Foundations of Foreign Policy, 1974–1980
2. Address by Jimmy Carter
Source: The Presidential Campaign 1976, volume I, part I: Jimmy Carter, pp. 66–70. Carter delivered prepared remarks before the American Chamber of Commerce. Carter traveled to Japan to attend the Trilateral Commission meeting held in Tokyo and Kyoto May 30–31. Private citizens of Western Europe, Japan, the United States, and Canada established the Trilateral Commission in 1973 to promote cooperation among these regions on common problems. Zbigniew Brzezinski, the Trilateral Commission’s Director, addressed the members on the last day of the conference. His remarks are printed in Charles B. Heck, ed., Trialogue: Trilateral Leaders Discuss Global Redistribution of Power and Problems of Trilateral Community, Japan, May 1975 (New York: The Trilateral Commission, 1975), pp. 11–14. Brzezinski recalled that Carter’s performance at the meeting had impressed him and convinced him to support Carter’s bid for the Democratic nomination, even as the other likely Democratic nominees sought his counsel. Brzezinski began authoring foreign policy papers for Carter, and by the end of 1975 Brzezinski “had emerged as Carter’s principal foreign policy adviser.” (Brzezinski, Power and Principle, pp. 6–7)
3. Statement by Senator Walter F. Mondale
Source: Minnesota Historical Society, Mondale Papers, Senatorial Papers, Press Relations/Media Activities Records, Speeches, 1975, Senate Floor Statement on American Foreign Policy After Vietnam, June 2, 1975. No classification marking. Aaron’s name appears on the first page of the statement in an unknown hand. Mondale delivered his statement on the Senate floor. During 1973 and 1974, Mondale had launched an exploratory campaign for the Democratic nomination, ultimately withdrawing his name from consideration in November 1974. He later recalled, “On the day I announced I was ending that experiment, I felt huge relief. After that I had no intention of going back into the presidential arena. I felt I had found my sweet spot in the Senate.” (The Good Fight, p. 157)
4. Remarks by Jimmy Carter
Source: The Presidential Campaign 1976, volume I, part I: Jimmy Carter, pp. 109–119. Carter spoke before the members of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations in the Prudential Auditorium. (Sean Toolan, “Might Send U.S. Troops to Africa, Carter Says,” Chicago Tribune, March 16, 1976, p. 3) On March 16, Carter won the Illinois Democratic primary; see Jim Squires, “A Big Bouquet for Carter and a Wreath for Reagan,” Chicago Tribune, March 17, 1976, p. 17.
5. Memorandum From the Director of the Trilateral Commission (Brzezinski) to the Members of the Trilateral Commission
Source: Carter Library, Brzezinski Donated Historical Material, Trilateral Commission Files, Box 6, Zbigniew Brzezinski Chron File: 5/1/76–12/31/76. No classification marking.
6. Address by Jimmy Carter
Source: The Presidential Campaign 1976, volume I, part I: Jimmy Carter, pp. 266–275. Carter spoke before members of the Foreign Policy Association in the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. (Helen Dewar, “Carter: Consult Allies on Policy,” The Washington Post, June 24, 1976, pp. A1, A6) In late December 1975, Carter had asked Brzezinski to develop a general outline of a basic statement on foreign affairs. Brzezinski and Gardner submitted a memorandum to Carter in January 1976, which, Brzezinski noted, would later become the basis of the address: “The speech was Carter’s major statement on foreign policy, and it foreshadowed many of his actions and concerns as President.” (Power and Principle, p. 7)
9. Address by Jimmy Carter
Source: The Presidential Campaign 1976, volume I, part II: Jimmy Carter, pp. 709–714. Carter delivered his address before the convention of B’nai B’rith in the ballroom of the Washington Hilton Hotel. (Don Oberdorfer, “Carter Speaks on Human Rights,” The Washington Post, September 9, 1976, p. A–8)
10. Memorandum From Zbigniew Brzezinski to Jimmy Carter
Source: Carter Library, 1976 Presidential Campaign, Issues Office, Issues Office—Stuart Eizenstat, Box 9, Debates—Briefing Material [2]. No classification marking. Carter initialed the top right-hand corner of the first page of the memorandum. Brzezinski circled the word “debate” in the subject line of the memorandum. Brzezinski attached a copy of his Columbia University business card to the memorandum and added the following handwritten comment: “Stu—I hope the enclosed is of help in order to focus the debate. ZB.” The second Presidential debate was scheduled to take place in San Francisco on October 6; for additional information, see Document 11.
