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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LCH-01
In this interview Heinz discusses how he came to work in the Office of International Security Affairs [ISA] in the Department of Defense [DOD]; the changeover in the DOD between the Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy Administrations; Heinz’s view of the Bay of Pigs; the regular operations and organization within ISA, including the different regional desks’ responsibilities; relationships between the ISA and other agencies; ISA as “the little State Department”; differences of opinion between DOD and the State Department, the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the debate over whether to put troops in Laos; Robert S. McNamara and Roswell L. Gilpatric; the status of Okinawa; the question of U.S. defense perimeters; and W. Averell Harriman’s trip to Geneva and the neutralization solution for Laos, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-PTH-03
In this interview Hart discusses Ellsworth Bunker’s mission in Saudi Arabia; meetings between Bunker and Prime Minister Faisal; Faisal’s distrust of Gamal Abdel Nasser and Egyptian inaction in regards to the agreement reached with Bunker; difficulties with the U.S. Department of Defense over the agreement to train Saudi pilots and use American military equipment; major problems in the Middle East, 1957–1967; communications between John F. Kennedy [JFK] and Faisal; and Saudi reactions to JFK’s death and to Lyndon B. Johnson becoming President, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WAH-03
In this interview, Harriman discusses American opinion on negotiations in Laos; U.S. negotiations and objectives in Indonesia; American relations with Achmed Sukarno; friction between the State Department and the Pentagon over who should control the situation in Vietnam, civilians or the military; Ngo Dinh Diem and the military coup that overthrew him; problems with and for newspapermen in Vietnam; and his opinion on where the United States went wrong in Vietnam, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JCPW-01
In this interview they discuss their article in Look magazine; personal recollections of President John F. Kennedy's [JFK] assassination; working on JFK’s 1960 presidential campaign; JFK’s campaigning style; JFK’s relationship with the press, White House staff, and his family; and JFK’s trips to Nassau, Europe, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson’s ranch, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-EDAG-04
In this interview Gullion discusses his impressions of President John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] character; JFK’s attitude toward and experience with disarmament; President JFK and the arts; and JFK’s concept of the presidency, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-06
In this interview Komer discusses U.S. aid to India and Pakistan and some problems involved with it, including the question of long-term U.S. aid and a shift in focus from Pakistan to India; problems with the Agency for International Development; oil and U.S. policy; U.S. involvement in the Congo; Komer’s meetings with President John F. Kennedy [JFK] and how Komer briefed him; the relations among JFK, Dean Rusk, John Kenneth Galbraith, Adlai E. Stevenson, and McGeorge Bundy; JFK’s interest in India and Pakistan and his attempt at a mediation between the two on Kashmir; and JFK and Algeria and Morocco, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-05
In this interview Komer discusses working with McGeorge Bundy; the “inner circle” of the Bundy State Department; Komer’s major contacts; the intelligence system; the power and responsibilities of the State Department; how Bundy screened what President John F. Kennedy [JFK] would see; relations with other key officials; Robert F. Kennedy and foreign policy issues; the Bundy State Department and White House staff; the “little State Department” in the White House; the bureaucratic role of the State Department; U.S. foreign policy in Asia; relations with key U.S. Ambassadors; handling Arab-Israeli issues; domestic pressures of American-Jewish community on JFK; Arabists in the Kennedy Administration; working with Myer Feldman on Israeli issues; the United States, Saudi Arabia, and oil; filling the power vacuum left by the British; dealing with Congress on foreign aid matters; counterinsurgency; and looking back at programs during the Kennedy Administration, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-04
In this interview Komer discusses President John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] interest in Indonesia and Iran; U.S.-Indonesian relations; the Indian Ocean and Iran task forces; JFK’s contact with the Iranian Shah; Pakistani-Afghani disputes; U.S. aid to Afghanistan; Komer’s attempt to revamp the military aid program; McGeorge Bundy and Walt W. Rostow as President JFK’s advisers; and JFK’s direct contact with a select few National Security staff, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-03
