Office of the Historian

495. Memorandum of Telephone Conversation Between the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) and the Under Secretary of State (Ball)1

Washington, November 13, 1965, 2 p.m.

[Here follows discussion of an unrelated topic.]

Ball then discussed the Rhodesian situation. He said it was getting confused with the copper situation because of the Zambians, and before twisting the Chileans arms too much we should look at the real problem. Bundy thought twisting the Chileans arms would be hard. We would have a moral victory if we could just get them to stay put. Ball said he agreed but our African people have turned up an answer to Kaunda’s letter which is not satisfactory—it tells him to keep his shirt on as far as sanctions against Southern Rhodesia until we get our contingency plans made. Ball said this is nonsense, because if they get into an economic war the sterling goes to “pot” unless we go in and bail the British out. Bundy said the President was clear that anything that “busts” the copper market open is of no use to him. From our point of view economic warfare between SR and Zambia is against their welfare. Ball said he was wholly on board on this one and the problem is the Security Countil is getting hysterical. Ball said he was talking to Sisco and the Africans had come in with a resolution which we might not be able to stop by abstension. It would be a Chapt. 7 Resolution and call for economic sanctions and the use of force. Ball said the French have taken the position that up to this point it is an internal British problem and have stayed out of it and abstained. Ball thought it might put the British up against the veto on this and it could be quite critical over the week-end. Ball said it would be hard for the British Govt to accept a resolution which could require British troops in against the Rhodesians.2

  1. Source: Johnson Library, Ball Papers, Britain III, 11/24/64–12/31/65. No classification marking. The source bears the typed initials “jt.”↩
  2. On November 12, the Security Council adopted, by a vote of 10 (including the United States) to 0, with 1 (France) abstention, a brief interim resolution condemning the unilateral declaration of independence and calling upon all states not to recognize or render any assistance to the illegal regime established by it. For text of Resolution 216 (1965), see American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1965, pp. 688–689.↩