Office of the Historian

157. Memorandum From Harold H. Saunders of the National Security Council Staff to Robert W. Komer of the National Security Council Staff1

Washington, September 17, 1965.

RWK—

Tunisian shopping list is the big document on the bottom (summarized at the clip).2 DOD hasn’t fully analyzed it yet and won’t definitively until they have a team take a look at present forces. (McNamara promised to consider sending the team when he saw Bourguiba, Jr. at 4:00 p.m.)

Key features are: a new tank squadron, a group of anti-tank guided missile squadrons, amphibious landing capability, 12 jet interceptors and radar, doubled ground transport, doubled ground force strength.

Bourguiba saw Rusk this morning for 45 minutes3 until interrupted by Nehru; Rusk agreed to continue discussion tomorrow. Most of today’s talk ran to Vietnam, Pak-India, etc. Bourguiba only repeated his [Page 236] father’s request for a team and said he’d even go as far as an alliance if necessary (Tunis 157 attached).4 He did acknowledge importance of economic program and it sounds as if he’ll be happy if we send a team. Rusk will reply tomorrow.

You’ve written the general pitch, but here are some specifics to bolster it:

1.
$100 million program over 5 years would absorb 80% of Congressional MAP ceiling for all of Africa ($20–25 million a year). So we can’t afford anything that big.
2.
A $20 million annual MAP would be larger than in any other country away from the Communist perimeter (except Spain where base rights are all-important and anti-Bloc).
3.
Such a large MAP would wreck economic program. We couldn’t afford it, and Tunisian budget costs (doubled) would wipe out budgetary surpluses which finance local costs of development plan.
4.
You may want to say a private general word about our concern for Libyan independence. You remember, he told you Tunisians were even thinking of need for a pre-emptive strike if Libya crumbled after Idris’ death.

H.
  1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Files of Robert W. Komer, Tunisia, December 1963–March 1966. Secret.↩
  2. Not attached.↩
  3. A memorandum of conversation of Secretary Rusk’s discussion of the Tunisian arms request with Foreign Minister Bourguiba on September 17 is in Department of State, Central Files, DEF 12 TUN.↩
  4. Not attached.↩