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National Security Action Memorandum Number 263 (NSAM-263) was approved on 11 October 1963 by United States President John F. Kennedy. The NSAM approved recommendations by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell Taylor. McNamara and Taylor's recommendations included a appraisal that "great progress" was being made in the Vietnam War against Viet Cong insurgents, that 1,000 military personnel could be withdrawn from South Vietnam by the end of 1963, and that a "major part of the U.S. military task can be completed by the end of 1965." The U.S. at this time had more than 16,000 military personnel in South Vietnam. NSAM-263 has served as an important source for many authors who have claimed that President Kennedy planned to withdraw U.S. military forces from Vietnam and would have completed the withdrawal after achieving reelection in 1964.〔Newman, John (20 Jan 1992), "How Kennedy Viewed the Vietnam Conflict; Further Evidence," ''The New York Times''. Newman, the author of the book ''J.F.K. and Vietnam'' advances this argument and summarizes the debate in this letter to the editor of ''The New York Times."〕 ==Background== In September 1963, South Vietnam was in the midst of a political crisis and U.S. policymakers were in disagreement about how to proceed. The brutal repression of anti-government demonstrations had eroded support for the government of President Ngo Dinh Diem in both South Vietnam and the United States. Kennedy's new Ambassador in Saigon, Henry Cabot Lodge, was expressing support for South Vietnamese military leaders who wished to overthrow the Diem government. At the same time, however, the head of the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), General Paul D. Harkins claimed that the military situation was improving in the war against the insurgent Viet Cong 〔McMaster, H. R.(1997), ''Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies that Led to Vietnam,'' New York: Harper Perennial, pp 38-40〕 To assess the situation, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell Taylor visited South Vietnam from 23 September 23 to 2 October. President Kennedy instructed them to produce "the best possible on-the-spot appraisal of the military and paramilitary effort to defeat the Viet Cong."〔McMaster, p. 39〕 The report that McNamara and Taylor submitted to the President said that "the military campaign has made great progress" and cited "present favorable military trends."McNamara and Taylor also concluded "there is no solid evidence of the possibility of a successful coup" against the Diem government.〔Kaiser, David (2000), ''American Tragedy: Kennedy, Johnson, and the Origins of the Vietnam War'', Cambridge: Harvard University Press, p. 259; ''Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963'', Vol III, Vietnam, January–August 1963. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v04/d167, accessed 8 Sep 2014〕 McNamara and Taylor recommended that the U.S. persuade the South Vietnamese to make a number of changes in its military effort to "to complete the military campaign by the end of 1965 which would enable the U.S. to "withdraw to the bulk of U.S. personnel by that time." McNamara and Taylor supported a plan (proposed by McNamara in July 1963) to withdraw 1,000 U.S. military personnel from South Vietnam by the end of 1963. Other recommendations were to suspend or reduce economic aid programs to South Vietnam as a sign of U.S. dissatisfaction with the Diem government and to pressure Diem into making necessary reforms.〔FRUS, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v04/d167, accessed 8 Sep 2014〕 The White House issued a public statement on 2 October declaring its intention to withdraw 1,000 soldiers from Vietnam by the end of 1963.〔National Security Action Memorandums (NSAMs) http://fas.org/irp/offdocs/nsam-lbj/nsam-273.htm; "U.S. Policy on Viet-Nam: White House Statement, October 2, 1963", accessed 26 Nov 2015〕 and the same announcement was made in Saigon by MACV on 16 October.〔Kaiser, p. 281〕 On 5 October after meetings of McNamara and Taylor with President Kennedy and acting on the McNamara/Taylor recommendations, the Department of State with Kennedy's approval instructed Ambassador Lodge in South Vietnam to press President Diệm on a number of issues. Pending favorable action of the part of Diệm, some economic aid programs would be suspended which, in the view of the State Department, would not have an adverse impact on the war against the Viet Cong for two to four months. Among other things, Diệm was to be enjoined to cease criticism of the United States and to focus on a serious military situation in the Mekong Delta. His strategy should be to hold territory and protect the rural population rather than having the ARVN undertake military sweeps of only temporary value.〔''Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963'', Vol III, Vietnam, January–August 1963. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v04/d181, accessed 8 Sep 2014〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「National Security Action Memorandum 263」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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