Office of the Historian

58. National Security Decision Memorandum 2001

Washington, January 5, 1973.

TO

  • The Secretary of State
  • The Secretary of Defense
  • The Director of Central Intelligence

SUBJECT

  • Policy Toward Morocco, NSSM 160

Following the meeting of the Senior Review Group on Policy Toward Morocco November 30, 1972, the President has decided that the following views should guide our course of action in the coming months:

—Our ties with Morocco are of sufficient importance that we should be responsive to Moroccan requests that we reduce our presence at the communications facilities if this is needed to preserve our overall relationship. To this end, we should engage in negotiations with the Moroccan government at an early date concerning our continued use of communications and base facilities.

—We will continue to deal with the King as the focal point of authority and should take some steps to reassure him of continued U.S. support.

—In addition to reducing our presence and profile at the communications facilities we should make contingency preparations for transferring some communications activities outside of Morocco as early as possible.

Henry A. Kissinger

  1. Summary: The memorandum lists Presidential decisions following the Senior Review Group meeting on Policy Toward Morocco, NSSM 160, November 30, 1972.

    Source: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box CL 315, National Security Council, National Security Memoranda, NSDM August 1972–March 1973. Secret. For NSSM 160 and the minutes of the November 30, 1972, Senior Review Group meeting see Documents 132 and 135 in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, vol. E–5, Part 2, Documents on Northern Africa, 1969–1972.

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