Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume II, Organization and Management of U.S. Foreign Policy, 1969–1972

151. National Security Decision Memorandum 112¹

Washington, June 10, 1971.

MEMORANDUM FOR

• The Secretary of State
• The Secretary of Defense
• The Secretary of Agriculture
• The Director of Central Intelligence
• The Director, Office of Management and Budget
• The Administrator, Agency for International Development
• The Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
• The Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs

SUBJECT

• Country Programming

The President has directed the preparation annually of Country Programming Memoranda (CPMs) encompassing all U.S. and U.S.-related programs in selected countries.

These CPMs will be prepared for the Senior Review Group and serve as the basis for: (a) decisions on the key program issues including trade-offs among programs, (b) final budget decisions for the upcoming fiscal year, and (c) periodic country program reviews as dictated by developments throughout the budget year.

The focus of the CPMs will be on key program alternatives and policy issues attendant to the choice and mix of programs, particularly alternatives for the upcoming fiscal year. Analysis of the effects of alternatives will be summarized. The CPMs will include summaries of each major program category with analysis of past and current programs using a program budget. Agency and Mission views and preferred programs will be indicated. Sensitive programs will be examined in a separate annex.

Overall direction of the development of the CPMs and the analysis therein will be the responsibility of the CPM Working Group, chaired by the NSC Director for Program Analysis and including the senior program officer of each addressee.

The development of individual CPMs and the analysis therein will be the responsibility of interagency CPM committees for each country chaired by the Department of State, or the Department of Defense where its programs are exceptionally important.²

Completed CPMs will be submitted to the Chairman of the SRG with a copy to the Director of OMB.

After final review by the SRG and decision by the President, major and significant departures from the CPM plan, either as a result of actions by the Administration and the Congress or as a result of negotiation and the implementation of the program, will be submitted by the responsible agency as an amendment to the CPM for review by the SRG and approval by the President as necessary.

OMB and the Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs will be members of the SRG when it considers CPMs or CPM amendments.

The countries tentatively selected for full FY 1973 CPM preparation are: South Vietnam, Korea, Thailand, India, Jordan, Indonesia, and Cambodia.³

For FY 1972 new program initiatives or significant program changes in already planned and approved programs for the CPM countries will be submitted to the Chairman of the SRG for possible consideration in accordance with the procedures of this NSDM.

For non-CPM countries, substantive and budget issues for decision pertaining to economic assistance and PL 480 will be handled in accordance with existing procedures as outlined in NSDM 10. Other issues for decision in the case of these non-CPM countries including those involving security assistance will be handled in accordance with existing interagency procedures.

NSDM 4 (revised September 4, 1969) and NSSM 77 (October 8, 1969)⁴ are hereby rescinded.

Henry A. Kissinger

1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–224, National Security Decision Memoranda, NSDM 112. Confidential. NSDM 112 was reissued on August 24 with revisions noted in footnotes 2 and 3 below. (Ibid.) Agreement between NSC and State on the revisions was finally reached on August 19 following two months of discussions within and among State, NSC, and DOD that are documented in Documents 152, 155–157, and 160–162.
2. The final 11 words in this paragraph were omitted from the revised NSDM 112 issued on August 24. Kissinger’s accompanying memorandum (see footnote 3, Document 150) was also revised. His June 10 memorandum stated that “the Secretary of State, after consultation with the Secretary of Defense, should select a single individual chairman of each of the CPM inter-agency committees dealing with a specific country. Where indicated by the importance of Defense programs in the country, the nature of issues involved, and the availability of personnel, the chairman should be from the Department of Defense.” Kissinger’s August 24 memorandum accompanying the revised NSDM 112 omitted the second sentence. Both memoranda and the revised NSDM 112 are in the National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–224, National Security Decision Memoranda, NSDM 112.
3. In the revised NSDM 112 this and the following paragraphs were restated as follows: “The countries tentatively selected for full FY 1974 CPM preparation are: Thailand and Cambodia. Additional countries may be selected for country programming studies for FY 1974 and succeeding years. The FY 1974 Country Program studies will be completed by June 30, 1972, and after approval of the CPM will constitute guidance for development of the Security Assistance Program and other U.S. programs for the countries concerned.” (Ibid.)
4. Documents 71 and 78.