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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-MJH-01
In this interview Hillenbrand discusses President John F. Kennedy [JFK] entering office amid the Berlin crisis; working as the Director of the Office of German Affairs with JFK; the Berlin Task Force and the Ambassadorial Group; JFK's attitude towards the German problem and German reactions to the Kennedy Administration; the State Department and Germany; the 1961 Vienna talks with Nikita S. Khrushchev; the erection of the Berlin Wall and the crisis it generated; the Kennedy Administration's reaction and response to the Berlin Wall; talks with Russia over Berlin and the Wall; the press "leaks crisis" on the Germany problem; JFK's working style and approach to problems, according to Hillenbrand; the impact of the Cuban Missile Crisis on the Berlin talks; JFK's German policy and relationship with German leaders; and what JFK accomplished related to Germany, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-DH-01
In this interview Henderson discusses working at the United States Embassy in Peru under President Dwight D. Eisenhower; his daily routine and responsibilities as economic counselor; the Point Four Program and Peru; Peruvian elections; James I. Loeb as the U.S. Ambassador to Peru and changes and tensions within the Embassy; the military coup in Peru and the events leading up to it; Haya de la Torre’s self-destructive behavior in the Peruvian presidential election; working at the Embassy in Peru after the coup and after Loeb leaves his position; pressure on the United States from Peruvian authorities; the issue of U.S. non recognition of the military leaders; Canadian and British interests in Peru; John Wesley Jones as the U.S. Ambassador to Peru; problems with military governments and transitions; Henderson’s daily routine and responsibilities as the U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia; his first few weeks in Bolivia; John F. Kennedy [JFK] and Bolivian President Victor Paz Estenssoro; Henderson’s impressions of JFK; American hostages in Bolivia in late 1963; the military coup in Bolivia and the events leading up to it; the political breakdown of Bolivia; and political and military maneuvering in other Latin American countries, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LCH-02
In this interview Heinz discusses his primary contacts in other government agencies; the Vietnam task force; the different political trips and survey missions to Vietnam; the Maxwell D. Taylor-Walt W. Rostow mission to Vietnam and subsequent report; the Ngo Dinh Diem regime; the rise in interest in the concept of counterinsurgency; problems with working in Vietnam; changing the terrain in Vietnam with the use of defoliants; the Strategic Hamlet program; how to measure success in warfare; the International Control Commission; General Paul D. Harkins; the various agency reports coming out of Vietnam and interagency meetings; the Buddhist crisis in the summer of 1963; the appointment of Henry Cabot Lodge as Ambassador; and the military coup in Saigon and the rumors leading up to it, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-PTH-03
In this interview Hart discusses Ellsworth Bunker’s mission in Saudi Arabia; meetings between Bunker and Prime Minister Faisal; Faisal’s distrust of Gamal Abdel Nasser and Egyptian inaction in regards to the agreement reached with Bunker; difficulties with the U.S. Department of Defense over the agreement to train Saudi pilots and use American military equipment; major problems in the Middle East, 1957–1967; communications between John F. Kennedy [JFK] and Faisal; and Saudi reactions to JFK’s death and to Lyndon B. Johnson becoming President, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-PTH-02
In this interview Hart discusses dealing with Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser including shifts in U.S. aid in Egypt; how Nasser would play the United States and the Soviet Union against each other for Egypt’s benefit; Nasser’s ambitions for the neighboring countries and the Saudi reaction to Egypt’s actions in the Arabian Peninsula; the increased strain between Egypt and the United States; divisions in Washington over the U.S. policy towards Nasser; Nasser’s position on Israel; Saudi Arabia’s position on Israel and the Palestinian refugees in Saudi Arabia; the modernization process in Saudi Arabia; and changes in foreign policy over Hart’s tenure as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-PTH-01
In this interview Hart discusses his tenure as the U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia including King Saud’s visits to the United States for medical treatment beginning in 1961; the issue of the Dhahran Airfield and the American military’s use of it; the creation of the Saudi cabinet and political leadership and the transition to Faisal [Faisal, King of Saudi Arabia] in power; the revolution in Yemen and the problems and tensions it caused within Saudi Arabia and between Saudi leaders and other governments; the debate over U.S. recognition of the new Yemen Republic; various meetings of Near East State Department staff from 1961 through 1963; communication between President John F. Kennedy and Faisal; oil matters in the Near East and different oil companies and related groups; Soviet interest in Middle East oil and in Saudi Arabia; and the work of American advisers in Saudi Arabia, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-06
In this interview Komer discusses U.S. aid to India and Pakistan and some problems involved with it, including the question of long-term U.S. aid and a shift in focus from Pakistan to India; problems with the Agency for International Development; oil and U.S. policy; U.S. involvement in the Congo; Komer’s meetings with President John F. Kennedy [JFK] and how Komer briefed him; the relations among JFK, Dean Rusk, John Kenneth Galbraith, Adlai E. Stevenson, and McGeorge Bundy; JFK’s interest in India and Pakistan and his attempt at a mediation between the two on Kashmir; and JFK and Algeria and Morocco, among other issues.
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-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-JDJ-01
In this interview Jernegan discusses John F. Kennedy’s 1957 speech on Algeria; working as the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq; the transition between Administrations in the State Department, 1960; Abd al-Karim Qasim and Iraqi politics; Soviet involvement and influence in Iraq; the Kuwait problem; the Iraqi government and Israel; U.S. policy in regard to oil-bearing countries; oil company negotiations with foreign countries; U.S. foreign aid programs in Iraq; Yemen affairs in the State Department, 1963; Middle East affairs in the Kennedy Administration; changes in Jernegan’s long-range views for Near East problems, 1941–1969; and the influence of pro-Israel and pro-Arab groups on U.S. policy, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JEN-01
In this interview he discusses the Cuban prisoners release project, including working with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; why the Cubans agreed to the prisoners’ release; trips to Cuba and interactions with Fidel Castro; starting as the administrative assistant to the Attorney General; James B. Donovan; Castro’s view of the United States; problems with the prisoners’ release; and the significance of this project in regards to John F. Kennedy’s Administration as a whole, among other issues.