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John S. McCain POW CIA-Defense Department Documents

 Vietnam War:  White House - CIA - DOD - NSC - State Dept. Files

Vietnam War 1961 - 1969
White House - CIA - DOD - NSC - Dept. of State Document Transcripts


7770 pages of text transcription of United States Government documents dating from 1961 to 1969, concerning the Vietnam War

Includes material from the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, CIA, National Security Council, Department of State, Department of Defense, and more. Collected in 11 volumes are documentation of  memorandums, letters, telegrams, minutes of meetings, phone conversations, diplomatic cables, intelligence reports, NSC security reports, and memoirs. Some material was not released to the public until June 2003

Compiled from volumes of the United States Department of State's "Foreign Relations of the United." The Foreign Relations of the United States series presents the official documentary historical record of major United States foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity of the United States Government, including the reports and intelligence that contributed to the formulation of policies and the documentation of supporting and alternative views to the policy positions ultimately adopted.

A staff of more than 30 historians and editors at the Office of the Historian in the Department of State compiled and prepared the volumes. Agencies whose documents are included in a volume participated in a declassification review.  The historians could appeal the results of these reviews in an effort to release as much material as possible. The Office received guidance from the Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation, a group of distinguished scholars from outside the U.S. Government.

Foreign Relations volumes contain documents from Presidential libraries, Departments of State and Defense, National Security Council, Central Intelligence Agency, Agency for International Development, and other foreign affairs agencies as well as the private papers of individuals involved in formulating U.S. foreign policy.  In general, the editors choose documentation that illuminates policy formulation and major aspects and repercussions of its execution.  Volumes published over the past few years have expanded the scope of the series in two important ways:  first by including documents from a wider range of government agencies, particularly those involved with intelligence activity and covert actions, and second by including transcripts prepared from Presidential tape recordings.

The most important repositories for records on the formulation of U.S. policy toward Vietnam and the Vietnam War 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.


VOLUME 1 -  January 2, 1961 to December 28, 1961

Topics covered in this volume include: Visit of General Edward G. Lansdale to Vietnam, United States Efforts To Obtain South Vietnamese Acceptance of the Basic Counterinsurgency Plan, Creation of the Presidential Task Force on Vietnam and the Drafting of a Program of Action on Vietnam, Vice President Johnson's Trip to Asia, and the United States and Vietnamese Government Response to Increased Viet Cong Activity


VOLUME 2 - January 2, 1962 to December 28, 1962

Topics covered in this volume include:

Reorganization of the U.S. Military Command Structure in Vietnam, Further U.S. Efforts To Strengthen the Government of South Vietnam, Final Report of the Vietnam Task Force and the Establishment of the Vietnam Working Group, U.S. Consideration of a Crop Destruction Program for South Vietnam, Press Relations, Defoliation, Strategic Hamlets, and South Vietnam's Relations With Laos

On the basis of their preliminary research and the review of already-published documentation on the Vietnam War, including the Pentagon Papers of 1971, the editors developed the following five major general 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; 3) Reports from the Embassy in Saigon; 4) U.S. military involvement in Vietnam; and 5) Intelligence activities.

Discussion and formulation of policy in Washington: President John F. Kennedy made the basic policy decisions on Vietnam, based on advice from the Washington foreign affairs community, either at meetings or in documents submitted to him. The records of these meetings with the President and advice provided to him in writing are at the center of this volume. The editors are confident that they have had complete access to all the Presidential records bearing on Vietnam policy.

Policy implementation: The editors also selected documentation that covered the implementation of Presidentially established policy and involved a range of lesser policy decisions that did not reach the White House or were resolved at the Department of State or other agencies in the foreign affairs community.

Reports from the Embassy in Saigon: The editors selected a representative portion of telegrams from the Embassy in Saigon that reported on important meetings with Vietnamese leaders and furnished policy-makers in Washington with information on the impact of U.S. policy decisions and programs. The editors also included in this volume some of the more important telegraphic reports from the Embassy in Saigon on the Vietnamese attitude toward the United States and U.S. officials as well as on internal developments in Vietnam.

