Office of the Historian

95. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant (Rostow) to President Johnson1

Washington, March 28, 1968, 10:45 a.m.

SUBJECT

  • Don Hornig’s Report on Libya

Don’s three recommendations in the attached warrant serious consideration.2

I.

The most important and far-reaching is his proposal for tackling the problem of how we operate in countries where AID can’t work. Right now this applies to most of the countries of the Middle East—either because they are AID graduates or too oil-rich to qualify for aid. What they need is not capital but American experts. Yet there is now, believe it or not, no systematic way for the USG to get one American consultant to any of these countries. Every time we send one, we have to spend endless hours jerry-building a special program and finding odd little pockets from which to pay for it. Meanwhile, Eastern and Western Europeans are flooding these countries and collaring contracts and political influence [Page 145] for their own capitals. After we’ve invested millions of dollars in aid, we now bar ourselves from being present at the pay-off.

This has the makings of an important new 1969 program. What this amounts to is developing a way to manage our post-AID relationships. In Iran, for instance, AID has pulled out and it’s time to lay the foundation for a mature economic relationship between our two countries. Now that Iran is doing well, we want to cement our relationship in solid ways that can survive political storms.

At this stage, I recommend you just instruct Don and me to give you a more precise recommendation on how to proceed. State endorses the general idea, but we’re not ready to be specific yet.3

II.
The Libyan Government would like a little boost in developing a small nuclear research program related to petroleum technology. State favors the idea and I see no reason why Don shouldn’t go ahead and work this out with Glenn Seaborg. Libya will pay most of the freight.4
III.
Don recommends a visit for the young new Libyan Prime Minister. I will have Secretary Rusk’s recommendation for you shortly.
Walt
  1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Libya, Vol. II, 7/64–12/68. Confidential.↩
  2. Attached but not printed is a report dated March 26 from Donald F. Hornig, who visited Libya March 8–10 as the President’s representative to the International Trade Fair.↩
  3. The source text indicates Rostow approved this recommendation.↩
  4. The source text indicates Rostow approved this recommendation.↩