Office of the Historian

Sources

Sources for the Foreign Relations Series

The editors of the Foreign Relations series have complete access to all the retired records and papers of the Department of State: the central files of the Department; the special decentralized files (“lot files”) of the Department at the bureau, office, and division levels; the files of the Department’s Executive Secretariat, which contain the records of international conferences and high-level official visits, correspondence with foreign leaders by the President and Secretary of State, and memoranda of conversations between the President and Secretary of State and foreign officials; and the files of overseas diplomatic posts. All of the Department’s indexed central files for 1964–1968 have been permanently transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration (Archives II) at College Park, Maryland. Almost all the Department’s decentralized office (or lot) files covering this period, which the National Archives deems worthy of permanent retention, have been transferred or are in the process of being transferred from the Department’s custody to Archives II.

The editors of the Foreign Relations series also have full access to the papers of President Johnson and other White House foreign policy records. Presidential papers maintained and preserved at the Presidential libraries include some of the most significant foreign affairs-related documentation from the Department of State and other Federal agencies including the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Department of State historians also have full access to records of the Department of Defense, particularly the records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretaries of Defense and their major assistants. The Central Intelligence Agency provided full access to its files.

Sources for Foreign Relations, 1964–1968, Volume XIX

In preparing this volume, the editor made extensive use of Presidential papers and other White House records at the Lyndon B. Johnson Library, which proved the best source of documentation on President Johnson’s role in the Middle East. Within the National Security File, the Country Files, including the Middle East Crisis File, the Head of State Correspondence Files, the file of Memos to the President, the files of the Special Committee of the National Security [Page XIV] Council, the National Security Council Meetings Files, and the files of Walt Rostow and Harold Saunders were particularly valuable. The National Security Council history of the Middle East Crisis at the Johnson Library also provided some important documents.

Thanks to the Johnson Library, Department of State historians have full access to the audiotapes of President Johnson’s telephone conversations, including conversations between President Johnson and Secretary of State Rusk, Secretary of Defense McNamara, Special Assistant to the President Rostow, and key members of Congress. The editor of this volume, however, found almost no tapes dealing with the 1967 Middle East conflict. One taped conversation has been used as the basis for an editorial note dealing with the beginning of the war.

Second in importance to the records at the Johnson Library were the records of the Department of State. The Department’s central files contain the cable traffic recording U.S. diplomatic relations with the countries of the Middle East, memoranda of diplomatic conversations, and memoranda proposing action or providing information. Some important documents are found only in the Department’s lot files. The Conference Files maintained by the Executive Secretariat contain briefing materials as well as records of conversations. Documentation on initiatives that were not approved is often found only in desk or bureau files. The Rusk Files contain records of Secretary Rusk’s telephone conversations.

The Central Intelligence Agency provides access to Department of State historians to high-level intelligence documents from those records in the custody of that Agency and at the Presidential libraries. This access is arranged and facilitated by the History Staff of the Center for the Study of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, pursuant to a May 2002 memorandum of understanding.

Among the intelligence records reviewed for the volume were files of the Directors of Central Intelligence, the CIA Registry of National Intelligence Estimates and Special National Intelligence Estimates, DCI Executive Registry Files, DDI Files, Directorate of Operations Near East Division files on the 1967 Middle East crisis, and files including material concerning the attack on the USS Liberty at the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research Historical Files. The editor of this volume also had access to NSA records at the National Security Agency Archives, including crisis files and files dealing with the USS Liberty incident.

Almost all of this documentation has been made available for use in the Foreign Relations series thanks to the consent of the agencies mentioned, the assistance of their staffs, and especially the cooperation and support of the National Archives and Records Administration.

[Page XV]

The following list identifies the particular files and collections used in the preparation of this volume. The declassification and transfer to the National Archives of these records is in process. Most of the records are already available for public review at the National Archives.

