CABLE TO HENRY A. KISSINGER FROM ELLSWORTH BUNKER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: Library of Congress
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): LOC-HAK-241-4-22-5
• Release Decision: RIFLIM
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: January 11, 2017
• Document Release Date: November 27, 2012
• Sequence Number: 22
• Publication Date: April 25, 1970
• Content Type: CABLE

No Objection to Declassification in Full 2012/11/28: LOC-HAK-241-4-22-5
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SECRETSENSITIVE 250945Z APR 70 VIA CAS CHANNELS
FROM: AMBASSADOR BUNKER, SAIGON 224
TO: THE WHITE HOUSE, HENRY A KISSINGER'
REF: A. WHS-0032
B. SAIGON 199
,
1. I TOOK UP THE QUESTION OF THE BEECHER REVELATION AND WENT OVER
THE WHITE HOUSE AND STATE DEPARTMENT BRIEFINGS WITH THIEU YESTER-
DAY. I FOUND HIM MORE UPSET THAN I HAD EVER SEEN HIM. HE SAID
THIS LEAD HAD BEEN "DISASTROUS". IT HAD GIVEN HIS CRITICS AMMUNI-
TION?WITH WHICH TO ATTACK HIM AND THEY HAD ALREADY STARTED. THEY
WERE SAYING THAT IN SUPPLYING WEAPONS' TO CAMBODIANS TO KILL VIET-
NAM-ESE HE WAS BETRAYING THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE, OPPOSITION'
SENATORS, HE SAID; YESTERDAY HAD ATTACKED GENERALS TRI,' QUANG,
AND VIEN FOR CORRUPTION, THESE ARE MEN, ESPECIALLY VIEN AND TRI,
WHO ARE FIGHTING THE WAR AND DOING IT WELL. THE MEN WHO ARE FEEDING
INFORMATION, HE SATD,?ARE THE SAME MEN limo HAVE BEEN BEHIND THE
VETERANS' DEMONSTRATIONS.
2. THIEU SAID THAT IN OUR STATEMENT THAT THE GVN HAD CARRIED OUT.-
THE OPERATION WITH OUR KNOWLEDGE AND APPROVAL, THE USE OF THE WORD
"APPROVAL" WAS UNFORTUNATE, FOR IN THE VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE IT HAD
A CONNOTATION WHICH IMPLIES PRESSURE. I SAID THAT THIS ',JAS NOT SO
AT ALL AND THE WORD "APPROVAL" HAD NO SUCH CONNOTATION IN ENGLIGH.
3.? WE FINALLY AGREED ON THE FORM OF STATEMENT WHICH HE HAD HIS
PRESS SECRETARY NHA ISSUE LAST NIGHT. I AM SURE YOU HAVE ALREADY
SEEN THE TEXT (SAIGON 6304), HE ADDED THAT HE WOULD CONFINE GVN
REMARKS TO THIS ONE STATEMENT AND WOULD GIVE NO DETAILS AS TO
_ NATURE OF WEAPONS, AIRCRAFT, OR OTHER DETAILS.
4. I THINK THIEU WILL BE ABLE TO RIDE THIS OUT, BUT I HAVE GONE INTO
THIS IN SOME DETAIL TO SHOW HOW GREATLY DISTURBED HE WAS.
5, AS AN ADDENDUM TO THE PROBLEM OF DISCLOSURE OF HIGHLY CLASSIFIED
MESSAGES, IN THE DOYLE STORY ON THE CHAU CASE, I WAS ABLE TO IDENTIFY
SIXMESSAGES CLASSIFIED SECRET (NODIS, LIMDIS, OR EXDIS) TO WHICH
THE WRITER HAD HAD ACCESS.
[State Dept review completedl , ON FILENSC RELEASE INSTRUCTIONS APPLY
a.
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No Objection to Declassification in Full 2012/11/28 : LOC-HAK-241-4-22-5