242. Memorandum From Secretary of State Vance to President Carter1
[Omitted here is material unrelated to the Western Sahara.]
3. Solarz on Western Sahara—Steve Solarz has concluded from his recent trip to North Africa2 that the US should not change its policy against providing arms to Morocco for possible Saharan use. He had previously leaned towards permitting the sale of military equipment such as OV–10’s and COBRA helicopters. Solarz told Dave Newsom today that he now thinks the Polisario is not anti-US and could be an important force in the area. In addition, he thinks that self-determination for the Polisario within an overall territorial settlement would be consistent with American ideals and serve our interests; an altered arms policy would arrest favorable trends in US-Algerian relations and changes in Algerian policies toward the Soviets; the situation within Morocco is not as bad as pictured and the US-Moroccan relationship is not as threatened as he had expected (he believes it can weather an unchanged arms policy), and Morocco is increasingly isolated diplomatically because of OAU summit decisions and its annexation of the former Mauritanian sector of the Western Sahara. Solarz predicted that [Page 590] the Administration would face strong opposition within Congress if it changed its arms supply policy. He was grateful that the Administration had actively sought Congressional consultations on this issue.
[Omitted here is material unrelated to the Western Sahara.]
- Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Subject File, Box 22, Evening Reports (State): 9/79. Secret. Carter initialed the memorandum.↩
- In telegrams 5655 and 5664 from Rabat, August 13, the Embassy reported on a meeting between Solarz and Hassan. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P840131–2052 and P840131–2051, respectively) In telegram 2993 from Nouakchott, August 18, the Embassy reported on Solarz’s discussions with Mauritanian officials. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D790375–0891) In telegram 2284 from Algiers, August 21, the Embassy reported on a meeting between Solarz and Bendjedid. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D790381–0538)↩