NEW AND SERIOUS DECISIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00001R000200460003-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 17, 1999
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: July 26, 1965
• Content Type: NSPR

UPI
U.S. Marine outpost in South Vietnam: More men, money and materiel for a long war ahead
? CPYRGHT New and Serious
ifteen years ago this week some
F hopelessly outnumbered units of the
U.S. 24th Infantry Division fell back
across the Kum River in South Korea,
and. the U.S. Government and public,
shaking off the initial shock of the Com-
munist attack, girded for what ended
three years later as the second longest
foreign war in U.S. history. The U.S.
tal funds specifically for the war in
week it was abundantly clear that the,
Vietnam.
^ Final preparation of plans for a limited
provide the men, money and materiel
for a struggle that could go on with no
a week, a somber President Johnson
warned the nation to prepare for a sig-
nificant expansion of its commitment.
"Increased aggression from the North,"
he told a Tuesday press conference,
sponse on the ground in South Vietnam
... It is quite possible that new and
The President stressed the need to
alert the public to the sacrifices that `
would be needed to see it through in
Vietnam. He said he was thinking of
asking for special Congressional authori-
zation-similar to that requested by
John F. Kennedy during the 1962 Berlin
crisis-for both the troop callups and
it is a war-one the nation must recog . ?,r~?. psychological impact of more troop de-
nize as such; and it is time to say so q -, ployments to Vietnam could help pro-
-
Secretarv McNamara, newly appointed;.. Peking, Such limited mobilization would
ambassador to Saigon Henry Cabot ' ''. J also have the effect inside the U.S. of
Lodge and chairman of the joint Chiefs unifying public support, and emphasiz-
pared to take off for South Vietnam and ' ,. campus critics, many of whom Mr. John-
new military leaders. Before he left,. " ~. at" 'b NN, '". dent made it clear, however, that he
-
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July 26, 1965
ecisions'
declared that further U.S. troop de- ' at the Pentagon that the U.S. estimates
ployments to Vietnam would mean an an increase of perhaps 100,000 more
early callup of reserves, and sharply U.S. troops in Vietnam by autumn. This
stepped-up draft calls (page 20). .,would bring the total as high as 175,000.
Behind the scenes, Pentagon planning .Contingency plans for a still greater de-
was already far advanced, and Presi- ployment are also under study.
dent Johnson had personally given top ^ Preparation of plans to freeze military
priority to the following: personnel in certain categories, chiefly
^ A special request from the Defense electronics technicians and other spe-
Department to Congress for an appropri- cialists, to stop the drain in skilled and
ation of some $1.5 billion as supplemen highly trained men.
Throughout the week, Mr. Johnson
kept up the pressure-on Congress as
well as the public. On Wednesday, the
callup of National Guardsmen and re- President invited Congressional leaders
servists. Though no figures would be an- to a White House legislative breakfast
nounced until McNamara returns from ''and there outlined the Administration's
Saigon this week, it was an open secret plans for the troop callup and the re-
quest for supplemental funds.
 .CPYR(;~ .CPYRGHT CPYRGHT CPYRGHT
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Pentagon, pressure from the hawks per-
sisted, and some officers thought the
U.S. should have as many as 200,000
troops in Vietnam by autumn.
In Saigon itself there was further evi-
dence that the U.S. was settling in for
a long war and increased casualties. For
the first time the Department of De-
fense imposed a form of limited censor-
ship that will eliminate specific figures
in casualty reports (they will be de-
scribed only as "light, moderate or
heavy"), and prohibits any mention of
troop deployments or the designation
of specific units : engaged in battle.
From Vice President Hubert Hum-
phrey, who escorted Adlai Stevenson's
body back from London (page 24),
Mr. Johnson received news confirming
that Hanoi still loftily resists any nego-
tiation. British Prime Minister Harold
Wilson and Foreign Secretary Michael
Stewart told Humphrey that left-wing
Labor M.P. Harold Davies' "peace mis-
sion" to Hanoi had produced only "dis-
illusionment." Davies reported, Wilson
said, that the North Vietnamese leaders
think they are winning, and that he
came away convinced that the only way
to get them to the conference table is to
HOW THE U.S.
WOULD EXPAND
ITS FORCES
F urther substantial U.S. troop com-
mitments in Vietnam would mean
a top-to-bottom step-up in the readi-
ness status of the entire military
manpower pool-from the regular sol-
dier to the potential draftee. Here's
how a big buildup would affect the
active services, the draft, the re-
serves and the National Guard:
^ The Active Services-Enlistments
would be frozen, meaning postponed
discharges for most of 40,500 due to
return to civilian status each month.
The Navy and Marine Corps, short of
hard-to-replace officers and men
trained in electronics and mechanical
skills, would slap nearly a total freeze
on their normal turnover of 9,000
sailors and 3,500 marines each month.
