VIETNAM: National Security Files, November 1963- June ... - ProQuest

pleas for additional troops. On March 31,1968, he announc-
ed a partial halt in the bombing, a willingness to open serious
peace negotiations, and his own withdrawal from the presiden-
tial race. Johnson's speech marked a watershed in the war, an
abandonment of the policy of escalation and in a broader sense
of the hope of victory. It did not, however, bring an end to the
war. It would be January 1969, after Johnson had left office,
before delegates representing the four parties would come
together in Paris for formal negotiations.
It is difficult in a brief survey to convey the richness and
variety of the documents in the 18 boxes that comprise the
micropublication Vietnam: National Security Files, November
1963-June 1965. There is important material on the Tonkin
Gulf incidents. There is voluminous documentation on the
U.S. military buildup and escalation of the war between 1963
and 1965. The background of U.S. strategic and political deci-
sions can be traced by following the cable traffic between
Washington, Saigon, and other missions in Southeast Asia.
The State Department, Central Intelligence Agency, and
Department of Defense are most represented in this cable traf-
fic. Strategic planning developed and decisions implemented
by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and by the Joint
Chiefs of Staff are included. The documents highlight the
operational plans for the various ground and air campaigns
initiated in effort to meet the administration's objectives in
South Vietnam. In short, although this micropublication
represents a portion of the total documentation of the war, it
provides a wealth of important information and is basic to any
analysis of the military and political decisions to intervene in
the Republic of Vietnam.
George C Herring
University of Kentucky
1 Additional documents on Vietnam can be found in "Vietnam, Special
Subjects: National Security Files, 1963-1969."
LBJ National Security Files, Vietnam: 1963-1965