this document records the formal endorsement within the National Security Council of the elements of the McNamara-Taylor Report (see document 167) that was the basis for NSAM #263.

--ratitor

See Also: Document 170, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, Volume IV, Vietnam, August-December 1963, from U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian

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170.   Record of Action No. 2472, Taken at the 519th Meeting of
          the National Security Council, Washington, October 2,
          1963 [1]


McNAMARA-TAYLOR REPORT ON VIETNAM [2]

        a. Endorsed the basic presentation on Vietnam made by Secretary McNamara and General Taylor.

        b. Noted the President's approval of the following statement of U.S. policy which was later released to the press: [3]

        "1. The security of South Viet Nam is a major interest of the United States as other free nations. We will adhere to our policy of working with the people and Government of South Viet Nam to deny this country to Communism and to suppress the externally stimulated and supported insurgency of the Viet Cong as promptly as possible. Effective performance in this undertaking is the central objective of our policy in South Viet Nam.
        "2. The military program in South Viet Nam has made progress and is sound in principle, though improvements are being energetically sought.
        "3. Major U.S. assistance in support of this military effort is needed only until the insurgency has been suppressed or until the national security forces of the Government of South Viet Nam are capable of suppressing it.
        "Secretary McNamara and General Taylor reported their judgment that the major part of the U.S. military task can be completed by the end of 1965, although there may be a continuing requirement for a limited number of U.S. training personnel. They reported that by the end of this year, the U.S. program for training Vietnamese should have progressed to the point where 1,000 U.S. military personnel assigned to South Viet Nam can be withdrawn.
        "4. The political situation in South Viet Nam remains deeply serious. The United States has made clear its continuing opposition to any repressive actions in South Viet Nam. While such actions have not yet significantly affected the military effort, they could do so in the future.
        "5. It remains the policy of the United States, in South Viet Nam as in other parts of the world, to support the efforts of the people of that country to defeat aggression and to build a peaceful and free society."

                                                                                          yer friendly neighborhood ratman