The Army and Air Force, which lose
20,000 and 8,000 men respectively in
the average month, would apply the
freeze primarily to hands experienced
as pilots, electronics technicians and
'mechanics. Assuming the freeze is
put on, the current military man-'
power ceiling of 2,650,000 would
have to be raised.
^ The Draft-Draft calls would more
than double, from the 16,500 sched-
uled for August to about 35,000 a
month. Roughly 150,000 eligibles
stand in A-1 status now, already in-
? spected by military doctors and avail-
able for instant call. Of another
600,000 in the eligible pool, Pentagon
planners estimate some 45 per cent
would be rejected for medical or
other reasons. Barring almost total
mobilization, most draft-age men (19
through 25 years) would face only a
slight step-up in the timing of their
call. No plans for altering the defer-
nt regulations are presently fore-
s en. Some 540,000 draft-age men
' d ferred because they, are married
uld become subject to call in an
e ergency. So could another 1.8 mil-
li n deferred because of physical and
ainability" deficiencies. They would
p obably serve as limited service, i.e.,
n ncombat troops. Because draftees
require at least four months of train-
ing to learn basic skills, Defense will
oder mobilization of the National
uard and reserves first when more
t ops are needed. Federal 'officials
a e unlikely to upset the classifica-
t ns of 1.6 million deferred as stu-
nts, 3 million deferred as fathers
a d 200,000 deferred for occupa-
t nal reasons. The current average
a e of callups: 20 to 21. All draftees
into the Army; other services
c rrently accept only volunteers.
The Reserves-Selected units and
en would be called up to reinforce
I active services. At present, there
e about 932,000 ready reservists on
ill pay including 377,000 in the
rmy National Guard, 261,000 in the
rmy Reserve, 126,000 in the Naval
eserve, 44,400 in the Marine Corps
Reserve, 76,000 in the Air National
uard and 47,000 in the Air Force
eserve. Pentagon sources indicate
t at nearly A5,000 Marine reservists
ii i the Fourth Marine Division and its
r wing will be called up this sum-
er. The Navy probably will call
i dividual officers and noncoms :et,, ec-
vely to fill gaps on warshipha
erate in peacetime at 80 per cent
strength. Scores of battalion- an
punish them militarily until they are
ready to negotiate.
Coincidentally or not, U.S. war planes
later in the week struck farther north
than ever, bombing targets just 40 miles
from the Chinese border. In Saigon, Mc- ,
Namara and Lodge listened intently
while Premier Nguyen Cao Ky outlined
future plans for the war. A.U.S. official
confirmed that one request was for a.
massive increase in U.S. combat troops.
Earlier in the week, more troops ar-
rived: elements of the U.S. First Divi-
sion ("The Big Red One" of D-Day
fame) landed at Cam Ranh Bay, and'
 'CPYRGHT
CPYRGHT
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a brigade of the 101st Air me ivz-
sion was en route to another South
Vietnamese port.
On balance, the news of the in-
creased price the U.S. would have to
pay for the war in Vietnam was taken in
stride across the nation. Reports of the
plans for heavy new troop commitments,
for large-scale increases in military ex-
penditures made top news, but the
public seemed unruffled. This was in
sharp contrast to the impact that the
Korean War caused fifteen years ago,
and one measure of what has happened
to the U.S. in the intervening years was
cited by Buford Ellington, director of
the government's Office of Emergency
Planning.
'We Are Prepared': Ellington said
that the nation could now absorb the
impact of a Korean-scale war with just a
fraction of the budgetary strain and
economic dislocation suffered in 1950.
"The economy," he pointed out, "is two
and a half times as big as it was when
we. went into Korea. Our productive
power has grown from $285 billion to
$650 billion ... Our domestic mobiliza-
tion plan is complete and, we think, up
to date ... We are prepared."
This was comforting enough, yet the
fact remained that there had also been
some awesome changes in the world
balance of power since 1950. Then the
U.S. still stood alone as the only nation
capable of waging nuclear war (Rus-
sia's first atomic device had been ex-
ploded only the previous autumn). Now
the Soviets face the U.S. as a formidable
nuclear opponent, France has her own
nuclear arsenal and, within the past
nine months, two atomic bombs have
been exploded by the newest and most
malevolent nuclear power-Communist
China. Inevitably, as the cost of the ear
THE PRESIDENCY:
FBOTie Past
What is the difference between U.S.
Representative Lyndon Johnson (1937-
1948), Senator Lyndon Johnson (1949-
1960) and President Lyndon Johnson?
The ritual answer to this Republican
riddle: his civil-rights stance. Angered
by Mr. Johnson's attack on their attempts
to amend the voting-rights bill the week
before, House Republican leaders Ger-
ald Ford and William McCulloch re-
vived the taunt last week in a "dossier"
on Mr. Johnson's voting record.
Between 1940 and 1958, they said,
he voted "down the line" against all
rights measures. From 1957 until he
was elected Vice President in 1960, he
voted against civil rights on 21 of 32 key
roll-call votes. They characterized Mc
Johnson as a "L don-come-lately" on
civil rights,. and pi %A ffiIRR f
July 26,
196
tPYRGI '`its House press conference
see most important problems a we
must face up to with our legislation
again next year."
