196. Country Analysis and Strategy Paper1
THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Part I—Statement of Rationale and Basic Strategy
The future course of the Dominican Republic is of great importance to the United States for three inter-related reasons: (a) its strategic location in the Caribbean chain of islands which puts it on our geographic doorstep and very close to Communist Cuba; (b) the primitiveness and fragility of its political, economic, social and military institutions, which make for chronic instability and consequent vulnerability to extremism; and (c) the serious damage to our interests which would be caused by the assumption of power in another Caribbean country by forces inimical to us.
Four hundred years of political, economic and social underdevelopment, thirty years of corrosive dictatorship, and the last six years of political turbulence and instability have produced a nation and a people uncertain of themselves and their future, erratically searching for a national identity and character while yearning for democracy and the economic and social advances and the peace they associate with it. Political factors, demographic developments, economic and social inequities and proximity to Cuba have contributed to a chronic ferment on the national scene with youth perhaps the most volatile element.
The United States has a vital interest in denying this Caribbean nation to communism, including the Cuban variant. Related directly to this interest is the necessity to prevent a regression into authoritarianism of the right, with its almost certain consequence, in the Dominican environment, of enhancing communist prospects. Any long-term success in this regard must necessarily entail far-reaching economic, social and military reforms and the concomitant creation and strengthening of indigenous institutions which today lack wholly or in part the capability to assure stability and progress or to strengthen the nation against domestic or foreign subversion. From the standpoint of the inter-American system, it is equally important that the Dominican [Page 458] Republic be strengthened to the point where it may function as an independent, fully sovereign and responsible member of the international community.
Circumstances of geography and history—but only secondarily economics—have deeply involved the United States in developments in the Dominican Republic. Many factors favor our exercising a significant influence. The first is our very proximity, which predisposes many Dominicans to accept as inevitable a very important U.S. role. A second is the crucial need of the Dominican Republic for our economic and technical assistance. A third is a combination of the first two: the unusually developed tendency of many Dominicans in all walks of life to view the United States as the arbiter of their nationʼ destinies, for good or for evil. It is easy and dangerous, however, to overestimate the extent to which even a powerful nation can at this moment in history work its will on a weak neighbor. The recent history of U.S. involvement in this country has emphasized certain inherent limitations on the exercise of our influence. First, there are the restraints placed on U.S. policies and actions by a decent regard for domestic and international opinion and by the ultimate ability of the Dominicans to have recourse to international organizations against real or alleged abuses of our influence. Second, the degree to which our prestige has become committed here is in itself an element which Dominicans, in and out of power, can use to resist our influence in matters in which their and our interests diverge because they realize the very restricted alternatives we have under present circumstances. Underlying these other limitations on our influence is the basic, persistent fact of the essential primitivism of Dominican society, politics and institutions which often vitiates, distorts or frustrates our inputs, be they political, economic, social or military. Our very special importance in the Dominican Republic gives us an uncommon ability and opportunity to counsel, persuade and guide; it does not give us the power to command.
Following the revolution of April 1965, our immediate objective had to be the restoration of order in the Dominican Republic and a return to legally elected constitutional government and, once this was accomplished, the maintenance of sufficient political stability and economic progress to enable the Government to carry out its mandate. Over the long run, we seek to promote the existence in the Dominican Republic of democratic governments, operating from a sound economic, social and military base, friendly to the United States and disposed to cooperate with us on vital issues in international forums. In moving toward that basic objective, we seek a citizenry better informed about, and prepared to construct and support, democratic institutions and a way of life based upon the rule of law and respect for the rights of others. As an indispensable concomitant, we seek the strengthening and rationalization of the Dominican economy and a balance-of [Page 459] payments equilibrium so that domestic and foreign resources can be most effectively utilized in a comprehensive and effective program of economic and social development and reform, which will assure meaningful and tangible progress toward the correction of economic and social inequities. Finally, we seek a small, professional, apolitical security establishment which acts as a positive, rather than, as in the past, a negative force in the political, economic and social development of the country.
Our over-all strategy to accomplish these objectives inevitably engages us in most aspects of Dominican national life. We are utilizing very substantial financial and technical assistance and encouraging appropriate domestic and foreign investment in order first to stabilize and then develop the Dominican economy along modern lines and to stimulate and accelerate social reforms. As part of this effort we are trying to raise the low average effectiveness of human resources and of the countryʼ economic and social institutions. We support and emphasize publicly and privately the concept of legal, constitutional government and the democratic process. Through material and technical assistance, training and indoctrination we work toward a security force that is effective, compatible with the countryʼ needs, responsive to civil authority, apolitical, and ready to perform a positive supporting role in the countryʼ progress. Finally, we employ these multiple U.S. inputs so as to persuade the Dominican Government and people to commit themselves and their own resources in a manner permitting long-run, self-sustaining economic, social and political development while avoiding resort to violence and disorder.
The broad policies which flow from this strategy are producing undramatic but measurable progress toward our principal goals, and they require no major adjustments.
- Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1967–69, POL 1 DOM REP–US. Secret. The paper is Part 1 of a 51-page “Country Analysis and Strategy Paper” transmitted as Enclosure 1 of airgram A–532.↩