1 - No Objection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 TOP SECRET XGDS POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING January 27 1977 TIME AND PLACE 10 50 am-ll 25am White House Situation Room SUBJECT Panama OSD REVIEW COMPLETED Participants State Secretary of State Vance Chairman Terrence To nan Arnb Ellsworth Bunker Am b Sol Linowitz Amb Andrew Young Arnb William Jorden NSC Review Completed Defense Secretary of Defense Harold Brown Eugene McAuliffe State Dept review completed JCS Gen George S Brown Lt Gen Welborn G Dolvin U S Army Ret CIA Enno Knoche 25X1 NSC Zbigniew Brzezinski William G Hyland Robert Pastor Jeanne W Davis SUMMARY OF ACTIONS AND CON CL US ONS It was agreed that 1 it was essential to reaffirm the Tack-Kissinger principles TOP SECRET XGDS _ __ _ _ • -•••••••••••• • • - • - • - - • - --• -•••• - -• '• --- N _ ____ • _ -•-----•••• _ _ _ _ _ ••••-•• ••---••n••• ••• ••• • n _ -··- ' ··-------··· '• '·--··--·-------·---· ···-··· No Obiection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 ' - ·No Objection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 ·····•-···--·-·····--• '• - - TOP SECRET XGDS 2 we would resume the negotiations on an exploratory basis without a formal position option 2 of the State Department's paper it was also agreed however that Dr Brzezinski would get some guidance from the President as to his views so that we could be clearer as to our position when we enter into these exploratory discussions 3 we should move quickly hoping for completion of a treaty by June submission to the President in July and to the Congress in August 4 the President should make some reference to Panama in his fireside chat and or in the State of the Union message the NSC staff would work with the U S negotiators and the State Department on draft wording 5 we should immediately begin a well-ozganized and coordinated effort involving the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Defense and State Departments to obtain Congressional support particularly among the new Senators it was also suggested that a National Citizens Committee on the Panama Canal be set up to stimulate a national educational campaign directed at defense-oriented and other groups 6 we would agree to the year 2000 for Panamanian assumption of control of the Canal provided adequate arrangements could be made for neutrality and post-treaty events all agreed including the Chiefs of Staff on a formula which would make the U S and Panama both guarantors of the neutrality of the Canal without specifying how this responsibility would be exercised TOP SECRET XGDS ________ ___ ___ ________ _________ -------No Objection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 ___ _____ _ No Objection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 TOP SECRET XGDS 2 Secretary Vance I'm sorry the papers for this meeting were late In the future we will get them out on time It was a big bundle and I hope you had time to get through them With regard to the international and domestic setting Foreig n Minister Boyd arrives January 31 for meetings with Ambassadors Bunker and Linowitz and with me and other State Department people This is not a formal meeting • the is no specific agenda I I r 25X1 25X1 I Secretary Vance The Panamanians first envisaged this as a negotiating session but i instructed Ambassador Bill Jorden to make it clear that this will not be a negotiating session We will merely discuss the background of the negotiations 25X1 Amb Jorden I saw Boyd yesterday morning and he has backed of£ the idea of a £o rmal negotiating session He has a list of items on which he will express the Panamanian point of view He will also r_aise the idea of some joint stateme nt following the talks He uncle rstands we have made no commitment to a stateme nt I have a copy of their proposed text which is rather bland It basically reaffirms the TackKis singer principles Secretary Vance That is our first question Do we want to reaffirm the Tack-Kissinger principles I think we should and Ambassador Bunker agrees __ -- TOP SECRET XGDS -- - - -----····· ---··- ···-·--· · •-·--- ' ····-· ···----·-· ··-·- _--·--·-····· No Objection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 No Objection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 TOP SECRET XGDS 3 Secretary Brown I am i n complete agreement Secretary Vance Does anyone disagree We could reaffirm the principles then possibly later make a stateme nt as to how we propose to proceed with the negotiations Amb Li nowitz This is particularly important because 0£ the President's statements du ring the campaign Reaffirmation of the Tack-Kissinger principles is indispensable Secretary Va nee Did you see the ti eke r item reporting that the widow of Chilean Prime Minister Salvatore Allende was refused admission to Ft Amador Apparently Torrijos' sister jumped out of the car and demanded e ntrance It was quite a scene Tb is b as become public and is getting a big press play i n Panama and elsewhere Gen Brown You must realize there was some poor PFC at tb e gate and he was just following instructions We can always have an event such as this i£ someone wants to provoke one Amb Jorden There have been special security measures in the Zone since the bombings last November Tb e Papal Nuncio has been stopped as have several members of the diplomatic corps Dr Brzezinski Do you mean they were not allowed in at all or had to go through some so rt of controls Amb Jorde n They have to go through some control We have succeeded in getting special passes for the diplomatic corps but Mrs Allende has not asked for a pass These gates are ma nned by a lot of young people---some are not MPs just soldiers pulled of£ other duty Gen Brown Mrs Torrijos Torrijos' sister was lucky she wasn't handcuffed a nd marched off to the brig Secretary Va nee Oh that makes me £eel better· 25X1 TOP SECRET XGDS --- -------·--------·---·----··•-• •---·- -······ ·---------· No Obiection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 - ·------ -- ··-·---- _ ··-·· No Objection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 4 TOP SECRET XGDS Secretary Va nee Cou ld we have some consideration of the conduct of the negotiations We have two basic options 1 to start with a formal offer or 2 to commence with informal exploratio ns We should start promptly particularly with the latter since we would like to look toward completion of the treaty in June submission to the President in July and to Congress in August Let's go around the table on these two options Ellsworth Bunker Amb Bunker I am strongly in favor of Option 2 Option l would be too time-co nsuming Also we don't know enough about the Panamanian attitude We assume they will stick to the year 2000 but we should explore what we can get in return We could talk on a what-if basis 25X1 ad referendum of course I told him that i£ we agreed to 2000 we would need the strongest kind of neutrality guarantee I told him the US can't depend on anyone else for its security--that we had to assure this ourselves Boyd said he understood this I think we can make progress if we start exploring They're more flexible now than at any time during my negotiations with them They need a treaty their economic situatio n is bad If we want to get a treaty by June 1 Option 2 is the only way to go Secretary Vance This is of course interrelated to the Cong re ssio nal and public aspects which we will discuss later Harold Brown Secretary Brown I think negotiating flexibility is necessary It would be helpful for them to know where we want to come out but a formal positio n at this time would leak and might not be an acceptable solution Gen Brown I agree Amb Young Fine with me Dr B rzezi nski I support Option 2 but I feel that if we do not stake out a clearer position now we will have a problem with the Congress and with the Panamanians I agree we should reaffirm the Tack-Kissinger principles but I believe we should get some idea of the President's views The faster we ca n move the better off we will be I support Option 2 but with some clarificatio n of the li ne we will take taking into account the President's views Amb Li nowitz I agree with Zbig __ Secretary Va nee Bill Jorden You're the ma non the ground Amb Jorden It is very important for us to move quickly • The mood in Pa nama now is optimal £or settleme nt TOP SECRET XGDS ------------------··-···------·············--No Obiection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 No Objection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 TOP SECRET XGDS Secretary Va nee 5 Terry Todman Mr Todma n Option 2 Secretary Va nee Let's talk about Cong res sio nal attitudes Senator Thurmo nd is about to introduce his anti-treaty resolution again I don't know the vote count I have tried to reach Senator C ra nston to get a reading Amb Linowitz I have talked to Cranston and he tells me that 12 out of the 18 Democrats who sig ned o n to Thurmond's proposal before will not do it again He thinks that if Thurmond finds the Democrats a re not suppo rti ng him he may not proceed Secretary Vance There were 37 last time I think we can talk to some of the new Senators I can talk to John Chaffee Amb Linowitz I've talked to him--he's okay Secretary Va nee Cranston Do we have a count on the Republidan side I'll ask Amb Linowitz Cranston would be very pleased to get a call from you Amb Bunker Jake Javits could be helpful on the Republican side Dr Brzezinski And Howard Baker Amb Jorden Javits has been very helpful Dr Brzezinski Would it be useful for the President to make some reference to Pa nama in his fireside chat or in the State of the Union message Secretary Va nee That is essential Amb Young In the broader political context could we turn around some of this anti-American feeling by getting Torrijos up here on a state visit soon Secretary Vance I just don't see how we could fit him in is swamped The President Gen Brow n Also his image wouldn't tur n these red-necks around Its the first time I have ever been eyeball-to-eyeball with a revolutionary at least knowingly He's a soldier and a tough soldier There's no TOP SECRET XGDS No Objection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 No Objection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 TOP SECRET XGDS 6 humility the re Secretary Vance I'm sympathetic to the idea and that's why we asked Boyd to come up so early practically a week after Inauguration That's about all we can do Amb Young Thurmo nd is up for reelection in 1978 and he is tiying desperatelyto divide the black vote in South Carolina I could call some of the black leaders down there and have them call him Amb Li nowitz We should have an organized effort to approach the new Se nators--at least get them to keep open minds Some of them don1 t feel that they have been brought into things enough Secretary Vance I agree They feel lonely and that they really need more information tha n they are getting to do their jobs Gould we look at Tab 10 a minute on Congressional and public support We need to pla n our strategy based on these ideas a nd ideas from others The fireside chat idea is a good o ne Mr Knoche I do n't want to get the CIA into this but whe n I was meeting with the Senate Select Committee o n Intelligence the other day I got a long lecture from Thurmond on his views on Panama which he asked me to pass on to the Administration He was citing the strength of the polls which support his position In that light a Presidential statement is essential Secretary Va nee There is a Roper poll It shows large opposition but analysis i ndicates that this opposition is thin and can be turned around if people are made to understand the alternatives through a frank a nd full