM #273 is purported to have grown out of the discussion that took place in Honolulu on 11/20/63 with the majority of the Kennedy cabinet in attendance.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *


Today in the major media, the mouthpieces for the lords of the official reality consortium are constantly complaining about how Oliver Stone is engaged in flights of fantasy when he says that JFK was beginning the process of getting the United States out of Vietnam by the time he was murdered. They misinform and disinform the public when they claim there is no such record of this, and that no one can really say what Kennedy was planning to do. They are either ignorant of what is available in the public record--indicating unequivocably and precisely what JFK was planning to do--or they are aware of the documentation but are willfully and actively engaged in a campaign to keep the public ignorant about the documents that already have been released.

The present day mainstream press--rather than fulfilling its original role of "watchdog" and "fourth estate of the government" bringing to public attention what the government is up to--is acting like nothing so much as a mouthpiece for the state, making sweeping pronouncements littered with falsehoods and saying more about their actual objectives by what they omit than what they include. They are another component of the sorry state of "checkbook democracy" we currently "enjoy".

I had the occassion to discuss some of the rich details included in this FRUS volume with Fletcher Prouty last Saturday. We got into talking about the current push to open up the sealed files from the House Select Committee on Assassinations and documents still sealed from the Warren Commission. He had this to say:

I was doing a TV show to Australia, live, night before last. And there was a man from Los Angeles talking about the subject [JFK and Vietnam], and, my word he hadn't even read this stuff. At the end of the show the man from Australia--the host of the show--asked me, "What do think is going to be the value of opening the files with respect to the Kennedy murder?" And I said, "Well I can't see it being worth a darn. Here we are listening to people who haven't even cracked the books that are opened, and if they have, they don't understand what's in them. I don't see that this will make a damn bit of difference. If people aren't going to read books that are available, why talk about reading books that aren't available?" This is the key to the subject if people don't read the stuff--now you've got this, you can see that 263 is all spelled out. All of the meetings that were held--there were over 50 meetings held before NSAM 263 was published. Well, here are these clowns that are professors in college, important writers in big magazines, and they haven't even read this stuff.

The remainder of this post includes the title page and following 22 pages including the Preface, Contents, List of Sources, List of Abbreviations and List of Persons. It is felt this beginning segment of the volume will be useful to convey what this volume contains and offers to the reader. I urge any of you interested in reading the full record for yourselves to contact the Government Printing Office in W.D.C. at 202/783-3238 and ask to speak to the Superintendent of Documents. You want to request a copy of "DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLICATION #9857." You can purchase it ($30) with a credit card over the fown.


In the Preface below the explication of use of font-type is significant: "Obvious typographical errors are corrected, but other mistakes and omissions in the source text are corrected by bracketed insertions: a correction is set in italic type (denoted in this ascii version with asterisks just inside the two surrounding square brackets; in html its italicized text inside the same square brackets (this shows up in document 181 ); an omission in roman type. Bracketed insertions are also used to indicate text that has been omitted because it deals with an unrelated subject (in roman type) or because it remained classified after the declassification review process (in italic type)."

--ratitor

---

Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963

_________________________________________________________

Volume IV


Vietnam August-December 1963


Editor in Chief     John P. Glennon

Editor                           Edward C. Keefer

_________________________________________________________

United States Government Printing Office
Washington
1991

DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLICATION 9857
OFFICE OF THE HISTORIAN
BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS


_________________________________________________________
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402

---

Preface


        The publication Foreign Relations of the United States constitutes the official record of the foreign policy of the United States. The volumes in the series include, subject to necessary security considerations, all documents needed to give a comprehensive record of the major foreign policy decisions of the United States together with appropriate materials concerning the facts that contributed to the formulation of policies. Documents in the files of the Department of State are supplemented by papers from other government agencies involved in the formulation of foreign policy. This volume also includes documents from the private collections of various government officials connected with U.S. policy toward Vietnam.
        The basic documentary diplomatic record printed in the volumes of the series is edited by the Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, Department of State. The editing is guided by the principles of historical objectivity and in accordance with the following official guidance first promulgated by Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg on March 26, 1925:

        There may be no alteration of the text, no deletions without indicating the place in the text where the deletion is made, and no omission of facts which were of major importance in reaching a decision. Nothing may be omitted for the purpose of concealing or glossing over what might be regarded by some as a defect of policy. However, certain omissions of documents are permissible for the following reasons:
        a. To avoid publication of matters that would tend to impede current diplomatic negotiations or other business.
        b. To condense the record and avoid repetition of needless details.
        c. To preserve the confidence reposed in the Department by individuals and by foreign governments.
        d. To avoid giving needless offense to other nationalities or individuals.
        e. To eliminate personal opinions presented in despatches and not acted upon by the Department. To this consideration there is one qualification: in connection with major decisions it is desirable, where possible, to show the alternative presented to the Department before the decision was made.