In this interview Komer discusses negotiating disengagement with Gamal Abdel Nasser and Faisal, King of Saudi Arabia; John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] involvement in the Yemen crisis and the negotiations with Nasser and Faisal; U.S. New Guinea policy and the Dutch-Indonesian conflict; JFK and counterinsurgency; Komer and police programs as part of U.S. counterinsurgency efforts; JFK’s policy towards and involvement with India and Pakistan; U.S. military assistance to India, 1962; and U.S. missions to Pakistan and India, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-08
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] Cabinet and appointing the various secretaries; problems in and JFK’s wariness of the Department of State; the ideal State Department organization; problems with Dean Rusk; Maxwell D. Taylor’s Cuba investigation; the Bay of Pigs and its effect on U.S. action in Laos; John McCone’s prediction of missiles in Cuba; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson and foreign policy; JFK’s vice-presidential choice at the 1960 Democratic National Convention; Johnson’s hesitant acceptance of the vice-presidential slot; RFK’s appointment as Attorney General; RFK’s involvement in staffing the White House for JFK and other presidential appointments; Lord Harlech (William David Ormsby-Gore); and State Department staff, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-03
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses the 1962 steel crisis; some major issues and accomplishments of John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] presidency; choosing the U.S. Ambassador to Russia; foreign aid and treaties; the military coup in Peru; the space race during the Kennedy Administration; the 1962 congressional and gubernatorial campaigns; JFK’s dinner for the Nobel Prize winners; the Polaris submarines; problems with the New York Herald Tribune; New York politics; various pieces of federal legislation, 1961–1963; the Dominican Republic; Department of Justice investigations under RFK; the difficulties of being Attorney General; congressional issues in early 1963; the Vietnam War escalation in 1963; American support of the coup in Vietnam; Henry Cabot Lodge as the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam; the prisoners from the Bay of Pigs invasion; American actions in Cuba; unemployment and civil rights; RFK’s meeting with James Baldwin; JFK’s trips to the South and speeches on civil rights; the nuclear test ban treaty; and JFK’s trip to Ireland and Rome, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-02
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses the 1961 Berlin crisis; American forces, military and diplomatic, in Germany; John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] recommendation for Americans to have fallout shelters; nuclear testing; problems with the Department of State; the start of the conflict in Vietnam, 1961; the Department of Justice under RFK and organized crime; RFK’s difficult relationship with J. Edgar Hoover; the wiretapping bill; new federal judgeships in 1961 and other presidential appointments; the Alliance for Progress; Red China; crises during JFK’s presidency and how he was an optimist; RFK’s move for an income tax increase during the Berlin crisis; RFK’s disagreements with President JFK; indecisiveness over picking JFK’s running mate, 1960; the missile gap; fighting and UN operations in the Congo; Nikita S. Khrushchev’s speeches; RFK’s 1962 trip to Japan, Indonesia, Germany, and other countries; the release of Allen L. Pope; Dutch disputes in Southeast Asia; the 1961 crisis in the Dominican Republic and the assassination of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina; the 1962 disarmament conference in Geneva; Edward M. Kennedy’s 1962 campaign for U.S. Senate; the Kennedy family national and political reputation; the Justice Department under RFK and civil rights; and the 1962 steel crisis, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-01
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses beginning John F. Kennedy's [JFK] presidential Administration with no political obligations; carefully picking Cabinet members, specifically Secretaries of State, Defense, and Treasury; RFK’s decision on what role to play in JFK’s Administration; JFK’s unhappiness with Dean Rusk as Secretary of State; JFK’s advisers and other presidential appointments; Cabinet meetings; Department of Justice organization under RFK; the first 100 days of the Kennedy Administration; the role of the Vice President, according to RFK; JFK’s relationship with Lyndon B. Johnson and why JFK put Johnson on the ticket in 1960; what JFK was most concerned with as President; domestic programs versus foreign affairs in the Kennedy Administration; Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.’s role during JFK’s presidency; the Bay of Pigs, the aftermath, and its effect on JFK; how JFK approached problems as President; dealing with Georgi Bolshakov; negotiating with the Soviet Union in Vienna, over Laos and Cuba, etc.; JFK’s relationship with foreign heads of state; State Department staff and U.S. Ambassadors; the military coup in Vietnam; the Berlin crisis of the summer of 1961 and the Berlin Wall; RFK’s 1961 trip to the Ivory Coast; and Soviet and American nuclear testing, among other issues.