13. Memorandum From Zbigniew Brzezinski, Richard Gardner, and Henry Owen to President-Elect Carter
Source: Carter Library, Plains File, Subject File, Box 41, Transition: Foreign Policy Priorities, 11/76. No classification marking. Sent to Carter under a November 3 memorandum from Brzezinski, Gardner, and Owen, indicating it contained the “foreign policy priorities for the first six months.” Another copy of the memorandum is in the Minnesota Historical Society, Mondale Papers, Vice Presidential Papers, Counsel and Deputy Chief of Staff Files, Transition Files, Transition Notebooks. In addition to this memorandum and overview memoranda prepared by Ball, Sorensen, Warnke, and Vance, Carter–Mondale Policy Planning Group members Lake and Schaffer prepared 42 separate foreign and defense policy options papers. Copies of these papers are in the Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Office File, 1976–1977 Transition File (Anthony Lake), Box 112, Options Papers: Foreign and Defense Policy (Originals): Undated [I], [II], and [III] and in the Minnesota Historical Society, Mondale Papers, Vice Presidential Papers, Counsel and Deputy Chief of Staff Files, Transition Files, Transition Notebooks.
16. Address by Vice President Mondale
Source: Department of State Bulletin, March 7, 1977, pp. 182–185. All brackets are in the original. Mondale spoke before the North Atlantic Council (NAC) at NATO Headquarters. The Vice President traveled to Brussels (January 23–24), Bonn (January 24–26), Berlin (January 26), Rome (January 26–27), Vatican City (January 27), London (January 27–28), Paris (January 28–29), Keflavik (January 29), and Tokyo (January 30–February 1). For the President’s remarks prior to Mondale’s departure, the text of news statements and addresses, and Mondale’s remarks at a news conference following his return to Washington, see ibid., pp. 181–182, 185–197. Reports on the trip are in the Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Special Projects, Henry Owen File, Box 29, Summit: London: VP Trip, 1–3/77 and Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Trip File, Box 31, Vice President, Europe and Japan, 1/23/77–2/1/77. Additional material is in the Minnesota Historical Society, Mondale Papers, Vice Presidential Papers, Central Files: Trips, TR 2–1, Foreign Trip Upon Taking Office: Working Visit to Western Europe and Japan, January 23, 1977–February 1, 1977. Mondale later noted that he proposed the trip to Carter in order to “introduce the Carter–Mondale administration to our major allies,” adding that he “met the leaders we would work with for the next several years, asked for their cooperation in coordinating a series of economic stimulus measures, told them that we hoped to operate in an atmosphere of close consultation, and got home without touching off any major international incidents.” (Mondale, The Good Fight, p. 199)
17. Letter From President Carter to Soviet General Secretary Brezhnev
Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Office File, Outside the System File, Box 69, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR): Brezhnev-Carter Correspondence: 1–2/77. Confidential. Also printed in Foreign Relations, 1977–1980, vol. VI, Soviet Union, Document 1.
19. Memorandum for the Record
Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Subject File, Box 50, Presidential Memos for the Record: 2–6/77. Secret. The meeting took place in the Cabinet Room at the White House. Drafted on February 2, presumably by Schecter.
21. Memorandum From the White House Press Secretary (Powell) to President Carter
Source: Carter Library, Office of the Staff Secretary, Handwriting File, Presidential File, Box 9, 2/22/77. No classification marking. A stamped notation indicates that the President saw it. The President wrote “cc Zbig. J” in the top right-hand corner of the memorandum. Hutcheson sent a copy of the memorandum to Brzezinski under a February 22 note, indicating that it was forwarded to Brzezinski for information. (Ibid.)
