Page:Pentagon-Papers-Part V. B. 3. a.djvu/86

Declassified per Executive Order 13526, Section 3.3
NND Project Number: NND 63316. By: NWD Date: 2011

 

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(1) The cost of the program can be considered in relation to all other MDA needs; and

(2) A decision has been made to authorize adding new requirements generated by the French plan to the regular MDAP for FY 1954 (as presented by the military departments to the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Bureau of the Budget in the FY 1954 Special Budget Review), and to MDA Programs subsequent to FY 1954.

5. The Joint Chiefs of Staff feel that as much pressure as is feasible should be placed on the French from a political point of view to obtain a clear-cut commitment to:

a. Modernize training methods;

b. Prosecute the proposed plan with redoubled determination and vigor;

c. Expedite the transfer of responsibility to the Government of the Associated States and accelerate the rate of training of indigenous forces with emphasis on leadership training;

d. Intensify efforts to cut enemy supply lines;

e Wrest the initiative from the Viet Minh and take more effective steps to insure that recaptured areas are retained under Vietnamese control; and

f. Utilize more extensively, where appropriate, units larger than battalions.

In connection with the requirement for improvement in training methods, the United States would be willing to furnish such specialized assistance as may be desired by the French.

For Joint Chiefs of Staff:

W. C. LALOR,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.),
Secretary

Enclosure
Appendix and Annexes "A" to "F"

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