Principles of Selection for Foreign Relations, 1961-1963, Volume IV

        Document selection for this volume proceeded on the basis of a research plan developed by the editors after a preliminary review of repositories in both governmental and private agencies. From the outset the editors approached their research realizing the need to supplement the written record of U.S. policy during the Vietnam war with interviews of officials who participated in the policy process. Early attention was also given to those oral history interviews of participants already in existence and available in various locations. Oral history citations are provided in the footnotes to the text.
        On the basis of their preliminary research and review of already- published documentation, including the 1971 "Pentagon Papers," the editors developed the following five areas of focus for the research and selection of documents for inclusion in this volume: 1) Discussion and formulation of policy in Washington; 2) Policy implementation in South Vietnam; 3) The relationship among the United States Government, the Diem government, and dissident elements in South Vietnam; 4) U.S. intelligence assessments of the viability of the Diem government and the prospects of potential coup plotters; and 5) U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.
        Discussion and formulation of policy in Washington: President John F. Kennedy and, after his assassination on November 22, 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson, made the important policy decisions on Vietnam. They received advice from the Washington foreign affairs community, either orally at meetings or in documents. The records of these meetings with the Presidents and advice provided to them in writing are the focus of this volume. The editors are confident that they have had complete access to all the Presidential written records bearing on Vietnam.
        The most important repositories for records on the formulation of U.S. policy toward Vietnam are the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Libraries. The records of the Department of State, to which the editors had complete access, include a large segment of Presidential and National Security Council documentation, but the Kennedy and Johnson Libraries remain the single most comprehensive sources. The papers of the President's Military Representative, General Maxwell D. Taylor, at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., are also of unusual importance. The documents in the Taylor Papers provide a unique record of Taylor's advice to the President on Vietnam and records of some meetings both at the White House and at the Department of Defense for which there are no other accounts. Department of Defense records, especially files and papers of Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, located at the Washington National Records Center, are an important subsidiary source. A private collection, the W. Averell Harriman Papers, are also of considerable interest. Used with the permission of the late Ambassador Harriman when they were still in his possession, they are now housed at the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division. The Roger Hilsman papers, located at the Kennedy Library, also proved an important source of documents not found in official files.
        Policy implementation in Vietnam: The editors also selected documentation that covered the implementation of Presidentially- established policy and a small range of lesser policy decisions that did not reach the White House or were resolved in the Department of State or other agencies of the foreign affairs community. The files of the Department of State, the Kennedy and Johnson Libraries, and the United States Information Agency are the primary documentary sources for these decisions.
        The relationship among the United States Government, the Diem government, and dissident elements in South Vietnam: From late August 1963, when this volume begins, to the overthrow of the Diem government on November 1, 1963, the United States strongly supported the Republic of Vietnam, but the relationship was strained. The extensive reports of U.S. Embassy relations with the Diem government come primarily from the central files of the Department of State.
        The fact that the United States was in close contact with dissident elements in South Vietnam makes events in Saigon crucial to understanding U.S. policy. The editors have, therefore, included a considerable number of telegraphic reports from the Embassy and the Central Intelligence Agency Station in Saigon on relations with dissident Vietnamese. Central Intelligence Agency records were obtained from the Kennedy Library, Department of State files, the Taylor Papers, Department of Defense records, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff files. The CIA provided full access to the Department historians to Agency documents in the Presidential libraries, and many of these documents are printed here. Some access was eventually provided to documentation retained by the Agency itself, but too late for documents to be included in this volume. Significant declassified material obtained from the CIA archives for 1963 will be printed in a subsequent volume in the Foreign Relations series.
        U.S. intelligence estimates of the viability of the Diem government and the potential prospects of coup plotters: The ability of the U.S. Government to estimate the viability of the Diem government and the prospects for potential coup plotters are of central importance during a period in which there was extensive planning for a coup and then a successful overthrow of President Diem. This volume and its companion, documenting the first part of 1963 (volume III), include communications between the Central Intelligence Agency and its Station in Saigon. In addition to these telegrams, a representative selection of finished intelligence assessments prepared by the U.S. intelligence community is printed.
        U.S. military involvement in Vietnam: The editors sought to include documentation that illustrated the relationship between military planning and strategy and the conduct of relations with the Republic of Vietnam and other countries. No attempt was made to document operational details of U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. The Taylor Papers, the files of the Secretary of Defense and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs at the Washington National Records Center, and the decentralized files of the Department of State's Vietnam Working Group are the principal sources for this topic.
        The question of press coverage of developments in Vietnam and U.S. involvement became less sensitive during the latter part of 1963, but still remained an important issue. Documentation relating to public affairs and press relations is located in the files of the United States Information Agency.
        The editors of the volume are confident that the documents printed here provide a comprehensive and accurate foreign affairs record of United States policy toward and involvement in Vietnam during the last four months of 1963. The declassification review process for the documents selected for this volume, outlined in more detail below, resulted in withholding from publication only 1.7 percent of the original manuscript.
        The editors wish to acknowledge the assistance of officials at the National Archives and Records Administration's John F. Kennedy Library and Lyndon B. Johnson Libraries, in particular Suzanne Forbes and David Humphries. Susan Lemke at the National Defense University and Sandra Meagher at the Department of Defense deserve special thanks, as do former government officials who consented to oral history interviews for this volume.

