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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-05
In this interview Komer discusses working with McGeorge Bundy; the “inner circle” of the Bundy State Department; Komer’s major contacts; the intelligence system; the power and responsibilities of the State Department; how Bundy screened what President John F. Kennedy [JFK] would see; relations with other key officials; Robert F. Kennedy and foreign policy issues; the Bundy State Department and White House staff; the “little State Department” in the White House; the bureaucratic role of the State Department; U.S. foreign policy in Asia; relations with key U.S. Ambassadors; handling Arab-Israeli issues; domestic pressures of American-Jewish community on JFK; Arabists in the Kennedy Administration; working with Myer Feldman on Israeli issues; the United States, Saudi Arabia, and oil; filling the power vacuum left by the British; dealing with Congress on foreign aid matters; counterinsurgency; and looking back at programs during the Kennedy Administration, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-04
In this interview Komer discusses President John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] interest in Indonesia and Iran; U.S.-Indonesian relations; the Indian Ocean and Iran task forces; JFK’s contact with the Iranian Shah; Pakistani-Afghani disputes; U.S. aid to Afghanistan; Komer’s attempt to revamp the military aid program; McGeorge Bundy and Walt W. Rostow as President JFK’s advisers; and JFK’s direct contact with a select few National Security staff, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-03
In this interview Komer discusses negotiating disengagement with Gamal Abdel Nasser and Faisal, King of Saudi Arabia; John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] involvement in the Yemen crisis and the negotiations with Nasser and Faisal; U.S. New Guinea policy and the Dutch-Indonesian conflict; JFK and counterinsurgency; Komer and police programs as part of U.S. counterinsurgency efforts; JFK’s policy towards and involvement with India and Pakistan; U.S. military assistance to India, 1962; and U.S. missions to Pakistan and India, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-02
In this interview Komer discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] personal diplomacy with the United Arab Republic [UAR] through letters; normalizing U.S.-Egypt relations; the Yemen conflict and U.S. interests; negotiating Yemen with M. Harold Macmillan and the attempt to have the United Kingdom recognize the Yemen Republic; dealing with Gamal Abdel Nasser; and difficulties with Saudi Arabia and the UAR, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-01
In this interview Komer discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] stance on U.S. foreign policy during his presidency; JFK’s affinity for preventive diplomacy; comparisons between JFK and previous Presidents on foreign policy focus; JFK’s intellectual curiosity and “flair for detail,” and his willingness to make the unpopular decision, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WIEK-01
This written statement focuses on William E. Knox’s trips to the Soviet Union and Knox’s meeting with Chairman Krushchev in 1962, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WEK-01
This interview focuses on Knight’s role on the Italian Desk and the Opening to the Left issue, among other topics.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LK-01
Knebel discusses covering JFK, Jacqueline B. Kennedy, and RFK during the 1950s and 1960s, conversations with JFK about Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, connections with members of Rafael Trujillo regime, JFK’s attitudes towards women, and Sorensen's role.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-PHMK-02
Philip M. Klutznick (1907-1999) was the United States representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) from 1961 to 1963. This interview focuses on foreign policy in regard to the Middle East during the Kennedy administration, among other topics.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-PHMK-01
Philip M. Klutznick (1907-1999) was the United States representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) from 1961 to 1963. This interview focuses on the 1960 presidential campaign, the feelings of the Jewish American community towards John F. Kennedy, and Klutznick’s time serving the United Nations, among other topics.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LBK-01
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-MK-02
Malcolm Kilduff (1927-2003) was the Assistant Press Secretary from 1962 to 1965 and the Information Director of Hubert Humphrey for President. This interview focuses on John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] diplomatic trips to other countries and Kilduff’s first-hand account of JFK’s assassination, among other topics.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-MK-01
Malcolm Kilduff (1927-2003) was the Assistant Press Secretary from 1962 to 1965 and the Information Director of Hubert Humphrey for President. This interview focuses on the White House’s relationship with the press during the Kennedy administration among other topics.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-TJK-01
Kiernan discusses U.S. ambassadors to Ireland, John F. Kennedy’s (JFK) 1963 visit to Ireland, and various contacts he had with JFK and other members of the Kennedy family during and after JFK’s presidency, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-NSK-01
In this written statement, Khrushchev discusses his relationship with John F. Kennedy and his legacy, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-TK-01
Thanat Khoman was the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Thailand from 1959 to 1971. This interview focuses on the John F. Kennedy [JFK] administration’s policies on Southeastern Asia and Khoman’s founding of the John F. Kennedy Foundation in Thailand to honor JFK after his assassination.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-10
This interview focuses on the Cuban Missile Crisis, in particular tensions among White House officials and the ability to negotiate a treaty with the Soviet Union, among other topics.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-09
