</s>176-10030-10168 2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992 JFK Assassination System Date: 5/5/2016 Identification Form Agency Information AGENCY: NARA RECORD NUMBER : 176-10039-10188 Dup #4/6/6030-1003] RECORD SERIES : ORAL HISTORY AGENCY FILE NUMBER: Document Information ORIGINATOR: FROM: TO: TITLE: ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW WITH EDWARD G. LANSDALE DATE: 07/11/1970 PAGES: 124 SUBJECTS: VIETNAM, CUBA-BAY OF PIGS DOCUMENT TYPE: CLASSIFICATION: TRANSCRIPT Not Marked RESTRICTIONS: IB CURRENT STATUS: Redact DATE OF LAST REVIEW: 06/26/1998 OPENING CRITERIA: COMMENTS : sanitized version v9.1 34

Summary  
This document compiles oral history interviews with Edward G. Lansdale conducted by Dennis J. O'Brien, detailing his involvement in U.S. foreign policy initiatives during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations. Lansdale discusses planning for the Bay of Pigs invasion (Operation Zapata) under CIA oversight, including collaboration between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Department of Defense (DOD), and Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). He highlights tensions between civilian intelligence agencies and military planners, as well as post-invasion bureaucratic realignments. Lansdale also recounts his work in Southeast Asia, focusing on counterinsurgency strategies, training programs for Laotian and Indonesian forces, and covert operations to disrupt communist supply lines like the Ho Chi Minh Trail. His interactions with high-level officials such as Robert McNamara, Dean Rusk, and Lyman Lemnitzer are emphasized, alongside challenges in securing foreign cooperation and implementing strategic initiatives. The interviews also touch on political instability in Laos, U.S. advisory missions in Vietnam, and critiques of American approaches to nation-building and intelligence operations.  

Key People  
- Edward G. Lansdale (U.S. foreign policy advisor, interviewed by Dennis J. O'Brien)  
- Richard M. Bissell (CIA official overseeing Operation Zapata planning)  
- Allen Dulles (CIA Director)  
- Robert McNamara (U.S. Secretary of Defense)  
- Dean Rusk (U.S. Secretary of State)  
- Lyman L. Lemnitzer (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)  
- John F. Kennedy (President, referenced in context of post-Bay of Pigs policy shifts)  
- Ngo Dinh Diem (South Vietnamese leader)  
- Nhu (Diem’s brother, involved in intelligence operations)  
- Max Taylor (former Army Chief of Staff, involved in Cuban affairs inquiries)  
- Wolf Ladejinsky (U.S. advisor to Diem, involved in land reform initiatives)  
- Sihanouk (Cambodian leader accused of conspiracy charges against Lansdale)  

Key Locations  
- Washington D.C. (White House, CIA, Pentagon, U.S. State Department)  
- Cuba (site of the Bay of Pigs invasion)  
- Vietnam (Saigon, Laos, Cambodia)  
- Thailand, Indonesia (Djakarta), Philippines, Bolivia, Panama, Venezuela  
- Laos (Vientiane, Pathet Lao territories)  
- Ho Chi Minh Trail (covert supply route)  
- France (French intelligence networks in Indochina)  

Key Events  
- Planning and execution of the Bay of Pigs invasion (1960)  
- Shift from CIA-led clandestine operations to military involvement in Cuba  
- Collaboration between CIA, JCS, and DOD on operational details for Operation Zapata  
- Post-invasion bureaucratic realignments within U.S. intelligence agencies  
- Counterinsurgency strategies and training programs for Laotian and Indonesian forces  
- Covert operations to interdict communist supply lines (e.g., Ho Chi Minh Trail)  
- Political instability in Laos and U.S. advisory missions in Vietnam  
- Tensions between U.S. officials and Vietnamese leaders, including Diem’s reliance on Nhu for intelligence  
- Formation of a Vietnam task force during the Kennedy administration  
- Conspiracy allegations against Lansdale by Cambodian officials  

Key Organizations  
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)  
- Department of Defense (DOD)  
- Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS)  
- U.S. State Department  
- Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)  
- Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG)  
- Vietnamese government agencies  
- Pathet Lao (Laotian communist faction)  
- French and British intelligence networks in Indochina  
- John F. Kennedy Library (archival repository for Lansdale’s interview)

JFK Declassified Files

176-10030-10168.pdf

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