Office of the Historian

70. Memorandum From Robert W. Komer of the National Security Council Staff to President Kennedy0

Washington, October 5, 1962.

State would like to sign tomorrow the multi-year PL-480 agreement with the UAR.1 The arguments are:

(1)
We promised this agreement to Kaissouni last May. Rusk told Kaissouni just a few days ago that we’d sign as soon as Congress finished aid bill. He’s delayed his departure a week for this purpose.
(2)
Hawk offer jolted UAR, but they’ve played ball well on this and Johnson Plan so far.
(3)
We think we can prevail on UAR to give minimum publicity, and insure low-key treatment here.
(4)
In sum, after all previous delays Nasser may take yet further delay as another shift in US policy because of Yemen.

However, Yemen is the problem. Nasser probably wants the agreement now so he can show the US backs him despite Yemen. Saudis and others may interpret this the same way. Do we want to encourage Nasser at just this point or make him sweat a bit? We could argue that Yemen revolt creates a new situation and that signing PL-480 now would violate our non-intervention posture. We could promise to go ahead once things have quieted down.

This is one of those spots where nothing we do will be right. I’d say go ahead, primarily because we’ve delayed so long already, and our Nasser policy is more important than that toward Yemen. But I have to admit that if Nasser really wants our help, he ought to be willing to wait a bit longer, especially if we tell him why.

R.W. Komer2
  1. Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Countries Series, United Arab Republic, 9/62–12/62. Secret.↩
  2. On October 3, Acting Secretary of State Ball initialed his approval of a request for Delegation of Authority for the Secretary of Agriculture to sign a multiyear P.L. 480 agreement. (Department of State, Central Files, 411.86B/9-2662)↩
  3. Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature. A typed notation next to the signature reads: “JFK approved going ahead at 1 pm 5 October, but desired every effort to insure minimum publicity. We should ask UAR to do the same.” Kaissouni and Talbot signed the multiyear P.L. 480 Title I agreement on October 8. (13 UST 2166; TIAS 5179) According to the memorandum of conversation at the signing ceremony, “Dr. Kaissouni took note of the information that the UAR Embassy had received that President Kennedy had personally expressed interest in the conclusion of the multi-year agreement and said that he wished on behalf of President Nasser and the UAR Government to convey his gratitude to the President.” (Department of State, Central Files, 611.86B41/10-862)↩