Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXXII, Dominican Republic; Cuba; Haiti; Guyana

319. Memorandum From the Coordinator of Cuban Affairs (Fitzgerald) to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Walden)¹

Washington, April 2, 1968.

SUBJECT

• Current Committee Data

REF

• Memorandum of 3/18/68 to you from O/MS²

The only committee pertinent to ARA/CCA is the Interdepartmental Coordinating Committee on Cuba, of which I am chairman. This was established pursuant to National Security Action Memorandum No. 213 (Secret) of January 8, 1963, of which a copy is attached.³ NSAM 213 specified that this committee should be chaired by the Departmentʼs Coordinator of Cuban Affairs whose position was also created pursuant to NSAM 213. The other agencies on the Committee are the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency, currently represented by Deputy Assistant Secretary William Lang (ISA) and Mr. William Broe. Other agencies may be associated with the Committeeʼs work as necessary in particular cases.

It is recommended that the Interdepartmental Coordinating Committee on Cuba now be eliminated⁴ inasmuch as the establishment in the intervening period of the SIG/IRG mechanism provides an instrument for interdepartmental coordination of matters relating to Cuba along with all other areas. Because of the SIG/IRG, the Committee has not met since December 1966. Moreover, many of the factors which impelled the NSC to establish a special coordinating committee on Cuba in January 1963 have changed in focus in the last few years. Accordingly, it is recommended that steps be taken to withdraw that portion of NSAM 213 concerned with the Interdepartmental Coordinating Committee on Cuba.⁵

Such action, however, should not apply to the position, functions or authority of the Coordinator of Cuban Affairs who, under NSAM 213 was given day-to-day coordinating responsibility for Cuban policy. NSAM 213 provided that the Coordinator “will be responsible to the Secretary of State for State Department business, and under his guidance to the President and the Executive Committee for interdepartmental coordination”. The need for this day-to-day coordination continues to exist.

1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, ARA/CCA Files: Lot 73 D 191, POL Misc. Working Papers, 1966–1968. Secret.
2. Attached but not printed.
3. Attached but not printed.
4. In a May 28 memorandum to Rostow, Read forwarded the Departmentʼs recommendation “that the portions of NSAM No. 213 that refer to an ‘Interdepartmental Coordinating Committee for Cuban Affairsʼ be revoked.” (National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59,ARA/CCA Files: Lot 73 D 191, POL Misc. Working Papers, 1966–1968)
5. In a June 12, 1969, memorandum to Assistant Secretary Crimmins, FitzGerald noted that this recommendation had had the advance concurrence of Sayre, William Lang (DOD/ISA), and Broe. FitzGerald then stated that “I later learned that no action was taken on this recommendation at the White House, apparently because Bill Bowdler, while agreeing with the reasoning behind the recommendation, believed that it was still desirable to keep the Committee in being as a useful instrumentality for the Coordinator in case a crisis situation arose.” (Ibid., 1969)