He described the Negro struggle as
"a very acute problem and one that I?
want to do my best to solve in the lim-
ited time that I'm allowed." Then the
President observed: "I did not have that
responsibility in the years past and I did
not feel it to the extent that I do today.
And I hope that you may understands'
that I think it's an acute one and a dan-
gerous one and one that occupies high
priority and one that should challenge
every American of whatever party,
whatever religion, and I'm going to try
to provide all the leadership I can, not-
withstanding the fact that someone may
point to a mistake or a hundred mistakes
that I made in my past."
Mr. Johnson went on providing lead-
ership for a related cause. He sent to
Congress his proposed "Teaching Pro-
fessions Act of 1965" whose pro-
visions include a 8,000-member National
Teachers Corps to serve in city slums
and poor rural areas and 3,000 fellow-
ships to prepare elementary and secon-
dary schoolteachers.
The r ram r bly 2,e-la, m
$
~Odb~
i to go to Congress this year, would
t $30 million in its first year. Going on
evision again to announce it, former
on the Congress to make this begin-.
g even though it is well along in its
on, he said, "do not diminish with
passage of time; neither should our
11 just be a beginning; but now is the
This done, the President introduced
guests for the weekend-evangelist
ck-and shortly after left with them
nd their wives for the Presidential
etreat at Camp David.
In other actions in a busy week,
resident Johnson:
Signed into law the Older Americans
ct of 1965, providing $17.5 million
id for communities engaged in coordi-
ated programs for -the elderly, and the
rug Abuse Act of 1985, strengthening
overnment regulation of the manufac-
ure and sale of such "dangerous"' drugs
s "pep pills" and barbiturates.
Declared war on crime in the Capital
hile signing the District of Columbia
ppropriations Bill. "We're going to
ave the best police force in the United
tates," he vowed, "and we're going to
ave it, or some fur is going to fly ...
he city must be a safe and secure
howplace for the citizens of our nation.
ere not going to tolerate hoodlums
".
o, kill and rane and mu in this Filling the Gaps CPYRGHT
Most Presidents come into o ce
th a carefully prepared roster of their
candidates for top jobs on the
ite House and executive staffs, but
n"No Wa4gu,?r is byThis n-
1.
 NAriIoiiAppmye For Release 2000/08/26 GIA-RDP75-000011R000200Q-IT
Changes on the roster: Economist Thunberg, USIA chief Marks
worked well enough at first-resigna- tary aide-the first time in history that a
tions were limited for the most part to Negro officer has served on the White
a handful of the dead President's inti House military staff. ,
mates-but by last week the inevitable.' Other Presidential appointments an-
attrition of time, fatigue and it yen for nounced last week:
change had taken a steadily rising toll ^ Phillips Talbot, 50, Assistant Secretary
of executive staffers. And Mr. Johnson
moved to fill the gaps.
. To announce his most important ap-
pointments, the President chose a na-
tionally televised press conference at
the White House, and had some of the
new staffers on hand to make their bows
before the cameras. First up was U.S.
Court of Appeals Judge Thurgood Mar-
of State for Near Eastern Affairs, to re-
00026046600!3'
place Henry R. Labouisse as Ambassa-
dor to Greece. Labouisse resigned to
become executive director of the United
Nations Children's Fund. Talbot's State
Department post will be filled by Am-
bassador to Turkey Raymond A. Hare.
^ Dr. Penelope Hartland Thunberg 41,
a CIA expert on Sino-Soviet econotriics.' I
-and the agency's highest ranking- fe-
male employee-to become a member of
the U.S. Tariff Commission.
shall, Mr. Johnson's choice as U.S. Solici
for General (following story), to replace
retiring Archibald Cox.
Next Mr. Johnson announced his nom-
inee as director of the U.S. Information
Agency, replacing Carl T. Rowan, who
resigned after (if not because of) criti-
cism that the USIA under his direction
had been slanting the news to make
LBJ policies look good.
There seemed small chance that the
new USIA director would be any less
accommodating to the man in the White
House: he is lawyer Leonard H. Marks,
49, a long-time LBJ crony, onetime as-
sistant to the general counsel to the
Federal Communications Commission,
and a member of the founding board of
the Communications Satellite Corp.
Marks' Washington law firm, Cohn &
Marks, deals almost exclusively with
communications cases; and high up on
the firm's list of clients is Austin radio
station KTBC, now in trusteeship but'
owned by Lady Bird Johnson.
First: Besides Marshall, the President
also named two other Negroes to high
posts. William Benson Bryant, 53, who
argued and won the precedent-setting
Mallory case on police confessional pro- I
cedures before the Supreme Court in
1957, was appointed a U.S. district
judge for the District of Columbia, and
Army Maj. Hugh Robinson, 32, a native
Washingtonian and West Pointer was. 'l