Johnson also delivered a letter from Kennedy which approved an increase in the ARVN from 150,000 to 170,000 soldiers and said that the United States "was prepared to consider a further increase." In a significant change from the policy of Ambassador Durbrow and the Eisenhower Administration, U.S. funding for the increase in military aid was not conditioned on the Diệm government undertaking social and economic reforms. Diệm, however, declined Kennedy's offer to introduce American combat troops into South Vietnam saying that it would be a propaganda victory for the VC.