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Declassified per Executive Order 13526, Section 3.3 NND Project Number: NND 63316. By: NWD Date: 2011  IV. Action Proposed

The President should at once determine that conditions, in Vietnam are critical and establish a Washington task force for that country. This will permit the task force to come up with an approved plan of action prior to sending a new U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, so that he can start moving towards U.S. goals upon arrival.

1. A Presidential directive should name a Director and provide for members of a Vietnam Task Force from Defense, State, CIA, ICA, and USIA. The organization providing the Director will support the Task Force administratively.

2. The Task Force will submit a statement of U.S. goals and implementing planning to the President for approval by 21 April.

3. The Task Force will prepare a list of candidates for a special three-man staff for the Ambassador (plans officer, operations officer, fiscal officer), and will have this staff selected and appointed with the Ambassador's approval.

4. The Task Force will bring the Ambassador and his three-man staff together in Washington, "marry" them, and present them to the President for his instructions.

5. The Task Force will then supervise and coordinate the activities of every U.S. agency carrying out operations pursuant to the plan in Vietnam to insure success of the approved plan, until the contingency in Vietnam is determined to have been overcome and that U.S. goals can be achieved by normal procedures.

Present U.S. policy objectives are now stated in general terms. Detailed plans, such as the Counter-Insurgency Plan, only cover part of the actions needed to reach U.S. goals. A fresh statement of goals and tasks, making use of work now underway, would provide firmer purpose to U.S. efforts. True objectives in Vietnam seem to fall into three inter-related parts:

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