Editorial Methodology

        The documents are presented chronologically according to Washington time. Incoming telegrams from U.S. missions are placed according to time of receipt in the Department of State or other receiving agency, rather than the time of transmission; memoranda of conversation are placed according to the time and date of the conversation, rather than the date the memorandum was drafted. The editors were not always able to determine the precise chronological order of documents produced during periods of crisis and intense activity, particularly during the November 1 coup. In these cases they used their best judgment.
        Editorial treatment of the documents published in the Foreign Relations series follows Office style guidelines, supplemented by guidance from the Editor in Chief and the chief technical editor. The source text is reproduced as exactly as possible, including marginalia or other notations, which are described in the footnotes. Obvious typographical errors are corrected, but other mistakes and omissions in the source text are corrected by bracketed insertions: a correction is set in italic type; an omission in roman type. Bracketed insertions are also used to indicate text that has been omitted because it deals with an unrelated subject (in roman type) or because it remained classified after the declassification review process (in italic type). The amount of material not declassified has been noted by indicating the number of lines or pages of source text that were omitted. All ellipses and brackets that appear in the source text are so identified by footnotes.
        The first footnote to each document indicates the document's source, original classification, distribution, and drafting information. The source footnote also provides the background of important documents and policies and indicates if the President and/or his major policy advisers read it. Every effort has been made to determine if a document has been previously published and this information has been included in the source footnote. If two or more different accounts of a meeting or event of comparable value are available and one or more is already declassified and published, the editors chose to print the still unpublished one and obtain its declassification.
        Editorial notes and additional annotation summarize pertinent material not printed in this volume, indicate the location of additional documentary sources, provide references to important related documents printed in other volumes, describe key events, and summarize and provide citations to public statements that supplement and elucidate the printed documents. Information derived from memoirs and other first-hand accounts has been used when applicable to supplement the official record.

Declassification Review Procedures

        Declassification review of the documents selected for publication was conducted by the Division of Historical Documents Review, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Department of State. The review was made in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act, and the criteria established in Executive Order 12356 regarding:

        1) military plans, weapons, or operations;
        2) the vulnerabilities or capabilities of systems, installations, projects, or plans relating to the national security;
        3) foreign government information;
        4) intelligence activities (including special activities), or intelligence sources or methods;
        5) foreign relations or foreign activities of the United States;
        6) scientific, technological, or economic matters relating to national security;
        7) U.S. Government programs for safeguarding nuclear materials or facilities;
        8) cryptology; and
        9) a confidential source.

        Declassification decisions entailed concurrence of the appropriate geographic and functional bureaus in the Department of State, other concerned agencies of the U.S. Government, and appropriate foreign governments regarding documents of those governments. The principle guiding declassification review is to release as much information as is consistent with contemporary requirements of national security and sound foreign relations.
        Edward C. Keefer compiled and edited the volume under the supervision of Charles S. Sampson, the Vietnam project leader, and Editor in Chief John P. Glennon. Suzanne E. Coffman of the Office of the Historian prepared the lists of names and abbreviations. Rita M. Baker performed the technical editing. Barbara A. Bacon of the Publishing Services Division (Paul M. Washington, Chief) oversaw production of the volume. Max Franke prepared the index.

William Z. Slany
The Historian
Bureau of Public Affairs

---

Contents

                                                               Page

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   III

List of Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    XI

List of Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  XVII

List of Persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   XXI


Vietnam

I.  Reassessment in Washington and inaction in Saigon, August
      28-September 7:  The coup stalls, President Kennedy's
      public statement, attempts to negotiate Nhu's removal and
      change South Vietnam's policies  . . . . . . . . . . . .    1

II. Period of interlude, September 7-0ctober 22:  Assessment of
      the progress of the war, U.S. efforts to reform the Diem
      government, the McNamara-Taylor mission to Vietnam and
      report, U.S. policy on coup plotting in Vietnam  . . . .  133

III. The coup against the Diem government, October 23-November
      2:  Differing interpretations of U.S. policy toward coup
      plotting, efforts to obtain information on a potential
      coup, Lodge-Diem discussions, U.S. assessments of a
      coup, the coup, the deaths of Nhu and Diem   . . . . . .  427

IV. U.S. relations with the Provisional Government of Vietnam,
      November 2-22:  U.S. recognition of the Provisional
      Government, the fate of remaining Ngo family members
      and Tri Quang, U.S. advice to the new government,
      rejection of a neutralized South Vietnam, the special
      Honolulu meeting   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  538

V.  The Johnson presidency, November 22-December 31:  Lodge-
      Johnson meeting on Vietnam, NSAM 273, McNamara visit,
      year-end observations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  627

