Office of the Historian

399. Memorandum From Thomas Thornton of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski)1

Washington, December 31, 1979

SUBJECT

  • Military Sales Pipeline for Pakistan (C)

State called to give me a rundown on the military sales pipeline to Pakistan and the status of pending requests. This, in effect, is what the President has been talking about when he talks of expediting, etc.2 It is not very impressive.3 (C)

The pipeline is fairly big in dollar terms—about $900 million—but the items are not very exciting. About $35 million is various kinds of ammunition and about $16 million communications equipment. There are still 74 APCs to be delivered (from an original order of 230) and 227 (of 1,000) light trucks. Also 15 tank recovery vehicles and torpedoes and ASROCs for the two Gearings that the Paks already have. A number of the items are due for imminent delivery in any event; perhaps it would be possible to speed up the APCs and howitzers which may otherwise not get to Pakistan until August. Nothing is scheduled for later than August. (C)

Pending requests are even more modest. There are the other two Gearings (which have now been approved), $5 million worth of TOWs, some jeeps, 20 howitzers and a destroyer tender. We should have no trouble approving any of these except possibly the tender which will require special legislation. (C)

  1. Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Country File, Box 59, Pakistan: 5–12/79. Confidential. Sent for information. A copy was sent to Schecter. In the upper right-hand corner of the memorandum, Brzezinski wrote: “We need a complete package of what is needed. ZB.”↩
  2. In his December 28 telephone call to Zia, for example, Carter expressed the need to expedite delivery of military equipment that Pakistan had ordered. See Document 395. In addition, the Washington Post reported on December 31 that Carter, in a December 29 luncheon “made known to reporters” that he was resolved to speed up the delivery of military supplies to Pakistan. (Don Oberdorfer, “U.S. Affirms Commitment to Pakistan,” Washington Post, December 31, 1979, p. A1)↩
  3. Brzezinski underlined this sentence.↩