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] decision to enter politics right after WWII; JFK’s campaign for the House of Representatives and Kennedy family and supporters’ roles in it; JFK as a campaigner, strengths and weaknesses; traveling around the world with JFK in 1951 and meeting foreign leaders; JFK’s interest in foreign affairs while in Congress; JFK’s 1952 Senate campaign; the Massachusetts Democratic Party; Adlai E. Stevenson; Paul A. Dever; the tea parties for JFK’s campaigns; the organization of JFK’s 1952 campaign; and the 1956 Democratic National Convention and the question of the vice-presidential nomination, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-08
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] Cabinet and appointing the various secretaries; problems in and JFK’s wariness of the Department of State; the ideal State Department organization; problems with Dean Rusk; Maxwell D. Taylor’s Cuba investigation; the Bay of Pigs and its effect on U.S. action in Laos; John McCone’s prediction of missiles in Cuba; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson and foreign policy; JFK’s vice-presidential choice at the 1960 Democratic National Convention; Johnson’s hesitant acceptance of the vice-presidential slot; RFK’s appointment as Attorney General; RFK’s involvement in staffing the White House for JFK and other presidential appointments; Lord Harlech (William David Ormsby-Gore); and State Department staff, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-04
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses American aid to Argentina; American, British, and French involvement in Africa; the 1962 executive order about segregation in federally-funded housing; appointing African-American judges; changes John F. Kennedy [JFK] was contemplating in the Alliance for Progress; the Dominican crisis; the wheat sale to the Soviet Union; the Bobby Baker case; preparing for JFK’s 1964 campaign; RFK’s return to work after JFK’s assassination and disagreements among the Cabinet members and under President Lyndon B. Johnson; changes in White House staff and the Democratic Party; RFK’s political plans for after 1964; and JFK’s opinions of his staff and appointees, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-03
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses the 1962 steel crisis; some major issues and accomplishments of John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] presidency; choosing the U.S. Ambassador to Russia; foreign aid and treaties; the military coup in Peru; the space race during the Kennedy Administration; the 1962 congressional and gubernatorial campaigns; JFK’s dinner for the Nobel Prize winners; the Polaris submarines; problems with the New York Herald Tribune; New York politics; various pieces of federal legislation, 1961–1963; the Dominican Republic; Department of Justice investigations under RFK; the difficulties of being Attorney General; congressional issues in early 1963; the Vietnam War escalation in 1963; American support of the coup in Vietnam; Henry Cabot Lodge as the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam; the prisoners from the Bay of Pigs invasion; American actions in Cuba; unemployment and civil rights; RFK’s meeting with James Baldwin; JFK’s trips to the South and speeches on civil rights; the nuclear test ban treaty; and JFK’s trip to Ireland and Rome, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-02
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses the 1961 Berlin crisis; American forces, military and diplomatic, in Germany; John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] recommendation for Americans to have fallout shelters; nuclear testing; problems with the Department of State; the start of the conflict in Vietnam, 1961; the Department of Justice under RFK and organized crime; RFK’s difficult relationship with J. Edgar Hoover; the wiretapping bill; new federal judgeships in 1961 and other presidential appointments; the Alliance for Progress; Red China; crises during JFK’s presidency and how he was an optimist; RFK’s move for an income tax increase during the Berlin crisis; RFK’s disagreements with President JFK; indecisiveness over picking JFK’s running mate, 1960; the missile gap; fighting and UN operations in the Congo; Nikita S. Khrushchev’s speeches; RFK’s 1962 trip to Japan, Indonesia, Germany, and other countries; the release of Allen L. Pope; Dutch disputes in Southeast Asia; the 1961 crisis in the Dominican Republic and the assassination of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina; the 1962 disarmament conference in Geneva; Edward M. Kennedy’s 1962 campaign for U.S. Senate; the Kennedy family national and political reputation; the Justice Department under RFK and civil rights; and the 1962 steel crisis, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-01
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses beginning John F. Kennedy's [JFK] presidential Administration with no political obligations; carefully picking Cabinet members, specifically Secretaries of State, Defense, and Treasury; RFK’s decision on what role to play in JFK’s Administration; JFK’s unhappiness with Dean Rusk as Secretary of State; JFK’s advisers and other presidential appointments; Cabinet meetings; Department of Justice organization under RFK; the first 100 days of the Kennedy Administration; the role of the Vice President, according to RFK; JFK’s relationship with Lyndon B. Johnson and why JFK put Johnson on the ticket in 1960; what JFK was most concerned with as President; domestic programs versus foreign affairs in the Kennedy Administration; Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.’s role during JFK’s presidency; the Bay of Pigs, the aftermath, and its effect on JFK; how JFK approached problems as President; dealing with Georgi Bolshakov; negotiating with the Soviet Union in Vienna, over Laos and Cuba, etc.; JFK’s relationship with foreign heads of state; State Department staff and U.S. Ambassadors; the military coup in Vietnam; the Berlin crisis of the summer of 1961 and the Berlin Wall; RFK’s 1961 trip to the Ivory Coast; and Soviet and American nuclear testing, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-KGK-01
Karamanlis discusses the three times he met with John F. Kennedy, including their conversations about Cuba and ancient Greek history, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-PMK-01
Philip M. Kaiser (1913 - 2007) was the United States ambassador to the Republic of Senegal and to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania from 1961 to 1964. This interview focuses on the Kennedy administration’s foreign policy in regard to Africa and John F. Kennedy’s meetings with President Leopold Senghor of Senegal and President Ould Daddah of Mauritania, among other topics.