Index  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  759

"The Declassified Documents Quarterly Catalog" and microfiche.  
    Woodbridge, CT:  Research Publications (formerly Washington:  
    Carrollton Press), 1977 onwards.
"The Pentagon Papers:  The Department of Defense History of United 
    States Decisionmaking on Vietnam" [The Senator Gravel Edition].  
    4 vols.  Boston:  Beacon Press, 1971.
U.S. Department of Defense.  "United States-Vietnam Relations, 
    1945-1967" [The Pentagon Papers].  12 vols.  Washington:  U.S. 
    Government Printing Office, 1971.
U.S. Department of State.  "American Foreign Policy:  Current 
    Documents, 1963."  Washington:  U.S. Government Printing 
    Office, 1967.
_______.  Department of State "Bulletin," 1963.  Washington:  U.S.
    Government Printing Office, 1963.
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.  "Public Papers 
    of the Presidents of the United States:  John F. Kennedy, 1963."  
    Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1964.
U.S. Senate.  "Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign 
    Leaders.  An Interim Report of the Select Committee To Study 
    Government Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities."  
    U.S. Senate, 94th Congress, 1st Session, Report No. 94-465.  
    Washington:  U.S.  Government Printing Office, 1975.


Memoirs

    Note:  The Department of State takes no responsibility for the
accuracy of these memoirs nor endorses their interpretation of the
events.

Ball, George.  "The Past Has Another Pattern:  Memoirs."  New York:  
    W.W.  Norton & Company, 1982.
Colby, William, and Forbath, Peter.  "Honorable Men:  My Life in the 
    CIA."  New York:  Simon and Schuster, 1978.
Galbraith, John Kenneth.  "Ambassador's Journal:  A Personal Account 
    of the Kennedy Years."  Boston:  Houghton Mifflin Co., 1969.
Hilsman, Roger.  "To Move a Nation."  Garden City, NY:  Doubleday & 
    Co., 1967.
Johnson, Lyndon Baines.  "The Vantage Point:  Perspectives of the
    Presidency," 1963-1969.  New York:  Holt, Reinhardt and Winston, 
    1971.
Mecklin, John.  "Mission in Torment."  Garden City, NY:  Doubleday & 
    Co., 1965.
Nolting, Frederick E.  "From Trust to Tragedy:  The Political 
    Memoirs of Frederick Nolting, Kennedy's Ambassador to Diem's 
    Vietnam."  Westport, CT:  Praeger Publishers, 1988.
Salinger, Pierre.  "With Kennedy."  Garden City, NY:  Doubleday & 
    Co., 1966.
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr.  "A Thousand Days:  John F. Kennedy in 
    the White House."  Boston:  Houghton Mifflin, 1965.
Sorenson, Theodore C.  "Kennedy."  New York:  Harper & Row, 1965.
Taylor, Maxwell D.  "Swords and Plowshares:  A Memoir."  New York:  
    W.W. Norton & Co., 1972.
Tran Van Don.  "Our Endless War:  Inside Vietnam."  San Raphael, CA:
    Presidio Press, 1978.

