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OCR Page 1 of 286B. AT THE TURNING POINT
Chapter 17: The October Prelude
a. When I started to write this book, My first outline was to the
effect that October was a month of-total equiet in Administration thinking
and planning. This impression was wrong in-high-degree,
perhaps because
of the other absorbing events of the election climax, Khrushchev, Wilson,
etc perhaps because November was very much more intense in terms of plan-
IN
FACT,
THERE
was
IN
October
VENY
QUIET
EXCHANSE
OF
ning
activity.
Yes
October
of
policy
THOUGHTS,
President,
but which
served in important ways to winnow out ideas that entered into the major
policy review of November.
Within South Vietnam, the month was mixed -- slightly encouraging
on the political front, but with little comfort in the countryside trends.
In the course of the month Taylor became convinced that the North Viet-
namese were greatly increasing their rate of infiltration, and this factor
henceforth assumed even greater importance. Then, just as November began
and within three days of the American election -- came a devastating Com- -
munist attack on the American airbase at Bien Hoa, ten miles from Saigon,
where the jet light bombers sent in August had been stationed. It was a
test of the September policy of readiness to retaliate for just such inci-
dents, but the timing made it out of the question for the President to
take any such action. He declined to act, but the event crystallized
feelings that were waiting only until the election was at least decided
and out of the way. It was time for the United States to fish or cut bait.
At the unanimous urging of his advisors, the President directed a full-scale
review of policy, to analyze every aspect of the situation from scratch
and to come up with possible options for action.
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