RIPPLE SALVO… #175,,, LBJ GETS ADVICE… but first
Good Morning: Day ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE of remembering the air war called Rolling Thunder (when it was all over)…
23 AUGUST 1966… WHAT THE HOME TOWN FOLKS WERE READING… NYT … A rainy Tuesday in Central Park….
Page 1: “Mayor Says City Needs $50 Billion In 10-Year U.S. Aid”…”Mayor Lindsay said today that it would take $50 billion more in federal funds in the next decade to transform New York City into ‘a thoroughly livable and exciting place in which to live.’ Then Senator Robert Kennedy of New York said impatiently, ‘That is unrealistic. The Federal government is not about to increase its aid to New York at that rate.’ The sparring between the Mayor and the Senator came as a Senate sub-committee opened a second week of hearings into what has been called ‘the crisis of the cities.’ Without more Federal money the cities just can’t make it, Mayor Lindsay said. However, Mr. Lindsay said that ‘Federal red tape and lack of coordination of Federal programs causes irritating road blocks for the cities. Indeed, when I seek a comparison for what has been happening in New York over the last few years, I find myself having to go back some 3,000 years to the Old Testament and the ten plagues which were visited upon the Egyptians. Unlike the children of Israel, however, the people of our cities are not likely to be saved by a miracle.’ …” Page 1: “Rusk Asserts U.S. Favors War Curb But Foes Shun It”…”Secretary of Defense Dean Rusk told U Thant at the UN today that the United States wanted to de-escalate the Vietnam War but there had been a lack of interest on the part of Hanoi and its allies. U Thant’s position has been that the only way to get negotiations started is by halting the American bombing of North Vietnam. He has repeatedly offered this as the first element of a three point formula. The other points: the scaling back of fighting, and the inclusion of the Vietcong in the discussions.”… (Humble Host note: at the same time U Thant was bending Secretary Rusk’s ear with the formula that had the U.S. taking the first step and pausing or halting the bombing, the President was being briefed–Top Secret–on a Polish initiative…see Ripple Salvo below.) …Page 3: “Hanoi Denounces All Peace Bids”… “North Vietnam officially denounced all United States efforts to find a peaceful solution for the Vietnam War today and rejected the proposal of it Asian neighbors. ..Hanoi’s Foreign Office has energetically denounced every peaceful negotiation scheme of the United States on the Vietnam problem…”…
Page 1: “Bonn Suspends Air Force Chief”…”The commanding officer of the West German Air Force was temporarily relieved of his command today as a result of his demand last week for the reorganization of the Defense Ministry.” (The reorganization has started–you’re fired! Be careful what you ask for.)… Page 1: “Stock Prices Drop To New 1966 Low’… Fell 12.59 points to 792.05, the lowest closing since 10 Feb 1966… Page 3: “Senate Votes G.I. Mail Aid”… “The Senate voted to permit American servicemen to mail tape home to and from home free. The bill approved by voice vote would also authorize an airlift of news publications to combat areas and of mail and tapes at surface rates to non-combat zones. The House approved a similar measure.” (Yippee: thirty minute 3-inch reels of tape get a pass. The leading edge of technology.)…
Page 9: “British Say Hanoi Has Units In Laos”…”British published today a report that said it provided convincing evidence that North Vietnamese troops are operating in Laos. The report was prepared by…the International Control Commission for Laos. Informed British sources said they had reason to believe that there were several thousand North Vietnamese operating in northeast Laos guarding the Ho Chi Minh trail. Both North Vietnamese and the Pathet Lao rejected as groundless a report that about 20,000 North Vietnamese troops were fighting in Laos.”…. Page 9: “Gains In Transport Reported By Hanoi”…”North Vietnam said today that transport and communication systems throughout the country had been expanded and improved despite United States strikes. Hanoi’s official press agency said the communication lines remain open in spite of the fierce bombing and strafing by U.S. aircraft. Not only is the communication network maintained, but also strongly expanded. Hundreds of kilometers of railway have been and are being widened…nearly 12,000 kilometers (1200 miles) of roads have been transformed and built. Many sections of rivers have been and are being dredged, many ferries and landing places have been developed…draught power (bicycles, ox carts, junks) has been increased 36-per cent.”…
