REPRODUCED at THE mom moms i ssajzza 4_ 9 -- can lFebruary 1966 FOR CONVERSATION l The Director wants us to think ahead to the possibility that the US will use nuclear weapons in the context of the war - in Vietnam gas gang 1-1 2 Assume a situation like this the Chinese elect broaden the conflict Chinese combat units came into the DIN r3 i or a Egg SQ They may also appear in Laos and Thailand There is a massing a 43 a 1 6 of Chinese and PAVN forces in the southern reaches violated American forces find themselves unevenly - p- s-a u agg matched north and south of the DMZ Large numbers of Chinese re-enforce the Communist side in this fighting Things look bad for our side We use nuclear weapons It may be that the first ones are low-yield tactical weapons employed in the above combat area Going on from there the US might use tactical nuclear weapons on airfields in the DRV and south China Then with no sign of Chinese retreat the US drops larger-yield weapons on targets deep in China These might be the nuclear installations as a starter a 2 a 5 3 What has happened as the US goes up this road Obviously the reactions of the USSR are the most important Qt speculate about a 1 25% 5 55 5'3 Ea E EVE 325cc WW a - - REPRCDUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES Date 2 i MM 70 g 7 7 5 5 725 A A E                     National Security Archive    Suite 701  Gelman Library  The George Washington University    2130 H Street  NW  Washington  D C  20037    Phone  202 994‐7000  Fax  202 994‐7005  nsarchiv@gwu edu