U.S. military involvement in Vietnam: The editors did not attempt to include in this volume any documentation on the U.S. military involvement in the war in Vietnam. They did, however, seek to include that portion of the official documentation that illustrated the main relationships between military planning and strategy and the conduct of U.S. diplomatic relations with Vietnam and other countries. The Taylor Papers are at the center of the editors' selection of this documentation as are the files of the Secretary of Defense and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs at the Washington National Records Center of the National Archives and Records Administration. The Department of State was not a principal party in the military planning for Vietnam, and its files include no significant record of this part of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Intelligence activities: The editors sought to include in this volume a representative selection of major intelligence appraisals and estimates on the basis of which foreign policies were formulated. They did not make any effort to research any alleged covert operations conducted in Vietnam. Most of the intelligence documentation included in this volume was obtained from the files of the Department of State and the Kennedy Library. These documents and those furnished by the Central Intelligence Agency provided a wide range of intelligence-related information on Vietnam. The editors believe that they have satisfactorily documented the more significant aspects of the role of intelligence in the formulation and implementation of U.S. policy toward Vietnam.

In preparing this volume the editors emphasized the political and economic aspects of the formulation of U.S. foreign policy. They did not seek to document the full range of U.S. relations with Vietnam in the military, cultural, or informational spheres. The editors did take careful account of the documentation in the complete Pentagon Papers, both the published and unpublished volumes of documents on diplomatic relations.



VOLUME 3 - January 2, 1963 to August 28, 1963

Topics covered include: Hilsman-Forrestal Report, Wheeler Mission, Mansfield Report, Comprehensive Plan, Thompson Report, Increasing Tensions Between the United States and South Vietnam, Reaction to the Mansfield Report, the "Press Problem," the Number and Role of U.S. Advisers in Vietnam, Differences Over the Joint Counterinsurgency Fund, Beginning of the Buddhist Crisis, Incident in Hue, the Five Buddhist Demands, Use of Tear Gas in Hue, Self-Immolation of Quang Duc, Negotiations in Saigon To Resolve the Crisis, Agreement on the Five Demands,  Repudiation of the June 16 Agreement, U.S. Efforts To Promote Conciliation, Press Coverage and International Opinion, July 18 Address by Diem, Renewed Denunciation of the Buddhists by the Nhus,  Raids on the Pagodas and a Possible Coup, Martial Law, Lodge's Arrival, Responsibility for the Crackdown on the Buddhists, the Cable of August 24, NSC Subcommittee Meetings on Vietnam, New Assessments From the Field, U.S. Support of the Coup.

The editors developed the following six areas of focus for further research and the 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) The implications of the Buddhist crisis which developed in May; 5) U.S. intelligence assessments of the situation in Vietnam and the viability of the Diem government and the prospects of a potential coup; and 6) U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.



VOLUME 4 - August 28, 1963 to December 31, 1963

Topics covered include: Reassessment in Washington and Inaction in Saigon, The Coup Stalls, President Kennedy's Public Statement, Attempts To Negotiate Nhu's Removal and Change South Vietnam's Policies, Assessment of the Progress of the Vietnam 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, The Coup Against the Diem Government, 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, U.S. Relations With the Provisional Government of Vietnam, 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, The Johnson Presidency, November 22-December 31:Lodge-Johnson Meeting on Vietnam, NSAM 273, McNamara Visit, Year-end Observations.

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, 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.



VOLUME 5 - January 1, 1964 to December 31, 1964

Topics include: The Khanh coup,  U.S. assessment of the Khanh government, The McNamara-Taylor Mission to Vietnam and the McNamara report, The Rusk Mission to Vietnam, April 17-19, and planning for pressures against the North, The second McNamara-Taylor Mission to Vietnam and planning discussions, The second Rusk visit to Saigon; the Honolulu meeting; the de Gaulle-Ball conversation; Seaborn's discussions in Hanoi, Taylor's first month as Ambassador; the increase in U.S. Advisory Forces in Vietnam, U.S. reaction to events in the Gulf of Tonkin, Changes in the government of South Vietnam, August 11-September 5, U.S. efforts to strengthen the Government of South Vietnam, Proceedings of the NSC Working Group on Vietnam, U.S. response to the governmental crisis in South Vietnam.

