Cable 243 - Preparation of The Cable

Preparation of The Cable

On a Saturday afternoon, with Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and CIA director John McCone on vacation, the message was drafted by a group of State Department officials who were the only ones on duty. These were Averell Harriman, Roger Hilsman and Michael Forrestal.

President John F. Kennedy was on vacation at Hyannis Port, his family retreat, when Forrestal telephoned seeking to expedite the process with the commander-in-chief’s verbal approval. Kennedy asked to them "wait until Monday" when all the key figures would be in Washington, but Forrestal said that Harriman and Hilsman wanted to get the cable "out right away". Kennedy thus told Forrestal to get another high-ranking official to “get it cleared".

Harriman and Hilsman then drove from their offices to a Maryland golf course where George Ball was playing with Alexis Johnson. Ball told the trio to meet him at his home after he and Johnson finished their round of golf. Having returned home, Ball read the message but— knowing that the telegram could raise the morale of the generals and prompt a coup—refused to authorize it until his three visitors had gained Rusk’s endorsement. Those present at Ball’s home then phoned and read the important passages of the message to Rusk. They asked Rusk what he thought of the message if Kennedy was comfortable too. Rusk replied, "Well, go ahead. If the president understood the implications, would give a green light."

Ball then discussed the matter with the president, who asked "What do you think?" over the phone. Ball said that Harriman and Hilsman were in strong support, saying that his "watered down" version "would certainly be taken as encouragement by the generals to a coup." Ball said that his group regarded Diem as an embarrassment to Washington because of his "most unconscionable and cruel, uncivilized" actions. He further cited Nhu’s violence against the Buddhists and Madame Nhu’s verbal attacks as reasons for breaking with Diem. According to Ball, Kennedy appeared to be broadly supportive of the cable, although apprehensive as to whether a new leader would do a better job. As McNamara was away, Kennedy told Ball that the message was acceptable if Rusk and Roswell Gilpatric endorsed it.

Rusk then approved the message. In the 1980s, Rusk said "If Ball, Harriman, and President Kennedy were going to send it out, I wasn't going to raise any questions." Forrestal then phoned Gilpatric’s farm in the evening and told him that both Kennedy and Rusk had already approved. Gilpatric later recalled that "If Rusk went along with it and the President went along with it, I wasn't going to oppose it." He washed his hands of the matter, saying that it was between Kennedy and the state department, saying that "In McNamara's absence I felt I should not hold it up, so I went along with it just like you countersign a voucher." Marine General Victor Krulak also signed off without showing his superior, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell Taylor. Richard Helms of the CIA also endorsed the message without notifying the director John McCone; he later said that he believed that Forrestal was only advising of a resolution that had already been made. Forrestal then told Kennedy that he had gained the support of Kennedy’s inner circle, so the president told him to send the message. Cable 243 was thus sent to Lodge at 21:36.