Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXIV, Africa

451. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Portugal¹

Washington, February 8, 1968, 0140Z.

111904. Ref Lisbon 947,² Conakry 1129, Dakar 1822,³ Kinshasa 7420.⁴ For Ambassador.

1. Your reply to Fonmin’s latest complaint about alleged US official cooperation with anti-Portuguese guerrilla forces and about alleged US military activities in Congo was exactly correct—both in substance and in tone.

2. Based on concurrence of all appropriate USG agencies here as well as replies from field (which you have seen), you may reaffirm to Fonmin a categoric and outright denial of all allegations.⁵

3. Specifically, you may inform him that you have been instructed to respond that there are:

a. No official American citizens, civilian or military, are either in Senegal or Guinea working with anti-Portuguese forces, nor are there any official Americans associated with GRAE or any other Angolan group in Kinshasa or elsewhere in Congo;

b. No arrangements have been made with GDRC re Kamina or Kitona;

c. No American military personnel have arrived in Congo for purposes manning either base nor has USG any intentions man bases in future;

d. Role of US military personnel in Congo is solely to provide advice and assistance to GDRC military forces.

4. We believe you should generally consider info provided by Kinshasa, Conakry and Dakar for your own background. You may, if asked or if you deem it advisable, however, in case of Senegal and Guinea state that US military personnel have provided advice to Senegalese and Guinean military on use of engineer equipment associated with road construction projects. In deciding whether to discuss now terminated US Army civic action project in Guinea, you may wish consider that we do not recall Portuguese ever raising this project so there remains possibility that they were not aware of its existence.

Rusk

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 1 AFRICA–US. Secret; Priority; Limdis. Drafted by Arthur T. Tienken of AFCM on February 7; cleared by Colonel Kennedy in DOD/ISA, Landau, INR Deputy Director for Coordination William C. Trueheart, Officer in Charge of Angola, Mozambique, and Portuguese Guinea Affairs Ernest B. Dane, Peter Sebastian of AFNW, Country Director for Guinea, The Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal Affairs Bayard King; and approved by Palmer. Repeated to Kinshasa, Conakry, and Dakar.
2. In telegram 947 from Lisbon, January 31, Ambassador W. Tapley Bennett described Foreign Minister Franco Nogueira’s questions involving allegations of U.S. official cooperation with anti-Portuguese guerrilla forces and military activities in the Congo and in Guinea and Senegal. (Ibid.)
3. Both dated February 2. (Ibid.)
4. Dated February 5. (Ibid.)
5. In telegram 995 from Lisbon, February 13, Bennett reported that he met with the Foreign Minister that day and, as instructed, provided a categoric denial of Nogueira’s allegations. (Ibid.)