PERSONS/ENTITIES: KENNEDY, JOHN F. LODGE, HENRY CABOT
DATES: October 5, 1963
CATEGORIES: DIEM
OCCURRENCE:
In a White House cable to Saigon (CAP63560) of 5 Oct 1963, the following message appears: "...President today approved recommendation that no initiative should be taken to give any active, covert encouragement to a coup. It should be urgent covert effort with closest security under broad guidance of Ambassador to identify and build contacts with possible alternative leadership as it appears..."
SOURCE: IG Report 1967 (CIA) p. 30
STAFF: Dawson

PERSONS/ENTITIES: Kennedy, John F. Colby, William Commodity Import Program McCone
DATES: Oct. 5, 1963
CATEGORIES: DIEM
OCCURRENCE:
On 5 October there was a Presidential meeting on Vietnam. The only CIA participant was McCone. He provided the following record. The meeting was held to discuss matters that became the subject of DIEMTEL 5/34 (See later entry of 5 October.) DCI said it was the opinion of CIA with the exception of Colby, Chief Far East Division, that fiddling with the commodity import program as a political lever would be much more likely to create an economic crisis undermining the war effort than to scare Diem and Nhu into a more cooperative attitude, because it would seriously affect the confidence and planning of the Vietnamese business community and quickly engender inflationary measures at large of a more serious nature. It was the consensus of the meeting that some meaningful political movements had to be made but exactly what they should be was not determined.
SOURCE: IG Report 1967 (CIA) p. 27
STAFF: Dawson