Collection MF373; MF402-MF411; MF533-MF547 - JOHNSON, PRESIDENT LYNDON B, NATIONAL SECURITY FILES, 1963-1969

_The Lyndon B Johnson National Security Files, 1963-1969: Country Files _are microfilmed copies of foreign policy working papers during the Johnson administration, 1963-1969. The 'Country Files' contain extensive cable traffic between the departments and agencies in Washington and embassies and missions abroad; memoranda of conversations between US and foreign officials and among top US officials; intelligence reports assessing critical foreign policy issues; internal memoranda, such as those from the national security advisers to the president; and agenda for and records of executive meetings, 1963-1969. This documentary record is far from complete, and important gaps remain, especially in the last two years of Johnson's presidency. Nevertheless, the enormous volume and diverse nature of the documents contained in the files represent and essential foundation for understanding US foreign policy during this transitional period. The Vietnam 'Country File' richly documents the administration's escalation of the war from a commitment of a few thousand advisors in Nov 1963 to that of nearly 200,000 combat troops by the end of 1965. The file also details the Gulf Tonkin incident and the initiation of mass bombing of North Vietnam. The 'Indonesia' file is one of the most significant files in the 'Asia and the Pacific' grouping. Strategically located, the nation was a major prize during the Cold War and documents reveal the US anxiety during the 1965 overthrow of President Achmed Sukarno. There are also documents relating to the Panama Crisis, 1964; the intervention into the Dominican Republic, 1965; the Arab-Israeli Six Day War, 1967; the emergence of the Sino-Soviet split; American recognition of Chinese nationalist president Chiang Kai-shek; American perceptions of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, 1966-1967; strains in relations between the US and West Germany and Great Britain; the French withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), 1966; the spread of communism in Latin America; and, US policy towards the United Nations.