The editors of this volume 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) missions of high-level Johnson administration officials to South Vietnam and their recommendations; 3) planning for military operations against North Vietnam and the actual implementation of U.S. military operations in Vietnam; 4) the relationship among the U.S. Government, the Khanh government, and opposition elements in South Vietnam; 5) the implementation of policy in South Vietnam.

Missions of high-level Johnson administration officials to South Vietnam: Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maxwell Taylor each made two fact-finding visits to Vietnam in 1964. The recommendations resulting from these missions provided President Johnson with a means of focusing on the problems in Vietnam. They also forced the competing elements in the government in Washington to negotiate their different policy alternatives. The approval of recommendations of these missions by the President and his national security advisers provided guidelines for government-wide policy. Records at the Johnson Library, McNamara's files, Taylor's papers at the National Defense University, and records in the Department of State provided the principal sources for these missions and their results.

U.S. military involvement in Vietnam: The editors sought to include documentation that illustrates the relationship between military planning and strategy and the conduct of relations with the Republic of Vietnam and other countries. The editors have concentrated on policy discussions of the feasibility and desirability of covert or overt action against North Vietnam. Overt military action superseded policy deliberation and planning with the U.S. response to the incidents in the Gulf of Tonkin in August 1964. The documents presented on the Gulf of Tonkin episode do not resolve the question of whether the second North Vietnamese attack actually took place, but they do indicate that the Johnson administration at the time believed that the attack had occurred. Subsequent U.S. military action was based on that presumption.

The relationship among the U.S. Government, the Khanh government, and opposition elements in South Vietnam: In 1964, the United States supported the Republic of Vietnam, but never felt totally at ease with General Nguyen Khanh who took power in late January 1964. The extensive reports of U.S. Embassy relations with the Khanh regime come primarily from the central files of the Department of State. In addition, the editors have included a considerable number of telegraphic reports from the Embassy in Saigon on relations with dissident and opposition Vietnamese. The Central Intelligence Agency records on these contacts were obtained from the Johnson Library and Department of State files.



VOLUME 6 - January 1, 1965 to June 12, 1965

Topics covered in this volume include: Political instability within South Vietnam; U.S. retaliatory air strikes against North Vietnam, Initiation of a program of air strikes against North Vietnam; Introduction of U.S. ground combat forces, Increase in U.S. ground forces in Vietnam and consideration by the U.S. Government of a bombing pause, The bombing pause; Assessment of the bombing program and U.S. troop requirements; Change of government in South Vietnam.



VOLUME 7 - June 13, 1965 to  December 31, 1965.

Topics covered in this volume include: Assessment of the U.S. role and the decision to expand the U.S. commitment, Discussion on ending the Vietnam War and deployment of additional U.S. forces, The bombing pause and the diplomatic peace initiative,

The editors developed the following six areas of focus for research and the selection of documents for inclusion in this volume: 1) formulation of policy in Washington, with particular emphasis on the decision to commit major ground forces to Vietnam and its consequences for policy makers; 2) the advisory process, including recommendations from key advisers in Washington, intelligence assessments of the situation in Vietnam, and reporting and advice from U.S. officials in Saigon; 3) efforts to negotiate a settlement to the Vietnam conflict, other key diplomatic contacts, and the issue of bombing pauses; 4) military planning and strategy and non-military programs in Vietnam; 5) the relationship between the United States Government and the South Vietnamese Government, including the issue of political instability in South Vietnam; and 6) the implementation of policy in South Vietnam.


