30. Memorandum From Harold H. Saunders of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Special Assistant (Rostow)1
SUBJECT
- Algerian PL 480 Agreement
[less than 1 line of source text not declassified] Helms mentioned Monday mainly wanted to pass on the substance of a long talk with two of Boumedienne’s top advisors. Jernegan considers it significant. The main points:
- —Boumedienne is concerned about US-Algerian relations and feels US failure to help with wheat will set relations back years.
- —Both French and Soviets hope we won’t come through so they can prove the US is Algeria’s enemy. DeGaulle fears that American business will loosen France’s economic hold.
- —Algeria can’t change its Vietnam position but departure of Information Minister Boumaza will change “the form and expression.”
Besides that, he added little to the Embassy’s argument:
- —Algeria is potentially a major African power, and our policy should be constructive, not punitive.
- —Algeria is not hurting us in Vietnam. Besides, we must demonstrate that we don’t see the world only through Vietnamese lenses.
Our Algerian policy has been on dead center since last February. The day after the President reluctantly approved a new PL 480 agreement, the Algerians released a letter to Ho Chi Minh. The President reacted sharply: “Don’t send another thing to Algeria without checking with me.” State’s seventh floor (especially Mann) was so stunned that they’ve suggested nothing new for Algeria since.
Now Algeria, suffering from drought, has asked for help. State is about to recommend a new Title IV deal.
There’s nothing for you to do until we get State’s memo. But it would help greatly if we could settle our thoughts on whether or not we’re going to conduct policy with a Vietnamese touchstone, or whether we’re going to pursue local interests and put Vietnam “in the icebox.”
- Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Name File, Saunders Memos. Secret.↩