"AAA," anti-aircraft artillery
"ABN," airborne
"AC&W," aircraft control and warning
"ACSI," Assistant Chief of Staff (Intelligence)
"addee," addressee
"Admino," series indicator for administrative telegrams from CINCPAC
"AF," Air Force
"AFCIN," Air Force Chief of Intelligence
"AFRS," Armed Forces Radio Service
"AID," Agency for International Development
"Aidto," series indicator for telegrams from the Agency for
    International Development to its missions abroad
"Amb," Ambassador
"ammo," ammunition
"AP," Associated Press
"APC," armored personnel carrier
"ARPAC," U.S. Army, Pacific
"ARVN," Army of the Republic of Vietnam
"BG," Brigadier General
"bn," battalion
"CAS," Controlled American Source
"CG," Civil Guard
"ChiCom," Chinese Communists
"ChiNat," Chinese Nationalist
"CHMAAG," Chief, Military Assistance Advisory Group
"CI," counterinsurgency;  commercial imports
"CIA," Central Intelligence Agency
"CIB," Combined Intelligence Board
"CIDG," Citizen's Irregular Defense Group
"CINCPAC," Commander in Chief, Pacific
"CINCPACAF," Commander in Chief, Pacific Air Force
"CINCPACFLT," Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet
"CINCUSAPAC," Commander in Chief, United States Army, Pacific
"CIP," Commercial Import Program
"CM," Chairman's Memorandum
"Cmdr," Commander
"CNO," Chief of Naval Operations
"CO," Commanding Officer
"COMUSARPAC," Commander, United States Army, Pacific
"COMUSMACV," Commander, U.S. Military Advisory Command, Vietnam
"CONUS," continental United States
"COPROR," Committee on Province Rehabilitation
"CPSVN," Comprehensive Plan for South Vietnam
"CSA," Chief of Staff, Army
"CSAF," Chief of Staff, Air Force
"CSCC," Coastal Surveillance Command Center
"CT," Country Team
"CVN," Central Vietnam
"CVTC," Confederation of Vietnamese Trade Congresses
"CY," calendar year
"DA," Department of the Army;  Defense Attache;  defense assistance
"DAC," Development Assistance Committee, Organization for Economic
    Cooperation and Development
"DCFBA," Director General of Budget and Foreign Aid
"DCI," Director of Central Intelligence
"DCM," Deputy Chief of Mission
"Deptel," Department of State telegram
"desp," despatch
"DGI," Director General of Information
"DIA," Defense Intelligence Agency
"dissem," dissemination
"DLF," Defense Loan Fund
"DMZ," demilitarized zone
"DOD," Department of Defense
"DOD/PRO," Public Relations Office, Department of Defense
"DRV," Democratic Republic of Vietnam
"DTG," date-time-group
"E & E," emergency and evacuation
"ECCO," Eastern Construction Company
"Embtel," Embassy telegram
"FAR," Forces Armees Royales (Royal Armed Forces, Laos)
"FBIS," Foreign Broadcast Information Service
"FE," Far East;  Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State
"FOS," follow-on spares
"FRC," Federal Records Center
"FSO," Foreign Service officer
"FY," fiscal year
"FYI," for your information
"G," Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political
    Affairs
"GAO," General Accounting Office
"G/PM," Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for
    Politico-Military Affairs
"GVN," Government of Vietnam
"helo," helicopter
"HQS," headquarters
"HSAS," Headquarters, Support Activity, Saigon
"IAF," Far East Branch, United States Information Agency
"ICA," International Cooperation Administration
"ICC," International Control Commission
"ICSH," International Committee on Strategic Hamlets
"ILO," International Labor Organization
"INR," Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
"IOP," Office of Policy and Research, United States Information Agency
"ISA," Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International
    Security Affairs
"JAOC," Joint Air Operation Center
"JCS," Joint Chiefs of Staff
"JGS," Joint General Staff
"JOC," Joint Operations Center
"KIA," killed in action
"LAS," Long-Range Assistance Strategy
"LOC," lines of communication
"MA," military assistance
"MAAG," Military Assistance Advisory Group
"MACV," Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
"MAP," Military Assistance Program
"MEC," Military Executive Committee
"MRC," Military Revolutionary Council
"MSP," Mutual Security Program
"NACO," National Agricultural Credit Office
"NBC," National Broadcasting Company
"NCO," non-commissioned officer
"NCP," National Campaign Plan
"NEA," Near East and Africa;  Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian
    Affairs, Department of State
"NFLSVN," National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam
"Niact," night action
"NIE," National Intelligence Estimate
"NLHX," Neo Lao Hak Xat
"NOA," new obligational authority
"Noforn," no foreign dissemination
"NRM," National Revolutionary Movement
"NSA," National Security Agency
"NSAM," National Security Action Memorandum
"NSC," National Security Council
"NVN," North Vietnam
"OASD," Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense
"OCI," Office of Current Intelligence
"ODMA," Office of the Director for Military Assistance
"OPCON," operational control
"OPNL," operational
"OPSUM," Operations Summary
"P," piaster;  Bureau of Public Affairs, Department of State
"PACAF," Pacific Air Force
"PACFLT," Pacific Fleet
"PACOM," Pacific Command
"PAO," Public Affairs Officer
"PCHT," packing, crating, handling, and transportation
"PIC," person in command
"P10," Public Information Officer
"PIOPS," public information operations
"PL," Pathet Lao;  Public Law
"plt," platoon
"PNG," persona non grata
"POL," petroleum, oil, and lubricants
"POLAD," Political Adviser
"POW," prisoner of war
"psywar," psychological warfare
"psyops," psychological operations
"PTT," post, telephone, telegraph
"reftel," reference telegram
"RG," Record Group
"rgt," regiment
"RKG," Royal Khmer Government
"RLG," Royal Lao Government
"RVN," Republic of Vietnam
"RVNAF," Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces
"S," Office of the Secretary of State
"SACSA," Special Assistant for Counterinsurgency and Special
    Activities, Joint Chiefs of Staff
"SDC," Self Defense Corps
"SEA," Southeast Asia;  Office of Southeast Asian Affairs,
    Department of State
"SEATO," Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
"SecDef," Secretary of Defense
"Secto," series indicator for telegrams from the Secretary of
    State or his party to the Department of State
"Secy," Secretary
"SEPES," Service des Etudes Politiques et Sociales (Political and
    Social Studies Service)
"septel," separate telegram
"SFHCVN," Special Forces, High Command, Vietnam
"SH," Strategic Hamlet
"SOA," Office of South Asian Affairs, Department of State
"S/P," Policy Planning Staff, Department of State
"sqdn," squadron
"S/S," Executive Secretariat, Department of State
"Stat.," United States Statutes at Large
"SVN," South Vietnam
"TF/Saigon," Task Force in Saigon
"TF/SEA," Task Force on Southeast Asia
"TF/VN," Task Force on Vietnam
"TIAS," Treaties and Other International Agreements Series
"Toaid," series indicator for telegrams to the Agency for
    International Development from its missions abroad
"TOC," Tactical Operations Center
"Tosec," series indicator for telegrams to the Secretary of State
    or his party from the Department of State
"Tousi," series indicator for telegrams to the United States
    Information Agency from its missions abroad
"UN," United Nations
"UNESCO," United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
    Organization
"UPI," United Press International
"USA," United States Army
"USAF," United States Air Force
"USASGV," United States Army Support Group, Vietnam
"USIA," United States Information Agency
"USIB," United States Intelligence Board
"USIS," United States Information Service
"Usito," series indicator for telegrams from the United States
    Information Agency to its missions abroad
"USMACV," United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
"USMC," United States Marine Corps
"USN," United States Navy
"USOM," United States Operations Mission
"USSR," Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
"UST," United States Treaties
"VC," Viet Cong
"VM," Viet Minh
"VN," Vietnam
"VNAF," Vietnam Armed Forces;  Vietnam Air Force
"VNMC," Vietnam Marine Corps
"VNN," Vietnam Navy
"VNQDD," Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang (National Party of Vietnam)
"VNSF," Vietnamese Special Forces
"VNSFHC," Vietnamese Special Forces High Command
"VOA," Voice of America
"WG/VN," Working Group on Vietnam
"WSM," Women's Solidarity Movement