22. Statement by Secretary of State Vance Before the Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations
Source: Department of State Bulletin, March 14, 1977, pp. 236–241. In his February 24 evening report to the President, Vance noted that the questions posed “covered the broad range from policy considerations to details on the financial composition of several of the items in our AID budget.” He added, “Human rights was the subject of a number of questions, with the Committee appearing to understand the difficulties that one faces in balancing human rights objectives with security and development objectives.” (Carter Library, Plains File, Subject File, Box 37, State Department Evening Reports, 1–2/77) Vance provided similar overviews of the administration’s assistance programs to the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations on March 2 and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on Foreign Assistance on March 23. These statements are printed in Department of State Bulletin, March 28, 1977, pp. 284–298 and April 11, 1977, pp. 336–339.
24. Action Memorandum From the Director of the Policy Planning Staff (Lake) to Secretary of State Vance
Source: National Archives, RG 59, Policy and Planning Staff—Office of the Director, Records of Anthony Lake, 1977–1981: Lot 82D298, Box 2, TL 2/16–28/77. Unclassified. Drafted by Vogelgesang. There is no indication that Vance saw the memorandum.
25. Action Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (Maynes) and the Director of the Policy Planning Staff (Lake) to Secretary of State Vance
Source: National Archives, RG 59, Policy and Planning Staff—Office of the Director, Records of Anthony Lake, 1977–1981: Lot 82D298, Box 2, TL 3/1–15/77. No classification marking. Drafted by Neidle and concurred in by Janeway. Neidle initialed for Janeway. A notation in an unknown hand reads: “Tony, I signed off for you.” There is no indication that Vance saw the memorandum.
26. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski) to President Carter
Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Brzezinski Office File, Subject Chron File, Box 125, Weekly National Security Report: 2–4/77. Top Secret; Sensitive. Both Carter and Mondale initialed the memorandum. Brzezinski later explained that he had “initiated, approximately a month after his [Carter’s] inaugural, the practice of sending him a weekly NSC report. It was meant to be a highly personal and private document, for the President alone. It contained usually some additional intelligence information or reports on policy implementation, as well as an occasional summary of more incisive papers written by NSC staffers, and frequently the report was opened by a brief one-page-long editorial piece by me, entitled ‘Opinion.’” (Power and Principle, p. 65)
27. Statement by the Deputy Secretary of State (Christopher) Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on Foreign Assistance
Source: Department of State Bulletin, March 28, 1977, pp. 289–291. All brackets are in the original. In a February 9 action memorandum to Christopher, Jenkins proposed that Christopher testify before the subcommittee, chaired by Senator Humphrey, owing to Christopher’s eventual “direct supervision over the [Department’s] Office of Human Rights.” (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P770043–2533) The Department transmitted an advance copy of Christopher’s remarks to all diplomatic posts in telegram 49664, March 5. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D770077–0054) For the record of the Humphrey subcommittee hearings, see Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Foreign Assistance of the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, Ninety-Fifth Congress, First Session, on Human Rights Issues and Their Relationship to Foreign Assistance Programs, March 4 and 7, 1977 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1977).
29. Address by President Carter Before the United Nations General Assembly
Source: Public Papers: Carter, 1977, Book I, pp. 444–451. All brackets are in the original. The President spoke at 7:35 p.m. in the General Assembly Hall at the Headquarters of the United Nations; Waldheim introduced the President. Following the address, Carter attended a reception hosted by Waldheim. Documentation concerning Department of State and NSC efforts in preparing the President’s address is in the National Archives, RG 59, Policy and Planning Staff—Office of the Director, Records of Anthony Lake, 1977–1981: Lot 82D298, Box 2, TL 3/1–3/15/77; Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Subject File, Box 28, Human Rights: 2–4/77; and Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Defense/Security, Huntington, Box 37, Human Rights: 2–3/77.
30. Minutes of a Policy Review Committee Meeting
Source: Carter Library, National Security Council, Institutional Files, 1977–1981, Box 38, PRM/NSC–17 [3]. Secret. The meeting took place in the White House Situation Room. No drafting information appears on the minutes; however, Pastor sent the minutes to Brzezinski under a March 25 memorandum and requested that Brzezinski comment “late today or perhaps tomorrow.”