255. Editorial Note
An April 29, 1967, memorandum from Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield to President Johnson put forward several proposals pertaining to the Vietnam conflict. The first proposal, headed “An Approach Via China,” argued that because U.S. bombing of North Vietnam would make it ever more heavily dependent on China, “The road to settlement with Hanoi, now, very likely runs by way of Peking rather than Moscow.” Mansfield proposed making a “quiet and clearly conciliatory approach to China.” He suggested that he might try to arrange a trip to Peking. He thought such a trip, to be effective, would need at least tacit Presidential approval and should be designed to get from Chou En-Lai “the Chinese view of what is needed for a settlement in Viet Nam and for the restoration of more normal relations throughout the Western Pacific.”
An April 30 memorandum from the President’s Special Assistant Walt Rostow to Johnson stated that, after reading and considering Mansfield’s proposals, Secretary of State Rusk was “strongly opposed” to a visit by Mansfield to Communist China, which would be “a major intervention in a troubled situation,” would make the Soviet Union upset and suspicious, and would cause great confusion among “our friends in free Asia.” Rusk believed, Rostow stated, “the proper way to proceed with respect to Communist China was to elevate the Warsaw talks to the Foreign Ministers level,” but he was “hesitant to propose this until the situation within Communist China has somewhat settled down.” Rostow noted that he was in general agreement with Rusk. (Filed with a covering memorandum of May 2 from Rostow to Johnson; Johnson Library, National Security File, Name File, Senator Mansfield)