His agreement to the NSAM 263 action of withdrawing 1,000 troops by the end of 1963, and his earlier 1963 speech at American University, suggest that he was ready to end the Vietnam War.
Meski begitu, persetujuannya terhadap NSAM 263 yang akan menarik 1.000 tentara pada akhir 1963 dan pidatonya di American University awal tahun itu memberi petunjuk bahwa ia siap mengakhiri Perang Vietnam.