Alphand, Herve, French Ambassador to the United States
Alsop, Joseph, syndicated columnist

Ball, George W., Under Secretary of State
Barnett, Robert W., Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Far
    Eastern Economic Affairs from February 3, 1963
Bell, David E., Administrator of the Agency for International
    Development and member of the Counterinsurgency Group
Blake, Lieutenant General Gordon A., USAF, Director of the
    National Security Agency
Bohlen, Charles E., Ambassador to France
Bowles, Chester A., President's Special Representative, Adviser
    on African, Asian, and Latin American Affairs, and
    Ambassador at Large until July 19, 1963;  thereafter
    Ambassador to India
Brent, Joseph L., Director, Operations Mission in Vietnam
Buffum, William B., Deputy Director of the Office of United
    Nations Political and Social Affairs, Department of State,
    until November 10, 1963;  thereafter Director
Bui Diem, Dai Viet oppositionist
Bui Van Luong, Vietnamese Minister of the Interior
Bundy, McGeorge, President's Special Assistant for National
    Security Affairs
Bundy, William P., Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for
    International Security Affairs
Buu Hoi, Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States

Carroll Lieutenant General Joseph F., USAF, Director of the
    Defense Intelligence Agency
Carter, Lieutenant General Marshall S., USA, Deputy Director of
    the Central Intelligence Agency
Church, Frank, Democratic Senator from Idaho;  member of the
    Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Cleveland, Harlan, Assistant Secretary of State for International
    Organization Affairs
Clifton, Major General Chester V., USA, President's Military Aide
Colby, William, Director of the Far East Division, Operations
    Directorate, Central Intelligence Agency
Conlon, Thomas F., Office of Southeast Asian Affairs, Bureau of
    Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State, after September
    1, 1963, and member of the Vietnam Working Group
Cooper, Chester L., Assistant for Policy Support to the Deputy
    Director for Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, until
    November 1963;  thereafter Assistant Deputy Director for Policy
    Support
Couve de Murville, Maurice, French Foreign Minister

De Gaulle, Charles, President of France
Diem, see Ngo Dinh Diem
Dillon, C. Douglas, Secretary of the Treasury
Dingeman, Major James W., USA, Executive Secretary of the Special
    Group for Counterinsurgency
Dinh, see Ton That Dinh
Do Mau, Colonel (after November 1963, Brigadier General), ARVN,
    Military Security Service Chief;  also political member of the
    Executive Committee of the Military Revolutionary Council
Do Vang Ly, Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States after
    September 30, 1963.
Don, see Tran Van Don
D'Orlandi Giovanni, Italian Ambassador to the Republic of Vietnam
Dungan, Ralph A., President's Special Assistant
Duong Ngoc Lam, Colonel, ARVN, Director, Civil Guard/Self Defense
    Corps
Duong Van Hieu, Assistant Director for Special Police of the
    Republic of Vietnam until November 1, 1963
Duong Van ("Big") Minh, Major General (after November 4, 1963,
    Lieutenant General), ARVN, Military Adviser to President Diem
    until November 1, 1963;  thereafter Chairman of the Executive
    Committee of the Revolutionary Council;  President of the
    Provisional Government of the Republic of Vietnam after
    November 4, 1963
Dutton, Frederick G., Assistant Secretary of State for
    Congressional Affairs

Felt, Admiral Harry D., USN, Commander in Chief, Pacific
Forrestal Michael V., member, National Security Council Staff
Fraleigh, Albert S., Deputy Assistant Director for Rural Affairs,
    Operations Mission in Vietnam
Fulbright, J. William, Democratic Senator from Arkansas and
    Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Gilpatric, Roswell L., Deputy Secretary of Defense and member of
    the Counterinsurgency Group

