in mid-September of 1960?

Mr. Dillon. No, I was not aware of that.

Mr. Baron. And were you aware of any CIA plan to snatch Lumumba from UN protective custody and place him in the hands of the Congolese Army?

Mr. Dillon. No, I wasn't aware of that.

Mr. Dawson. Mr. Secretary, Mr. Baron has asked a lot of questions about some of the factual parts of this. And I would like to follow up on some of your statements about Director Dulles' willingness to protect the President. I think you made a very interesting and forthright observation, that he was very interested in keeping the President protected from things which may cause embarrassment to him.

Mr. Dillon. Not personally, but that he thought would cause great embarrassment to the nation as well as to just the Presidency, whereas if it was some individual, it is just because it is the terrible Mr. Dulles and the terrible CIA, it is not the nation. And the President is the nation. So that it was a fairly deep feeling which went beyond personality institutionally to the Presidency, which should not be involved in this sort of thing.

Mr. Dawson. Did you investigate what may have been the basis for your feeling, which is your current feeling, that that was his way of operation?

Mr. Dillon. I think that it was primarily -- I had known

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