Office of the Historian

237. Memorandum From Robert W. Komer of the National Security Council Staff to President Johnson1

Washington, September 24, 1965, 12:30 p.m.

With the aid bill over the hump, Rusk asks that you take another look at aid to Nasser. His long memo (attached)2 is worth weekend reading.

The issue is whether we now agree to start talking quietly about more PL 480 for the UAR. We’d come back at you in a month or so before signing anything but even to start talking does imply we’d go ahead.

All agree we should be much less generous than in the past, and keep Nasser on a short rein. But State and our Ambassador argue cogently that some food is useful insurance to keep this key Arab country from taking a strongly anti-US course and becoming too dependent on the USSR and Red China. They’re right on straight foreign policy grounds—moreover, we’ve now faced Nasser down and shown we’re not to be trifled with. But if we flatly cut him off (and he halfway believes we have), he’ll have no incentive to think twice about shafting us.

This leaves the domestic US reaction; how do we justify resumption of food? After Yemen and the Congo there’s a general impression now that Nasser is behaving more sensibly, and Battle’s recent Hill talks (he didn’t talk aid) lead him to believe that anti-Nasserism is far less acute. So if you’re agreeable in principle, I’d suggest the following scenario:

1.
Battle see Nasser, and say you’d asked him to get Nasser’s views on the future of US/UAR relations. We get into a political dialogue.
2.
If this goes well, then State take such Hill soundings as are feasible before Congress goes home.
3.
Then we enter quiet negotiations in mid-October or so for only a six-month agreement (with a six-month renewable clause) for under $50 million worth of Title I wheat, etc. Anything beyond this he’d have to take in Title IV dollar sales (which are good business for us). Thus [Page 495] we’d be giving much less than in the last three-year $400 million plus Title I agreement, and Nasser would know he was on his good behavior.

R. W. Komer

Approve

Disapprove

Let’s have talk3

  1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, United Arab Republic, UAR Memos, Vol. IV. Secret.↩
  2. Rusk’s September 23 memorandum to the President recommended that he meet with Bell, Battle, and Rusk to review U.S.-UAR relations, including the recent UAR request for a new P.L. 480 agreement, and that he approve negotiation of a P.L. 480 agreement with the UAR. (Ibid.) Johnson approved the first recommendation and disapproved the second.↩
  3. The option originally read, “Let’s have talk Rusk wants first.” Johnson crossed out the words “Rusk wants first” and checked the option.↩