VOLUME 8 - January 1, 1966. to December 31, 1966

The editors developed the following thematic areas of focus for research and the selection of documents related the Vietnam War for inclusion in this volume:

1) formulation of policy in Washington by the President and his advisers, the Cabinet, and other responsible officials, with particular emphasis on decisions concerning the air and the ground wars, the pacification program, peace negotiations, and relations with the Government of South Vietnam; 2) the advisory process, including recommendations from key advisers in Washington, intelligence assessments of the situation in Vietnam, and reporting and advice from U.S. officials in Saigon; 3) diplomatic efforts to initiate peace negotiations and other key diplomatic contacts; 4) efforts to make contact with officials of the National Liberation Front; 5) military planning and strategy, including pacification; 6) Executive-Congressional relationships in Washington and opposition to the Johnson administration's conduct of the war; 7) the relationship between the U.S. Government and the South Vietnamese Government, including meetings of political and military leaders and the issues of political instability and constitutional government in South Vietnam; 8) the implementation in South Vietnam of major foreign policy decisions of the President and ancillary policy actions directed by the Secretary of State.



VOLUME 9 - January 1, 1967 to December 31, 1967

Topics covered in this volume include: Debate Over Expansion of the Vietnam War, Political Development in South Vietnam, Policy Decisions and the McNamara and Clifford-Taylor Missions to South Vietnam, Pennsylvania and Overtures to the Enemy, The Wise Men's Meeting of November 1 and Planning To Stay the Course.

The volume covers a broad range of topics and themes, the foremost of which is the U.S. effort to explore a possible negotiated settlement of the Vietnam War. There is in-depth coverage of the major unsuccessful peace initiatives, Sunflower and Pennsylvania to the North Vietnamese and Buttercup to the National Liberation Front, as well as less detailed coverage of other peace initiatives thought at the time by U.S. policymakers to be less promising. Another major theme of the volume is the military intensification of the war effort to force the enemy to accept a peace settlement. The Presidential decisions to intensify the bombing campaign against North Vietnam and the long debate and final compromise decision by Johnson to augment the level of U.S. forces in Vietnam are part of this theme. The problem of U.S. domestic support for the war is another theme, as the Johnson administration grappled with building anti-war pressure. During the period covered by the volume, the Johnson administration named a new Ambassador to Vietnam, Ellsworth Bunker, put Robert Komer in charge of pacification and rural development, and then engaged in an effort to encourage reorganization and reform of the South Vietnam Government. This campaign, which had mixed results, is another main theme.

Documents in the volume also cover the South Vietnamese presidential elections, especially U.S. concerns about lack of unity between the two military contenders for the presidency. Another focus is the debate within the U.S. intelligence community over the size of the enemy in South Vietnam, the so-called "order of battle" controversy. During 1967 the administration conducted a reassessment of the war, a continuing theme of U.S. Vietnam policy, which resulted in advice to the President to stay the course.


VOLUME 10 - January 1, 1968 to August 31, 1968

Topics covered in this volume includes: The Continuing Search for Peace and Preparations for the Enemy's Winter-Spring Offensive, The Tet Offensive, Westmoreland's Augmentation, Policy Reassessment and the "A to Z" Review, De-esclation and the March 31 Speech, Discussions on the Site for Talks, Opening of the Peace Negotiations and the May Offensive, Soviet Involvement and Possible North Vietnamese Restraint, The Lull in Fighting, the U.S.-South Vietnamese Conference at Honolulu, and the Third Enemy Offensive

The volume contains a number of major themes. Of primary importance to President Johnson was his and the Department of State's continuing efforts to find a negotiated end to the Vietnam War. The volume covers U.S. diplomatic contacts with Romania, Norway, and the Vatican to explore possible negotiation formulas with Hanoi in the hopes that they would lead to formal peace negotiations. Also covered are continued tentative prisoner of war contacts with the National Liberation Front in the hopes that they might lead to a separate political settlement. These diplomatic efforts were overshadowed by another major theme of the volume, the Tet Offensive and the resulting policy debate in Washington on whether to raise the number of U.S. troops in Vietnam. This debate led to a broader reassessment of U.S. policy in Vietnam, which culminated in the President's order for a partial bombing halt of North Vietnam, his decision not to run for reelection, and an announcement of U.S. willingness to meet anywhere to negotiate peace. The search for a venue for the talks and attempts by advisers to convince the President to institute a full bombing halt comprise the final focus of the volume. Two other themes are evident in the volume, yet they are captured in only a few documents: the growing anti-war movement in the United States and the upcoming presidential elections of 1968. These two events affected discussions within the Johnson administration.