Halberstam, David, "New York Times" correspondent in Vietnam
Harkins, General Paul D., USA, Commander, U.S. Military Assistance
    Command, Vietnam
Harriman, W. Averell, Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern
    Affairs until April 3, 1963;  thereafter Under Secretary of
    State for Political Affairs and Chairman of the Special Group
    for Counterinsurgency
Helble, John J., Consul in Hue
Helms, Richard, Deputy Director for Plans, Central Intelligence
    Agency
Hieu, see Ngo Trong Hieu
Higgins, Marguerite, "New York Herald Tribune" correspondent
Hilsman, Roger, Jr., Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and
    Research until April 25, 1963;  thereafter Assistant Secretary
    of State for Far Eastern Affairs
Ho Chi Minh, President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam;  also
    Chairman and General Secretary of Dang Lao Dong, Workers' Party
    of Vietnam
Hoang Van Lac, Colonel, ARVN, Permanent Commissioner,
    Interministerial Committee for Strategic Hamlets;  Special
    Commissioner for Strategic Hamlet Program
Hughes, Thomas L., Deputy Director of the Bureau of Intelligence
    and Research until April 28,1963;  thereafter Director
Huynh Van Cao, Brigadier General, ARVN, IV Corps Commander

Imhof, Johannes, Office of Western European Affairs, Department of
    State

Janow, Seymour J., Assistant Administrator for the Far East, Agency
    for International Development
Johnson, Lyndon B., Vice President until November 22, 1963,
    thereafter President
Johnson, U. Alexis, Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political
    Affairs
Jorden, William, Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State
    for Political Affairs

Kattenburg, Paul M., Deputy Director of the Office of Southeast
    Asian Affairs, Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, Department of
    State, and Chairman of the Vietnam Interdepartmental Working
    Group from August 4, 1963
Kaysen, Carl, President's Deputy Assistant for National Security
    Affairs
Kennedy, John F., President of the United States until November 22,
    1963
Kennedy, Robert F., Attorney General
Kent, Colonel J. R., USA, Assistant Director, Far East Region,
    Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International
    Security Affairs
Khanh, see Nguyen Khanh
Khiem, see Tran Thien Khiem
Khiet, see Tien Khiet
Khuong, see Nguyen Khuong
Kim, see Le Van Kim
Koren, Henry L. T., Director of the Office of Southeast Asian
    Affairs, Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State
Krulak, Major General Victor H., USMC, Special Assistant for
    Counterinsurgency and Special Activities, Joint Staff of the
    Joint Chiefs of Staff
Ky, see Nguyen Cao Ky

La, see Nguyen Van La
Lac, see Hoang Van Lac
Lalouette, Roger, French Ambassador to the Republic of Vietnam
Lansdale, Maj. Gen. Edward G., USAF, Assistant to the Secretary
    of Defense
Lausche, Frank J., Democratic Senator from Ohio and Chairman of
    the Far Eastern Subcommittee, Senate Foreign Relations
    Committee
Le Quang Trieu, Special Forces Commander after November 1, 1963
Le Quang Tung, Colonel ARVN, Special Forces Commander until
    November 1, 1963
Le Van Kim, Brigadier General (after November 1, 1963, Major
    General), ARVN, Secretary General and Foreign Affairs member,
    Executive Committee of the Military Revolutionary Council,
    after November 1, 1963
Le Van Nghiem, Brigadier General ARVN, Commander, I Corps
Lippmann, Walter, columnist
Lodge, Henry Cabot, Jr., Ambassador to South Vietnam from August
    26, 1963
Luong, see Bui Van Luong

Mai Huu Xuan, Brigadier General (after November 1963, Major
    General), ARVN, Commander, Quang training camp;  member,
    Executive Committee of the Military Revolutionary Council,
    after November 1, 1963;  Chief of National Police
Maneli Mieczyslaw, Polish member of the International Control
    Commission
Manning, Robert J., Assistant Secretary of State for Public
    Affairs
Mansfield, Mike, Democratic Senator from Montana;  Majority Leader
    and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Mau, see Vu Van Mau
McCone, John A., Director of Central Intelligence
McNamara, Robert S., Secretary of Defense
Mecklin, John, Counselor for Public Affairs at the Embassy in
    Vietnam
Mendenhall, Joseph A., United Nations Adviser, Bureau of Far
    Eastern Affairs, Department of State, from June 23, 1963
Minh, see Duong Van Minh
Montgomery, James M., Office of Southeast Asian Affairs, Bureau of
    Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State, and member of the
    Vietnam Working Group
Morse, Wayne, Democratic Senator from Oregon and member of the
    Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Murrow, Edward R., Director, United States Information Agency

