III. LONG-RANGE PLANNING IN SOUTH VIETNAM, NOVEMBER 1955 TO DECEMBER 1957: INTERNAL SECURITY IN SOUTH VIETNAM; THE MAAG CEILING AND TERM; ELECTIONS FOR SOUTH VIETNAM’S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY; NSC CONSIDERATION OF LOCAL AGGRESSION IN VIETNAM; LAND REFORM AND FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN SOUTH VIETNAM; DIEM’S VISIT TO WASHINGTON; U.S. AID TO SOUTH VIETNAM FOR 1958


337. Telegram From the Ambassador in Vietnam (Reinhardt) to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 851G.16/7–956. Confidential.


338. Telegram From the Ambassador in Vietnam (Reinhardt) to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 033.1100–NI/7–956. Confidential.


339. National Intelligence Estimate

Source: Department of State, INRNIE Files. Secret.


340. Telegram From the Ambassador in Vietnam (Reinhardt) to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 851G.20/7–2156. Confidential.


341. Memorandum of a Conversation Between the President of the Republic of Vietnam (Diem) and the Chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam (Williams), Saigon, July 24, 1956, 10:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.

Source: Center of Military History, Williams Papers, Memos for Record 1956 (4). Secret. Drafted by Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Usera, USA, of MAAG, the interpreter.


342. Memorandum of Conversations, Saigon, July 27, 1956, 4–7:05 p.m.

Source: Center of Military History, Williams Papers, Memos for Record 1956 (4). Drafted by Lieutenant Colonel Usera.


343. Memorandum Prepared in the Department of Defense

Source: Naval Historical Center, Radford Papers, 333.1 Far East Trip 1956 (11). Drafter not indicated. This memorandum and its attachment are enclosures to a draft memorandum from Admiral Radford to Secretary Wilson dated August 22, not printed.


344. Memorandum of the Discussion at a Department of State–Joint Chiefs of Staff Meeting, The Pentagon, Washington, August 31, 1956, 11:30 a.m.

Source: Department of State, State–JCS Meetings: Lot 61 D 417. Top Secret. The following note appears on the cover sheet of the source text: “State Draft. Not cleared with any of the participants.”

Attending for the JCS were Radford, Taylor, Burke; Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General Thomas D. White, and others; for Defense, Gray and Fox; for the CIA, Cabell and Wisner; and for the NSC, Gleason. Murphy and Robertson headed the Department of State contingent. In all, 25 persons attended the meeting.


346. Telegram From the Ambassador in Vietnam (Reinhardt) to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 751G.5–MSP/9–1756. Secret. Repeated to Vientiane, Phnom Penh, Paris, and Bangkok and passed to CINCPAC.


347. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, September 25, 1956

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 751G.00/9–2556. Confidential. Drafted by Kattenburg. Young, Kocher, and Robertson all initialed this memorandum, apparently indicating their concurrence.


348. Memorandum From the Deputy Director, Plans, Central Intelligence Agency (Wisner) to the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Robertson)

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 800.05151G/9–2756. Secret.


349. Letter From the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Robertson) to the Deputy Director, Plans, Central Intelligence Agency (Wisner)

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 800.05151G/9–2756. Secret. Drafted by Price and cleared in SEA and FE.


350. Letter From the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (McGuire) to the Director of the International Cooperation Administration (Hollister)

Source: Washington National Records Center, OASD/ISA Files: FRC 60 A 1339, 121 Vietnam. Secret.


352. Telegram From the Ambassador in Vietnam (Reinhardt) to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 033.90B51G/11-1956. Confidential. Repeated for information to Rangoon, New Delhi, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, and Bangkok.


353. Telegram From the Ambassador in Vietnam (Reinhardt) to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 751G.00/11–2356. Secret; Priority.


354. Telegram From the Director of the International Cooperation Adminstration (Hollister) to the United States Operations Mission in Vietnam

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 851G.20/10–2456. Confidential. Drafted by Milton J. Esman and Frederick H. Bunting of the Office of Far East Operations of ICA and cleared by Raymond T. Moyer, Regional Director of that office, and Dennis A. FitzGerald, Deputy Director for Operations of ICA. Also cleared with FE. See the letter from Price to Haraldson, December 5, infra , for more information on the Department of State’s clearing process.


355. Letter From the Officer in Charge of Cambodian Affairs (Price) to the Counselor of the Embassy in Vietnam (Haraldson)

Source: Department of State, FE/SEA Files: Lot 59 D 630, Agrarian Reform. Confidential; Official–Informal. Price, in addition to his duties as Officer in Charge of Cambodian Affairs, had responsibilities for land reform in Vietnam.


356. Memorandum From the Deputy Director of the Office of Southeast Asian Affairs (Kocher) to the Operations Coordinator, Office of the Under Secretary of State (Richards)

Source: Department of State, OCB Files: Lot 61 D 385, Vietnam, General. Secret. Drafted by Corcoran on December 5. Arthur L. Richards was the Operations Coordinator.


357. Letter From the Ambassador in Vietnam (Reinhardt) to the Director of the Office of Southeast Asian Affairs (Young)

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.51J/12–2056. Secret; Official–Informal.


358. Letter From the Commander in Chief, Pacific (Stump) to the Chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam (Williams)

Source: Hoover Institution Archives, Williams Papers, Personal Correspondence Sep to Dec 1956. Confidential.


359. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Robertson) to the Secretary of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 751G.11/2–557. Confidential. Drafted by Kocher and Corcoran with the concurrence of Sebald.


360. Telegram From the Chargé in Vietnam (Anderson) to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 751G.5/2–2757. Confidential. Passed to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and CINCPAC.


361. Memorandum From the Acting Secretary of State to the President

Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, International Series, Confidential. Dulles left Washington on March 6 to attend the SEATO meetings in Canberra, Australia, the formal sessions of which took place March 11–13. (Princeton Library, Dulles Papers, Dulles’ Appointment Book) Christian A. Herter became Under Secretary of State on February 21.


362. Telegram From the Commander in Chief, Pacific (Stump) to the Chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam (Williams)

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 751G.11/3–1957. Confidential. Repeated for information to the Department of State; the source text is the Department copy.


363. Telegram From the Chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam (Williams) to the Commander in Chief, Pacific (Stump)

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 751G.11/3–2257. Confidential. There is no time of transmission on the source text. Repeated for information to the Department of State; the source text is the Department copy.


365. Telegram From the Chargé in Vietnam (Anderson) to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 795B.00/3–3057. Confidential. Repeated for information to Phnom Penh and Bangkok. Passed to the Department of Defense for CINCPAC.


366. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, April 4, 1957

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 751G.5–MSP/4–457. Confidential. Drafted by Corcoran.