VOLUME 11  - September 1 to January 20, 1969

Topic covered in this volume include: Efforts To Move the Peace Talks Forward; the Ohio Exercise, The Breakthrough in Paris, Negotiating the Understanding, The Bombing Halt, South Vietnamese Abstention From the Expanded Peace Conference; the Anna Chennault Affair,  South Vietnamese Participation in the Paris Peace Talks, Resolution of the Procedural Delays and the Opening of the Expanded Peace Talks.

The editors of the volume sought to present documentation that explained and illuminated the major foreign policy decisions and problems on Vietnam faced by the President and his key foreign policy advisers during the last 4 and « months of his administration. The documents highlight the Johnson administration's slow and agonizing internal deliberations on how to achieve formal four-party peace negotiations on Vietnam in Paris. A good part of this search for peace was carried out during the 1968 Presidential election amid suspicions by the Democratic and Republican candidates, and President Lyndon Johnson himself, that the respective Presidential candidates were using the peace process to influence the election. In addition, both the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) had their own demands for the procedures and modalities of the formal peace process, all of which had to be reconciled. This volume is the account of how the Johnson administration achieved the opening of formal four-party peace talks in Paris.

President Johnson and his principal foreign policy advisers, Secretary of State Rusk, Secretary of Defense Clifford, Assistant to the President Rostow, and other official and unofficial advisers became almost exclusively concerned with the goal of starting the peace negotiations in Paris. The administration was split between hard liners, including the President himself, and so-called doves. The hardliners refused to stop U.S. bombing of North Vietnam without a promise from Hanoi that it would withdraw from the Demilitarized Zone, cease its attack on South Vietnamese cities, and accept South Vietnam representatives at the peace table. The doves, Secretary of Defense Clifford and Chief Paris negotiator Averell Harriman, favored stopping the bombing in the hopes of moving the peace process forward. A main theme of the volume is how the doves eventually convinced the President that North Vietnam, under heavy pressure from the Soviet Union, would agree to his demands.

A second major theme of the volume is the interaction between the peace negotiations and the Presidential election. Vietnam was a major campaign issue debated strenuously by Republican candidate Richard Nixon, Democratic candidate Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and Independent candidate Governor George Wallace. The prospect of imminent peace talks had the potential to influence the elections. This theme is developed principally through the extensive use of transcripts of Johnson's phone calls as the President sought to convince the three candidates to support his conditions for a bombing halt and for opening the formal peace talks.

The volume's third major theme is how the Johnson administration had to persuade, cajole, and coerce the Republic of Vietnam and President Thieu to accept the deal that the United States and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, with the help of the Soviet Union, essentially worked out at the end of October 1968. Much to Johnson's dismay, South Vietnam refused to agree to terms before the Presidential election. Not until January 16, 1969, did all four parties agree to the modalities of the talks--size of the table, use of flags or nameplates, and speaking order. On January 18, 1969, just 2 days before the Johnson administration left office, the peace talks officially began.


Anna Chennault Affair - Nixon Conspiracy:

Documents show that President Johnson and his advisers believed there was a conspiracy to derail the negotiations to help the Republicans in the election. Anna Chennault, an associate of Republican Presidential candidate Richard Nixon and co-chair of Women for Nixon, had been in contact with Bui Diem, South Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States. "There is no hard evidence that Mr. Nixon himself is involved," Rostow reported in an October 29 memorandum to the President. "Exactly what the Republicans have been saying to Bui Diem is not wholly clear as opposed to the conclusions that Bui Diem is drawing from what they have said."  During the regular Tuesday luncheon with his foreign policy advisers, Johnson expressed dismay at Banker's reports on his unsuccessful efforts to arrange a meeting with Thieu. Thieu's uncharacteristic unavailability seemed to confirm Johnson's belief in a conspiracy between the Republicans and the South Vietnamese. Presidential Consultant Maxwell Taylor suggested that "it may be sinister, or it may be ineptitude," while Johnson prophesied that "Nixon will double-cross them (the South Vietnamese) after November 5," election day. Later that day South Vietnamese Foreign Minister Thanh informed Bunker that the dispatch of a delegation to Paris would require approval from his country's National Assembly. Bunker assessed that the GVN would not be ready to go ahead at the current time. Concerned about proceeding to Paris without the GVN aboard, Johnson agreed to a further postponement of 2 days in order to give Bunker more time.