Nes, David G., Deputy Chief of Mission in Saigon from December
    1963
Nghiem, see Le Van Nghiem
Ngo Dinh Can, brother of President Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem, President of the Republic of Vietnam until November
    1, 1963
Ngo Dinh Luyen, brother of President Diem;  Ambassador of the
    Republic of Vietnam to the United Kingdom until November 2,
    1963
Ngo Dinh Nhu, brother of President Diem;  Presidential Counselor
    and Head of the Interministerial Committee for Strategic
    Hamlets until November 1, 1963
Ngo Dinh Nhu, Madame (Tran Le Xuan), wife of Ngo Dinh Nhu and
    member of the Vietnamese National Assembly;  official hostess
    for President Diem
Ngo Dinh Thuc, brother of President Diem;  Archbishop of Hue
Ngo Trong Hieu, Vietnamese Minister of Civic Action until November
    1, 1963
Nguyen Cao Ky, Lieutenant Colonel Vietnamese Air Force, Transport
    Squadron Commander;  Air Force Commander from December 17, 1963
Nguyen Dinh Thuan, Vietnamese Secretary of State at the Presidency
    and Assistant Secretary of State for National Defense
Nguyen Khanh, Major General, ARVN, Commander of II Corps until
    November 29 1963;  thereafter Commander of IV Corps
Nguyen Khuong, Colonel ARVN, coup leader
Nguyen Luong, Vietnamese Minister of Finance
Nguyen Ngoc Tho, Vietnamese Vice President until November 4, 1963;
    thereafter Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and National
    Economy of the Provisional Government
Nguyen Van La, Major General, ARVN, Civil Guard Commander
Nguyen Van Thieu, Colonel (Brigadier General after November 1,
    1963), ARVN, Commanding Officer of the 5th Infantry Division
Nhu, see Ngo Dinh Nhu
Nhu, Madame, see Ngo Dinh Nhu, Madame
Nolting, Frederick E., Jr., Ambassador to Vietnam until August 15,
    1963

Pham Dang Lam, Secretary General of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry
    until November 4,1963;  thereafter Foreign Minister in the
    Provisional Government
Pham Van Dong, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Phan Huy Quat, former Vietnamese Defense Minister under Bao Dai and
    leader of Dai Viet Party
Phillips, Rufus C., Assistant Director for Rural Affairs, Operations
    Mission in Vietnam

Reston, James, syndicated columnist
Rice, Edward E., Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern
    Affairs
Richardson, John H., Chief of Central Intelligence Agency Station in
    Saigon until October 5, 1963
Rostow, Walt W., Counselor of the Department of State and Chairman
    of the Policy Planning Council
Rusk, Dean, Secretary of State

Salinger, Pierre E. G., President's Press Secretary
Schlesinger, Arthur, Jr., President's Special Assistant
Sheehan, Neil, United Press International correspondent in Vietnam
Sihanouk, Prince Norodom, Cambodian Chief of State
Smith, Bromley, Executive Secretary of the National Security Council
Souvanna Phouma, Laotian Prime Minister
Stevenson, Adlai, Representative at the United Nations
Stilwell, Major General Richard G., USA, Assistant Chief of Staff
    for Operations, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, from April
    1963
Stoneman, Walter G., Director of the Office of Vietnam Affairs,
    Bureau for the Far East/Vietnam, Agency for International
    Development
Sullivan, William H., U.N. Adviser, Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs,
    Department of State, until April 28, 1963;  thereafter Assistant
    to the Under Secretary of State
Sylvester, Arthur, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs

Tam Chau, bonze, member of Buddhist delegation from Hue;  became
    Chairman of the Intersect Committee for the Defense of Buddhism
Taylor, General Maxwell D., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Tho, see Nguyen Ngoc Tho
Thompson, Brigadier Robert G. K., head of the British Advisory
    Mission in Vietnam
Thuan, see Nguyen Dinh Thuan
Thuc, see Ngo Dinh Thuc
Timmes, Major General Charles J., Chief of the Military Assistance
    Advisory Group, Vietnam
Tinh Khiet, chief bonze in Hue
Ton That Dinh, Major General ARVN, Military Governor of Saigon,
    August 21-November 1, 1963;  thereafter Commander of III Corps,
    Second Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee of the
    Military Revolutionary Council, and Minister of Public Security
    of the Provisional Government
Tran Kim Tuyen, head of the Service des Etudes Politiques et
    Sociales
Tran Le Quang, Vietnamese Minister of Rural Affairs until November
    4, 1963;  thereafter Minister of Rural Affairs of the
    Provisional Government
Tran Le Xuan, see Ngo Dinh Nhu, Madame
Tran Thien Khiem, General, ARVN, Chief of Staff after November 1,
    1963, Military Affairs member, Executive Committee of the
    Military Revolutionary Council
Tran Tu Oai, Brigadier General, ARVN, Director of Psychological
    Warfare, Vietamese [sic] Ministry of Defense;  Chief of Public
    Information;  Minister of Information in the Provisional
    Government after November 4, 1963
Tran Van Chuong, Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States until
    August 22, 1963
Tran Van Don, Major General, ARVN, Commander of III Corps until July
    1963;  thereafter Commander of the Army of the Republic of
    Vietnam;  Acting Chief of the Joint General Staff after August
    1963;  First Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee of the
    Military Revolutionary Council after November 1, 1963;  Minister
    of National Defense after November 4, 1963
Tri Quang, bonze, Buddhist opposition leader
Trueheart, William C., Minister-Counselor and Deputy Chief of
    Mission in Vietnam
Tung, see Le Quang Tung
Tuyen, see Tran Kim Tuyen

Unna, Warren, "Washington Post" correspondent

Vu Van Mau, Vietnamese Foreign Minister until August 22, 1963;
    Ambassador to the United Kingdom after December 24, 1963

Wheeler, General Earle G., USA, Chief of Staff

Xuan, see Mai Huu Xuan

Zablocki Clement J., Democratic Representative from Wisconsin
    and member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee

                                                                                          yer friendly neighborhood ratman