Unpublished Sources

Department of State

  • Central Files. See National Archives and Records Administration below.
  • Lot Files. For other lot files already transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, Maryland, Record Group 59, see National Archives and Records Administration below.
  • INR/IL Historical Files:
    • Files of the Office of Intelligence Coordination, containing records from the 1940s through the 1970s, maintained by the Office of Intelligence Liaison, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
  • National Archives and Records Administration College Park, Maryland
    • Record Group 59, Department of State Records
      • Subject-Numeric Central Files. The subject-numeric system is divided into broad categories: Administration, Consular, Culture and Information, Economic, Political and Defense, Science, and Social. Within each of these divisions are subject subcategories. For example, Political and Defense contains four subtopics: POL (Politics), DEF (Defense), CSM (Communism), and INT (Intelligence). Numerical subdivisions further define the subtopics. The following are the principal files consulted for this volume:
        • DEF 12 ISR: armaments, equipment, supplies, Israel
        • DEF 12–5 ISR: procurement and sale of armaments, Israel
        • DEF 12–5 JORDAN: procurement and sale of armaments, Jordan
        • DEF 12 NEAR E: armaments, equipment, supplies, Near East
        • DEF 12 US: armaments, U.S.
        • DEF 19–8 US–ISR: defense equipment and supplies, U.S.-Israel
        • DEF 19–8 US–JORDAN: defense equipment and supplies, U.S.-Jordan
        • DEF 19–8 US NEAR E: defense equipment and supplies, U.S.-Near East
        • DEF 19–8 US–USSR: defense equipment and supplies, U.S.-U.S.S.R.
        • NATO 3 LUX (LU): North Atlantic Treaty Organization meetings, Luxembourg
        • ORG 7 S: travel by the Secretary of State
        • POL ARAB–ISR: Arab-Israeli political affairs and relations
        • POL ARAB–ISR/UN: Arab-Israeli political issues at the United Nations
        • POL ISR–US: political affairs and relations, Israel-U.S.
        • POL JORDAN–US: political affairs and relations, Jordan-U.S.
        • POL MOR–US: political affairs and relations, Morocco-U.S.
        • POL UAR-US: political affairs and relations, United Arab Republic-U.S.
        • POL UK-US: political affairs and relations, United Kingdom-U.S.
        • POL US–USSR: political affairs and relations, U.S.-U.S.S.R.
        • POL 7 SUDAN: Arab summit meeting in Khartoum
        • POL 7 UAR: visits, meetings with leaders of the U.A.R.
        • POL 7 UK: visits, meetings with British leaders
        • POL 7 US/ANDERSON: visits, meetings of Robert Anderson
        • POL 15 UAR: U.A.R. Government
        • POL 15–1 ISR: head of state, Israel
        • POL 15–1 JORDAN: head of state, Jordan
        • POL 15–1 UAR: head of state, United Arab Republic
        • POL 15–1 US/JOHNSON: President Johnson’s meetings and correspondence with heads of state
        • POL 17 ISR–US: diplomatic and consular representation, Israel-U.S.
        • POL 17 UAR-US: diplomatic and consular representation, U.A.R.-U.S.
        • POL 23–9 UAR: rebellion, coups, U.A.R.
        • POL 27 ARAB–ISR: Arab-Israeli military operations
        • POL 27 ARAB–ISR/UN: Arab-Israeli conflict issues at the United Nations
        • POL 27 YEMEN: military operations, Yemen
        • POL 27–2 ARAB–ISR: Arab-Israeli military operations, blockade
        • POL 27–4 PAL/UN: United Nations Emergency Force in the Middle East
        • POL 27–4 UN: United Nations Emergency Force in the Middle East
        • POL 27–14 ARAB–ISR: Arab-Israeli cease-fire or peace settlement
        • POL 27–14 ARAB–ISR/SANDSTORM: Jordan-Israel talks concerning a peace settlement
        • POL 27–14 ARAB–ISR/UN: Arab-Israeli peace settlement issues at the United Nations
        • POL 29 UAR: political prisoners, U.A.R.
        • POL 32–1 ISR–JORDAN: territory and boundary disputes, Israel-Jordan
        • POL 32–1 ISR–SYR: territory and boundary disputes, Israel-Syria
        • POL 32–1 ISR–SYR/UN: territory and boundary disputes, Israel-Syria-UN
        • PS 8–4 US–ISR: protection of property, seizure, damage, U.S.-Israel
        • REF ARAB: Arab refugees
        • TRV ANDERSON: travel by Robert Anderson
      • Lot Files.
      • Conference Files: Lot 66 D 110, Entry 3051B
        • Records of official visits by heads of government and foreign ministers to the United States and international conferences attended by the President, the Secretary of State, and other U.S. officials, 1966–1972, maintained by the Executive Secretariat.
      • Executive Secretariat, Middle East Crisis Files, 1967, Entry 5190
        • Files on the 1967 Middle East crisis, including telegrams and records of the Control Group, maintained by the Executive Secretariat.
      • Kohler Files: Lot 71 D 460
        • Files of Ambassador Foy Kohler for 1967 and 1968 including Kohler/Dobrynin and Rusk/Gromyko Memoranda of Conversation, maintained by the Executive Secretariat, Department of State.
      • NEA Files: Lot 71 D 79
        • Files of the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, 1967–1969.
      • NEA/IAI Files: Lot 70 D 304
        • Files on Arab-Israel affairs for 1953–1954; 1963–1966; 1967, maintained by the Office of Near Eastern Affairs (later, the Office of Israel and Arab-Israel Affairs) of the Department of State.
      • Rusk Files: Lot 72 D 192, Entries 5376–5381
        • Files of Secretary of State Dean Rusk, 1961–1969, including texts of speeches and public statements, miscellaneous correspondence files, White House correspondence, chronological files, and memoranda of telephone conversations.
  • Central Intelligence Agency, Langley, Virginia
    • DCI Files, Job 80–B01285A
      • Files of Directors of Central Intelligence John A. McCone (1961–1965), William F. Raborn (1965–1966), and Richard M. Helms (1966–1973).
    • DCI Executive Registry Files, Job 80–R01580
    • DDI Files, Job 80–R01447R
    • ODDI Registry of National Intelligence Estimates and Special National Intelligence Estimates, Job 79–R01012A
    • DDO/NE Files, Job 68–S–626
      • Directorate of Operations Near East Division files on the 1967 Middle East crisis.
    • DDO/NE Files, Job 85–01007R
      • Directorate of Operations Near East Division files, including material concerning the attack on the USS Liberty.
  • Lyndon B. Johnson Library, Austin, Texas
  • Papers of President Lyndon B. Johnson
    • National Security File
      • Country File: Canada, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Middle East Crisis, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Republic, USSR
      • Head of State Correspondence File
      • Special Head of State Correspondence File
      • Agency File, United Nations
      • Name File, Saunders Memos, Califano Memos
      • Memos to the President, Walt W. Rostow
      • National Security Council Meetings File
      • Files of the Special Committee of the National Security Council
      • NSC Histories, Middle East Crisis
      • Files of Walt W. Rostow
      • Files of Harold H. Saunders
    • Special Files
      • Meeting Notes File
      • Office of the President File
      • President’s Daily Diary
      • Tapes and Transcripts of Telephone Conversations and Meetings
    • White House Central Files
    • Other Personal Papers
      • Rusk Appointment Book
      • Tom Johnson’s Notes of Meetings
  • National Security Agency
    • Center for Cryptologic History Historical Collection Series VIII, Crisis Files
    • NSA Archives, Accession No. 33824, Special Cryptologic Collection, U.S.S. Liberty Incident
    • NSA Archives, Accession No. 45981, U.S.S. Liberty Correspondence and Messages
  • Naval Historical Center
    • Operational Archives Branch, Immediate Office Files of the Chief of Naval Operations, 1969 Files, Liberty Incident
    • Operational Archives Branch, U.S.S. Liberty Incident, Message File
  • Naval Security Group
    • Naval Security Group Files, CNSG Pre-76 Inactive Files, Box 702 Naval Security Group File on U.S.S. Liberty.
    • Naval Security Group Files, Box 896, Pre-76 Inactive Files U.S.S. Liberty
  • Washington National Records Center, Suitland, Maryland
  • Records Group 330, Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense
    • OASD/ISA Files: FRC 71 A 4919
      • Top Secret files of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs for 1967.
    • OASD/ISA Files: FRC 76–140
      • Secret files of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs for 1967–1968.
    • OSD Files: FRC 72 A 2467
      • Top Secret files of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary, and their Special Assistants for 1967.
    • OSD Files: FRC 72 A 2468
      • Files of the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, and their Special Assistants for 1967.
    • OSD Files: FRC 73 A 1250
      • Files of the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, and their Special Assistants for 1968.
    • OSD Files: FRC 77–0075
      • Top Secret files maintained in Secretary McNamara’s office, 1961–1968, including records relating to Vietnam, draft presidential memoranda, and memoranda of conversations.