On November 2 Thieu publicly stated that he would not send a delegation to the expanded talks in Paris, effectively preventing the convening of the four-party meetings.  In turn, the North Vietnamese refused to accept further meetings solely between U.S. and DRV representatives
Late in the evening of November 2 Johnson discussed with Senator Dirksen, his old colleague and an intimate of both Nixon and Chennault, the connection between the Republicans and the South Vietnamese. The President described the actions of Nixon's supporters as "treason" and instructed Dirksen to transmit a warning to Nixon that he must act to prevent any adverse impact upon the Paris talks.  On November 3 Johnson called Senator George Smathers (D-Florida), who had been in contact with Nixon. Smathers stated that Nixon denied any knowledge of the affair, and the President countered that he had documented proof of a Republican connection to the GVN.  Apparently at the urging of both Dirksen and Smathers, Nixon made a telephone call to Johnson that afternoon to disclaim personally any involvement with the entire affair.  In light of Nixon's denials and Johnson's own reticence about revealing the full range of government surveillance and wiretapping of Chennault and Diem, the decision was made not to make public the information gathered regarding the Republican-South Vietnamese connection. In a close vote, Nixon won the 1968 Presidential election.

Included among the many sources used through the volumes are: Files of the Department of State; Files of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara; Top secret files of the Embassy at Saigon; Papers of General Maxwell D. Taylor, Chief of Staff of the Army; Files of William P.
Bundy; Papers of Admiral George W. Anderson, Chief of Naval Operations; Master set of papers pertaining to National Security Council meetings, including policy papers, position papers, administrative documents, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat; Files of Secretary of State Dean Rusk, 1961-1969, including texts of speeches, miscellaneous correspondence files, White House correspondence, chronological files, and memoranda of telephone conversations; Files created for Ambassador W. Averell Harriman and Cyrus Vance, Delegates to the Paris Peace Conference in 1968. Background documents beginning in the early 1960s. The file contains texts of documents found nowhere else; Files of negotiations for a possible peace in Vietnam, including the efforts of countries, international organizations and individuals, 1961-1967; Personal papers of Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., 1928-1968; Westmoreland Papers: Records of General William C. Westmoreland, Commander, Military Assistance Command Vietnam, 1964-1968; Files of John McCone as Director of Central Intelligence, 1961-1965;
Files of Richard Helms as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, 1965-1966; Negotiation books, negotiation background papers, briefing books, and miscellaneous documents on Vietnam, 1965-1968

Among the many persons of interest in the documentation are

General Creighton Abrams, Dean Acheson, Joseph Alsop, Robert Amory, George W Ball, Chester Bowles, McGeorge Bundy, Joseph Califano, Anna Chennault, Chiang Kai-shek, Clark Clifford, William E. Colby, Cartha Dekle DeLoach, Allen W Dulles, John Foster Dulles, Dwight D., Eisenhower, Gerald R Ford, William Fulbright, John Kenneth Galbraith, David Halberstam, Philip C. Habib, Richard Helms, Ho Chi Minh, Edgar J. Hoover, Lyndon B. Johnson, Nicolas Katzenbach, John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Sherman Kent, Nikita S., Khrushchev, Henry Kissinger, Eugene McCarthy, Robert S. McNamara, Mao Tse-tung, John A McCone, Bill Moyers, Edward R. Murrow, John Negroponte, Pierre Salinger, Richard Russell, Dean Rusk, Arthur M Schlesinger, Theodore C Sorensen, Adlai E Stevenson, General Maxwell Taylor, Jack Valenti, Cyrus R. Vance, and General Earle G Wheeler.

All material in each volume is fully searchable. An auto-index allows searching across all 11 volumes.

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