Close
Not finding the information you're looking for? Please contact the Archives research staff.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-MTG-086-001
Sound recording of a National Security Council Meeting on India held on May 9, 1963. Identified participants in this meeting include: President John F. Kennedy, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell Taylor, Under Secretary of State George Ball, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs W. Averell Harriman, Assistant Secretary of State Phillips Talbot, Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric, Ambassador to India Chester Bowles, Acting Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) Frank Coffin, Assistant Secretary of Defense William Bundy, and Member of the National Security Council Robert Komer. President Kennedy discusses with his staff the sale of mobile air defense units to India and potential diplomatic consequences. There is also extensive conversation on the possibility of providing a defense commitment to India in the case of a Chinese attack on the sub-continent and the use of nuclear weapons in the defense of countries in Asia instead of the introduction of large numbers of US soldiers. General Maxwell Taylor is first to bring up the issue of nuclear weapons versus ground troops. President Kennedy speaks briefly, and then General Taylor’s point is affirmed strongly by Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. Eight segments of the recording totaling 2 minutes and 43 seconds have been removed for reasons of national security. This sound recording has been excerpted from Tape 86, which contains additional sound recording(s) following this one. See Related Records to access Tape 86 in its entirety.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-MTG-107-006
Sound recording of a meeting held on August 27, 1963, President John F. Kennedy, Under Secretary of State George Ball, National Security Council (NSC) member Robert Komer, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Under Secretary of State George Ball, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Director of South Asian Affairs for the Department of State Turner Cameron, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State James Grant. The meeting takes place prior to Under Secretary Ball’s trip to Pakistan and Portugal. They discuss Portugal, Portuguese Africa, and the Azores, Israel, and discussions with members of Congress concerning the treaty banning atmospheric nuclear weapons tests, later known as the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) or the Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT). This sound recording has been excerpted from Tape 107, which contains additional sound recording(s) preceding and following this one. See Related Records to access Tape 107 in its entirety.