discussio n of the issues Amb Linowitz Right after the President makes his comments it would be helpful to the President and to Cy Vance to launch a National Citizens' Committee o_n Panama There are lots of people who are interested and who could be marshalled Dr Brzezinski We should also get the defe nse-oriented groups in the country to try to co nvince the Congress Their doubts concern national security and they might be reassured A re we agreed to recommend to the President that he insert a stateme nt into his speech Bob Pastor can work with Ambassadors Bunker and Linowitz on precise wording Gen Brown A while ago we had a group of about 60 from the American Legio n VFW etc We didn't put our case well and we didn't do very well with them I was invited into the exercise late a nd by the time I TOP SECRET XGDS ----- --------- ------ No ob·ection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 ' ' _ No Objection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 TOP SECRET XGDS 7 there the earlier speakers had put them up in arms They were really fired up I tried to calm them down a little We should do this again Secretary Va nee to Gen Brow n Your support is the key Ge n Brown It can be done i£ it's done right The Ame rica n Legion is dead set against us They have mounted a n active campaign Secretary Brown misguided Dr Brzezinski They are motivated by patriotism but they are They think they are countering weak civilians Secretary Brown That's why we have to depend on the military Sometime when George Brown and I a re o n the Hill we will have a question planted Then we can speak out Gen Brown Pm worried about the backlash on Panama I used to give a speech saying that our involveme nt in Vietnam was not in our natio nal interest it was thousands of miles away but the situation in Panama was in our national interest They would stand up and cheer I would tell them they were misinterpreting me they were wro ng but they would still cheer I finally stopped giving the speech Showing an American Legion pamphlet They send me these all the time He re we I re accused of selling arms to Pa nama paid £or in cash by a country that is broke · Secretary Vance So we have decided to develop more fleshed-out programs for Co ogress and the public We will count on Gen Brow n's help Gen Brown I'm a believer I'll do whatever I can Secretary Va nee And Zbig will get a statement for the President to issue and some guida nce from him Dr Brzezinski Right Secretary Vance It is important £or us to give Boyd a date o n which we are ready to resume negotiations- What about the 2nd week 0£ February TOP SECRET XGDS ----------- ----·---·-·--· ___ ______ _ _____ _____ No Objection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 _____ __ ' ---------' _ - ' ·-- • 1 No Objection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 8 TOP SECRET XGDS Amb Linowitz Will we have something public from the President before that date Dr Brzezinski If it is the fireside chat is tentatively scheduled for February 12 Secretary Va nce The State of the Union The 12th is okay for the Presidential statement Dr Brzezinski Could we go aver Tab 9 and get a sense of where we are headed on the issues Secretary Vance I think the year 2000 is a given will budge on that Dr Brzezinski I don't think they So that's Option 1 Secretary Vance Right O n duration we will have to feel them out The rest of the issues are intertwined We can't decide definitely on them today I have my own ideas and I imagine there are differing views around the table We wo n't press on that today Gen Brown We will need to know the results of the Boyd meeting · There's no point in our going in with something that is entirely unrealistic Secretary Va nee Post-treaty arrangements and neutrality are clearly intertwined The remaining issues are not that importa t1t are they Amb Bunker minor issues Right We have made a lot of progress on some of the Secretary Vance So we are agreed on 2000 with a n adequate way to work on neutrality a nd post-treaty events Gen Brown The Chiefs are now with us I went back to them last night after my talk with Harold Brown The Navy would like to be a little harder but can accept the position that both nations will guarantee the neutrality of the Canal after the tenure is up but we won't say how Secretary Brown The Panamanians may interpret that as being with their specific approval but if we don't that's okay Dr Brzezinski Defe nse had wanted residual rights in perpetuity Gen Brown At first Then Harold Brown suggested something simpler -----and the Chiels went along TOP SECRET XGDS --------------c--·--------· ' ' ___ No ___ ____ __ _________ _ __ --·-·•-• •---• '-•-· tion To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 · - ---- ------ No Objection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 TOP SECRET XGDS 9 Sec reta r y Brown Each c aunt ry will guarantee neutrality in the Canal Dr Brzezinski And we would interpret that to mean that if there we re a violation we would move in Gen Brown We would decide that at the time Secretary Va nce Amb Linowitz That's real progress that's very good To whom is this guarantee made Gen Brown It is stated in the treaty then it is seen on the Hill We would have to decide what action we would take at the particular point in time We can't decide now what we would do 50 years from now Secretary Vance The US and Panama are guarantors of the neutrality of the Canal Excellent Secretary Brown Of course it may not work when we get into words Gen Brown But it points the direction TOP SECRET XGDS - - - • - • - - - - • - - - - - - - • - - - ••••- •••• ------- ' __ - - - - - - - • • - - - - • - - • • • • - - - • • • • • • • • • - - • - • • • • • - • • • - • - - • - - • - - - • • • • • - - - • • • • • - - - - - • • ' T O ••---• No ob·ection To Declassification 2008 06 10 NLC-SAFE 39 C-24-96-1-7 ••