23 AUGUST 1966… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… NYT (24 August reporting 23 August ops)…Page 3: “In 80 bombing missions Air Force and Navy pilots attacked 3 missile sites near Hanoi and Haiphong and 12 petroleum targets…Over the Gulf of Tonkin today, the United States Navy A-4 Skyhawk jets attacked four North Vietnamese patrol boats 20 miles east of Haiphong, the jets sank one and heavily damaged two others. Other A-4 pilots returning from a raid on a radar site northeast of Hanoi said two MIG-17s began chasing them as they returned to the carrier but after a short while turned away. A third MIG also gave chase but also gave up and returned westward. Four MIG-17s attacked 4 Air Force F-105s as they bombed a target 10 miles north of Hanoi. No further information on this encounter… “Vietnam: Air Losses’ (Hobson)…One fixed wing aircraft was lost in Southeast Asia on 23 August 1966… Page 71…
(1) LTJG H.J. MEADOWS was flying an F-8E of the VF-111 Sundowners off the USS Oriskany on a barrier combat air patrol when his engine failed and he was unable to regain sufficient power to keep the aircraft airborne and was forced to eject. LTJG MEADOWS was rescued and returned to fly again, and again… The last two weeks of August were very hard on Oriskany’s air wing. The air wing lost five aircraft to accidents and two to NVN gunners…
RIPPLE SALVO… #175… “MARIGOLD: the lost chance for peace in Vietnam”… James Hershberg published his well researched book detailing a peace initiative by Polish diplomats that failed in 2012. On 24 September 2015 the CIA downgraded from Top Secret to UnCLASS the following PRESIDENT’S DAILY BRIEFING for 23 August 1966….
“COMMUNIST DIPLOMATIC ACTIVITY on VIETNAM” CIA (TS sanitized to Unclass)..I quote…
We (CIA) doubt that Hanoi has given its blessing to recent Polish soundings on negotiations.
Twice within the past week Polish officials have urged us to stop bombing North Vietnam and accept–“in principle”– Hanoi’s oft-repeated four points. Such signs of faith by us, the Poles hint broadly, could produce a more cooperative North Vietnamese position.
There is little doubt that North Vietnam would like to see the bombing end. However, there has been no sign of give in any public or private statements coming from Hanoi. Only yesterday, the North Vietnamese reiterated their uncompromising position in a foreign ministry statement condemning an Asian peace initiative proposed by the Thais.
We (CIA) believe the latest Polish proposals represent a unilateral effort to promote US concessions which Warsaw hopes might bring Hanoi and Washington closer to the negotiating table.
The current Polish effort is quite similar to that undertaken by the Rumanians last May–in fact, the price tag is identical. Both the Poles and the Rumanians seem convinced that the first move must come from Washington.
As for the Soviets, there has been no sign from that quarter of any change in position nor any effort to prod the North Vietnamese along.
We believe it is likely that the recent Yalta meeting of top Soviet leaders and a very senior North Vietnamese delegation concerned itself with Soviet military and economic aid to North Vietnam–and not with bringing the was to a conference table. Unquote.
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FIFTY YEARS AGO TODAY, THE CIA MADE THEIR CASE AND ADVISED THE PRESIDENT TO DISREGARD THE POLISH EFFORT–AND HE DID…but what if the CIA had recommended a further review of the Polish proposal?…What was the rush?… Hadn’t the President been searching everywhere for assistance in bringing North Vietnam to the table?… A great moment in history occurred on this day fifty years ago…did we take a wrong turn?
I hope Mr. Hershberg has the time to add this Top Secret CIA note to the President to his exhaustive Marigold research… The CIA told the President “We doubt that Hanoi had sanctioned the recent Polish soundings on negotiations.”…Mr. Hershberg makes a very persuasive case in “Marigold” that Hanoi had in fact sanctioned the sounding…
Lest we forget… Bear ……….. –30– ………….