2 October Report of Mctiavara-Tevior mission to Vietnam : cee ecwne atte vena APTA ALAN NATE TLIC WRETET Bale, AP aden : The President on 21 Septenber had directed General Taylor and. uke *, “Secretary Mctiapara to proceed to South Vietnas to appraise the. ‘ t wd 3 ny situation. Their trip lasted from 2k September to 2 October. This vas the report in which Mcfamara recommended that’ a S progres be ba established to train Vietnamese so that essential functions performed “by. US military personne] could. be carried out by Vietnamese by the ; . end of 1965. He thought it would then be possible to withdraw the 7 -. ‘hulk of US personnel. 3 October Personal letter from Lodge to McCone : =... « X agree with what I understand MeNemara has said - toe you. The time has cove for a new face. But, I also think of Richardson as a devoted and patriotic American . . » + « ,  & October _ CIA cable from Saigon (SAIC 1397) | . ee . In sw, it is clear that Lodge wants a change in “Chief. of. Station.. iss. 2 2 Departing | Saigon 1820 hours 5 October _ (Comment: Richardson’ s departure was based on @ headquarters request that he return to headquarters on TOY as soda ‘as possible. Upon Richardson’ 8 departure, his deputy, | David R. Smith, became Acting Chief of Station.” 7 er Tey ae - 26 - Ba a a ee a
pers mw antes Vie gnst aineing be elit mine pane bic, “pinion of CIA (vith the exception of Colby, C/FE) that fiddling nore @ likely to create an economic | Srisis undermining the: war effort political movements'had to be made, but exactly what they should October CIA particivant:. DCI only. Presidential Meeting on Vietnan. Record by bel. The meeting was held to discuss matters that became the subject of Deptel 534 /eee later entry of 5 October/. DCI said it was the with the Commodity Import Program as a political lever would be much Usielgy + i than to. scare Liem and Wau into a more cooperative attitude, ‘because it would seriously affect the confidence and planning of the Vie tame ce business communi ty and quickly engender inflationary measures. among the population at lerge of a more serious nature. _— pO It was the eonsensus ef the meeting that some meaningful be was not determined. « CIA cable from Saigon (SAIG hs) . In a meeting with Conein (approved by the Ambassador on 2. octoter), General Minh requested a statement: of the US position with respect to a change in the GVN in the near future. He said he did So cs not expect USG support: of a coup effort, but did need USG assurances that the USG vould not try to thvart his plans. He outlined three . I - SERE-L3 GY
BL wt m CARES EOP AN at vei " possibie plans £ ‘for the accosplishnent of the change of government: (a) assassination of go Dinh hu and igo Dinh Can, seeping President ee ere STO La Diem tn office; (b) encirclement of. Saigon by various military units; and (c} direct confrontation between nilttary units involved in the coup and loyalist military units in Saigon. 5 October (continued) "< GIA cable from Saigon (SAIS 1447) Dave Suith, the Actiag C"S, cabled that be bad discucrea this ‘latest Conein/Minh mee ting with Ambassador Lodge and DCM Truehart. a Smith reported that he had recommeaded to Ambassador Lodge that: Ne “do not set ourselves irrevocably against the assassination plot, ' since the other: ‘two alternatives mean either a Bloodbath in Saigon or a protracted struggle which could rip the army and the country asunder." | | - (Comment: Smith's recommendation to Lodge on assassination arev a a prompt response fron headquarters. The tvo entries that follow interrupt the chronology. They are put here to complete “the atory on this significant episode. -) oo . CIA cable to Saigon (DIR_73661 of 6 October) poe an ". @ | °) . MeCone directs that you withdray recommendation Fr BT om FO to Ambassador {concerning assassination plas] uncer Hoccone instructions, as we cannot be in position actively condoning such ' eourse of action and thereby engaging our -Fesponsibility,t therefor." ~28- ‘Stn alee ere le pangs tanh aec Son MAREN ae At sen ese abet nit ae Rm ON ast Be Sn ET OT