Office of the Historian

155. Memorandum From Helmut Sonnenfeldt of the National Security Council staff to President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)1 2

Washington, November 19, 1969.

SUBJECT:

  • Heroin Traffic

Since the last Task Force meeting on November 3, the following developments have taken place:

  • --The President’s messages have been delivered to President Pompidou and Prime Minister Demirel;
  • --Prime Minister Demirel sees real obstacles to meeting our desires; moreover, his visit to the US has been re-scheduled from December to some-time after late February;
  • --the President has invited the 50 Governors to a conference on December 3 dealing with narcotics and foreign policy;
  • --John Ingersoll is returning at the end of this week from his visits to Paris and Ankara.

There was no specific agreement at the last Task Force meeting on a date for another meeting. Conceivably we do not need another meeting at this time. A status report for the President could be prepared on the basis of a report on Ingersoll’s trip and on the cables from Ankara and Paris. On the other hand, without another meeting the energy in this effort may fade. State does not seem to have picked up the ball, or at least seems more interested in letting you or Justice take all the initiatives.

On balance I think it is time to call another Task Force meeting to mark the end of the first phase and to set the course for the next. I have attached (Tab A) a memorandum from you to the Deputy Attorney General requesting that John Ingersoll submit a report to the Task Force on the results of his trip. The report would be submitted prior to a Task Force meeting which I suggest should be called for December 1 (the first available date on your schedule). By that point we will have received the studies of the working group on intelligence collection, smuggling and pre-emptive buying of [Page 2] opium. On the basis of these reports and studies, the Task Force should be in a position to report to the President.

RECOMMENDATION:

That you agree to convene a Task Force meeting on December 1; and

That you sign the memorandum to Mr. Kleindienst at Tab A.

  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 357, Subject Files, Narcotics I. Sent for action. Kissinger approved the recommendation on November 21. The memorandum to the Deputy Attorney General was attached but not published.↩
  2. Sonnenfeldt provided an account of what had been accomplished since the Heroin Traffic Task Force meeting and requested that Kissinger convene another meeting of the Task Force.↩