181. Memorandum From the Executive Secretary of the Department of State (Tarnoff) to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski)1
Washington, January 19, 1980
SUBJECT
- King Hassan’s Offer to USG
We have unofficial word from King Hassan that Morocco is ready to provide “bases, transit and support facilities, or whatever is needed” to the U.S. in connection with U.S. efforts to develop a readiness posture vis-a-vis the southwest Asia region. The channel is unofficial but considered reliable: a Casablanca businessman known to be a close confidant of King Hassan, whom the King has used in the past to convey similar messages.
A Memorandum of Conversation in which this point was made is attached.2
Peter
Tarnoff
Executive Secretary
Executive Secretary
- Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Middle East, Subject File, Box 69, Morocco: 7/78–8/80. Secret.↩
- The January 17 memorandum of conversation between Coon and Bengelloun is attached but not printed. In the exchange, Coon wrote: “I said the basic issues regarding the arms package had not changed but the recent southwest Asian crisis had doubtless strengthened the argument that we needed to help our friends.” Bengelloun replied: “The King wanted the U.S. Government to know that Morocco stood 100 percent behind the U.S. Government in the latter’s effort to contain the expansionist Communist forces of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and elsewhere. He had heard that the U.S. might be interested in developing its standby military capabilities in the southwest Asian region. To this end, the King wanted the U.S. Government to know that Morocco was ready to provide ‛bases, transit and support facilities, whatever was needed.’”↩