From: mitchell@mdd.comm.mot.com (Bill Mitchell)
Subject: Re: Kennedy
Bcc:  mitchell
Reply-To: mitchell@mdd.comm.mot.com (Bill Mitchell)
Organization: Motorola, Mobile Data Division - Seattle, WA
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 18:09:56 GMT

in alt.war.vietnam, busta@vicki.enet.dec.com said:


>
>In article <1992Sep25.010714.15024@midway.uchicago.edu>, mard@quads.uchicago.edu (Adrian N. Marden) writes...
>>In article <1992Sep24.114836.3557@engage.pko.dec.com> busta@vicki.enet.dec.com writes:
>>>
>>>In article <24SEP199201294926@summa.tamu.edu>, rtb3270@summa.tamu.edu writes...
>>>>     How can people justify the speculation that Kennedy was going 
>>>>to pull out of Vietnam.
>>>
>>>  Easy. Statements he made three-four weeks previous to his assassination.
>>>
>>>  Various NSAMs he authorized.....
>> 
>>Would you care to enlighten us?
>
>
>
>   Off the top of my head.... he made a speech sometime in Oct. `63 stating
>  the withdrawal of 1,000 troops before Dec. and I believe one of the NSAMs
>  was number 263 and possibly NS document 194. Kennedy also stated that he
>  intended to hold off complete withdrawal of US troops until after he had been
>  re-elected in `64, fearing a backlash from the conservative right that he
>  was `soft' on communism which would possibly cause him to lose....
>
>[...]

Grubbing thru some dusty archives, I find I have paper copies of prior
net.postings of some material related to this.  I don't want to (mis)type
the entire documents in (perhaps someone with michine-readable copies will
post), but here are a couple of snippits quoted from my paper copies:

From a 10/2/63 "Report of the MacNamara-Taylor Mission to South Vietnam"
to the President (JFK):

[...]
B.  Recommendations:
[...]
  3.  In accordance with the program to train progressively
Vietnamese to take over military functions, the Defense Department
should announce in the very near future presently prepared plans
to withdraw 1000 U.S. military personnel by the end of 1963.  This
action should be explained in low key as an initial step in a
long-term program to replace U.S. personnel with trained
Vietnamese without impairment of the war effort.
[...]

[ the source for this document is listed in the posting as Kennedt Library,
National Security Files, Vietnam Country Series, Memos and Miscellaneous.
Also printed in "United States-Vietnam Relations," 1945-1967, book 12,
pp. 554-573 ]

From a Momorandum for the files of a Conference with the
President, White House, Whashigton, October 5, 1963, 9:30 a.m.

SUBJECT:  Presidential Conference on South Vietnam

  A conference on South Vietnam was held in the Cabinet Room at
9:30 a.m., October 5, 1963.  Present were the Vice President,
Secretary Rusk, Secretary MacNamara, Under Secretary Harriman,
General Taylor, Mr. McCone, Administrator Bell, Mr. Bundy and Mr.
Forrestal.
  The meeting discussed the report of Secretary MacNamara and
General Taylor and considered draft instructions to Ambassador
Lodge.
[...]
  The President also said that our decision to remove 1,000 U.S.
advisors by December of this year should not be raised formally
with Diem.  Instead, the action should be carried out routinely as
part of our general posture of withdrawing people when they are no
longer needed.
[...]

[  the source of this document is listed in the posting as Kennedy Library,
National Security Files, Meetings and Memoranda Series, Meetings on Vietnam ]

-- 
mitchell@mdd.comm.mot.com (Bill Mitchell)

Newsgroups: alt.war.vietnam