Textual folder
Richard E. Neustadt Personal Papers
RENPP-020-005
Textual folder
Richard E. Neustadt Personal Papers
RENPP-020-004
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-335-012
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 133 (NSAM 133) titled, "Ryukyus Action Program," to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, and Director of the Bureau of the Budget David Bell from President John F. Kennedy.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-334-014
This file contains memoranda and papers regarding continuing education and training in the areas of national security and foreign affairs, counter-insurgency training objectives, and the implementation of National Security Action Memoranda number 131 (NSAM 131) titled, “Training Objectives for Counter-Insurgency.” Also included is a copy of NSAM 131 to Secretary of State Dean Rusk; Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara; Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; General Lyman Lemnitzer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Director of Central Intelligence John McCone; Fowler Hamilton, Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID); and Edward R. Murrow, Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA), from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-333-016
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 124 (NSAM 124) titled, “Establishment of the Special Group (Counter-Insurgency),” from President John F. Kennedy to Secretary of State Dean Rusk; Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara; Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; General Lyman Lemnitzer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Director of Central Intelligence John McCone; Fowler Hamilton, Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID); Edward R. Murrow, Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA); and General Maxwell Taylor, Military Representative to the President.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-333-013
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 122 (NSAM 122) to Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, requesting an assessment of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Lauris Norstad’s response to a request by President John F. Kennedy for his views on command and control procedures for employment of nuclear weapons.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-333-010
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 119 (NSAM 119) titled, “Civic Action,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Also included are memoranda from various departments and agencies regarding civic action programs and a report by the United States Army titled, “Cold War Activities of the United States Army, 1 January 1961-26 January 1962.”
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-333-003
This file contains memoranda for McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, from the Department of State regarding policies and program recommendations from the Departments of State and Defense, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in response to National Security Action Memoranda number 118 (NSAM 118) titled, “Participation of U.S. and Latin American Armed Forces in the Attainment of Common Objectives in Latin America.”
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-333-002
This file contains copies and drafts of National Security Action Memoranda number 118 (NSAM 118) titled, “Participation of U.S. and Latin American Armed Forces in the Attainment of Common Objectives in Latin America,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-332-018
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 116 (NSAM 116) titled, “Instructions from President as a result of November 30 meeting re: atmospheric testing,” to Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC); Secretary of State Dean Rusk; Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara; and Jerome B. Wiesner, Special Assistant to the President on Science and Technology, from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Also included are copies of a report titled, “A Program to Explain U.S. Position on Testing in the Atmosphere,” by a sub-committee of the National Security Council Committee on Atmospheric Testing Policy, chaired by Director of the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) William C. Foster.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-332-017
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 115 (NSAM 115) titled, "Defoliant Operations in Vietnam," to Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Of note are memoranda for President John F. Kennedy from Secretary Rusk, Secretary McNamara, and Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric on defoliant operations in Vietnam.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-332-014
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 112 (NSAM 112) titled, “Atmospheric Testing Policy,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk; Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara; Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC); and Jerome B. Wiesner, Special Assistant to the President on Science and Technology, from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Also included are a memorandum from Chairman Seaborg to President John F. Kennedy on the atmospheric test program, and a list of nuclear weapons tests conducted by the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union.