555. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant (Rostow) to President Johnson1
Washington, January 24, 1967.
Mr. President:
The State Department paper2 contains a useful summary of the history of the Rhodesian problem. It is less helpful about future U.S. policy.
Ambassador Goldberg is expected to make a strong appeal to continue our present policy in the UN. He has been asked to speak no more than seven minutes and to address his remarks to where we go in the future.
The two questions are:
- a.
- What is Prime Minister Wilson going to do if Rhodesia won’t give in, and economic sanctions don’t work primarily because South Africa won’t comply?
- b.
- How are we going to work our way out of this black/white
African problem
- —without drifting into a situation involving the use of force,
- —upholding the United Nations,
- —maintaining our good relations with Britain,
- —avoiding a showdown with South Africa, and
- —retaining our influence in black Africa?
Walt
- Source: Johnson Library, Meeting Notes File, Briefing Papers for NSC Meeting January 25, 1967. No classification marking.↩
- Document 553.↩