Office of the Historian

225. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Cambodia1

Washington, April 11, 1975, 1522Z.

82878. Subject: Continuing Contacts with GKR.

1.
The President has been watching the turn of developments closely. Given the latest moves in Peking and Phnom Penh, he wants to know whether you believe you could play a useful role by staying behind with a handful of people in support. He is informed of your previous judgment in this regard particularly that concerning KC guarantees but such guarantees do not appear feasible to us at this point.2
2.
The President wants your considered judgment on whether you should stay. He asked that it be made clear that it is entirely up to you to decide on the basis of what might be accomplished by your staying.3
3.
In any event, you should arrange some method of communicating afterward with remaining GKR. Let us know what the possibilities are in this regard.
4.
We expect that even after your departure GKR would continue to seek to carry through on the possibility of making some arrangement with Sihanouk arising out of the recent exchange. In this case, we would want them to get the word to you and we would be willing to be as helpful as we can. This presumes that some organized GKR elements will remain in place after Eagle Pull.
5.
We are also informing Sihanouk in Peking that if he takes up GKR offer and gets to Phnom Penh, we would need to know how to get in touch with him there. If you have any ideas in this regard, please let us know. You should tell this to the GKR leadership. We will inform Sihanouk along these lines two hours before Eagle Pull.
6.
When you depart, establish yourself at Embassy Bangkok and report in. We will wish you to stay there on chance that things will develop in such a manner that you can return to Phnom Penh if arrangements with Sihanouk work out.
Kissinger
  1. Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Country Files for East Asia and the Pacific, Box 4, Cambodia, State Department Telegrams, From SECSTATE, Nodis (3). Secret; Nodis; Flash. Drafted by Habib and approved by Habib and Scowcroft.↩
  2. See Document 221.↩
  3. See footnote 5, Document 224.↩