[Page XIX]

Published Sources

  • Documentary Collections
    • Central Intelligence Agency, Corona: America’s First Satellite Program. Washington: 1995
    • Israeli Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Israeli Foreign Relations: Selected Documents, 1947–1974. Jerusalem: 1976
    • United Nations, Public Papers of the Secretaries-General of the United Nations, Vols. III and IV, Dag Hammarskjold, 1956–1957
    • ———, Public Papers of the Secretaries-General of the United Nations, Vol. VII, U Thant, 1965–1967
    • ———, Yearbook of the United Nations, 1947–1949
    • U.S. Congress. Senate. U.S. Commitments to Foreign Powers, Hearings Before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Ninetieth Congress, First Session. Washington: 1967
    • U.S. Department of Defense, Review of Department of Defense Worldwide Communications, Phase I: Report of the Armed Services Investigating Subcommittee of the Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, Ninety-Second Congress, First Session, May 10, 1971. Washington: 1971
    • U.S. Department of State Bulletin, 1951–1981. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1951–1981
    • ———, A Decade of American Foreign Policy: Basic Documents, 1941–1949. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1985
    • ———, American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1957–1967. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1961–1969
    • U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1957. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1961
    • ———, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, John F. Kennedy, 1963. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1964
    • ———, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson, 1966–1967. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1968
  • Memoirs
    • Michael Brecher, with Benjamin Geist. Decisions in Crisis: Israel, 1967 and 1973. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980
    • Eban, Abba. An Autobiography. New York: Random House, 1977
    • ———. Personal Witness: Israel Through My Eyes. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1992
    • Johnson, Lyndon B. The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency, 1963–1969. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971
    • McPherson, Harry. A Political Education. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1972
    • Parker, Richard B., ed. The Six-Day War: A Retrospective. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida, 1996
    • Rafael, Gideon. Destination Peace: Three Decades of Israeli Foreign Policy: A Personal Memoir. New York: Stein and Day, 1981
    • Rikhye, Maj.-Gen. Indar Jit. The Sinai Blunder: Withdrawal of the United Nations Emergency Force Leading to the Six-Day War of June 1967. London and Totowa, N.J.: Frank Cass and Company Limited, 1980
    • Rusk, Dean (as told to Richard Rusk). As I Saw It, Daniel S. Papp, ed. New York: Penguin Books, 1990
    • Wilson, Harold. The Chariot of Israel: Britain, America, and the State of Israel. Weidenfeld and Nicolson and Michael Joseph, 1981