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Sources for the Foreign Relations Series

The Foreign Relations statute requires that the published record in the Foreign Relations series include all records needed to provide comprehensive documentation on major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant U.S. diplomatic activity. It further requires that government agencies, departments, and other entities of the U.S. Government engaged in foreign policy formulation, execution, or support cooperate with the Department of State Historian by providing full and complete access to records pertinent to foreign policy decisions and actions and by providing copies of selected records. Most of the sources consulted in the preparation of this volume have been declassified and are available for review at the National Archives and Records Administration.

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 the Department’s indexed central files through 1974 have been permanently transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, Maryland (Archives II). Many of the Department’s decentralized office (or lot) files covering the 1969–1976 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 Nixon and other White House foreign policy records. Presidential papers maintained and preserved at the Presidential libraries and the Nixon Presidential Materials Project at Archives II 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. Dr. Henry Kissinger has approved access to his papers at the Library of Congress. The papers are a key source for the Nixon-Ford subseries of Foreign Relations.

Research for this volume was completed through special access to restricted documents at the Nixon Presidential Materials Project, the [Page XIV] Library of Congress, and other agencies. While all the material printed in this volume has been declassified, some of it is extracted from still-classified documents. The Nixon Presidential Materials staff is processing and declassifying many of the documents used in this volume, but they may not be available in their entirety at the time of publication.

Sources for Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, Volume XX

In preparing this volume the editors made extensive use of the Nixon Presidential Materials at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. The most valuable records within the Nixon Presidential Materials are in the National Security Council (NSC) Files, Country Files, Far East, specifically the country files for Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand. These are the files maintained by the National Security Council Staff members responsible for the respective countries and they provide the day to day information on U.S. policy, as well as drafts and final versions of many of Henry Kissinger’s memoranda to the President. This file provides the basic context for presidential decisions.

President Nixon and/or Vice President Spiro Agnew visited Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand during this period. Records in the Nixon Presidential Materials relating to these trips and related letters and other communications are in the NSC Files, Presidential Trip Files, the Presidential Correspondence Files, and the President/Kissinger Memoranda on Conversation File. Also of key importance in the NSC Files are the Backchannel Files. President Nixon and Henry Kissinger communicated on sensitive issues with ambassadors in Southeast Asia secretly through backchannel messages without the rest of the foreign affairs bureaucracy’s knowledge. These files are of key value.

Also important in the NSC files of the Nixon Presidential Materials are the NSC Institutional Files (H-Files) which are part of the NSC files, but not to be confused with the less complete NSC Institutional Matters Files. The former contains minutes of National Security Council Meetings, as well as minutes of such key NSC subgroups as the Review/Senior Review Group and the Washington Special Actions Group. For each set of meeting minutes there are corresponding meeting folders that contain the papers that Kissinger, who chaired all of these NSC groups, used in preparing for the meeting. Also in the H-Files are the complete set of National Security Study Memoranda (NSSM), National Security Decision Memoranda (NSDM), and related studies and papers. The President used this NSSM/NSDM mechanism to generate policy options from the foreign affairs bureaucracy for Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand.

Of second importance in the NSC Files of the Nixon Presidential Materials are the Kissinger Office Files, the Lake Chronological Files, and the Haig Chronological and Special Files, all of which have occasional [Page XV] material of value. The President’s Daily brief in the NSC Files provides sporadic information on Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, sometimes with handwritten comments or orders by President Nixon. Finally, the Subject Files of the NSC Files including such sub files as HAK/Richardson Meetings, Presidential Determinations, and Symington Subcommittee often provide documents of value.

Besides the NSC Files, the Nixon Materials include the White House Special Files, including the President’s Personal Files with its valuable Memoranda for the President, the President’s Office Files, and Staff Members and Office Files. Material on Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand is sprinkled through these files. Also of value are the Presidential tape recordings, Nixon’s secret sound-activated taping system that began in 1971. The volume contains conversations transcribed specifically by the Office of the Historian, primarily relating to the visits of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos of the Philippines to Washington.

The Kissinger Papers in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress often replicate documentation found in other collections, especially the NSC Files of the Nixon Presidential Materials, but have some documents unique to that collection. The most useful parts of the Kissinger Papers are the Chronological Files, Memoranda of Conversations, Memoranda for the President, and a collection of documents organized by countries under the Geopolitical Files heading. The transcripts of Kissinger’s telephone conversations are in this collection and have a number of conversations about Indonesian aid to Cambodia, especially in May and June 1970. While the original transcripts are not open to the public, Dr. Kissinger has allowed the National Archives to make available copies at College Park, Maryland.

The volume also draws heavily on the records of the Department of State. Along with the President and Vice President, Secretary of State William Rogers had meetings with prime ministers, foreign ministers, and other high-level leaders of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Marshall Green had a keen interest in relations with Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Many records of high-level meetings and communications are in the Department of State Central Files located in Record Group (RG) 59 at the National Archives.

For high-level meetings the best collections in RG 59 are POL 7 POL 7 PHIL, and POL 7 THAI. POL 7 US/NIXON and POL 7 US/NIXON MOONGLOW contain records on President Nixon’s trip of July 1969 to Southeast Asia. (MOONGLOW was the code name given for this trip.) POL 7 US/Connally covers former Treasury Secretary Connally’s trip of June 1972 to Southeast Asia and other destinations. POL 7 US/AGNEW documents Vice President Agnew’s January 1970 trip.POL 15–1 INDON, POL 15–1 PHIL, and POL 15–1 THAI contain [Page XVI] important high level communications with and information about the respective heads of Government of these three countries.

For general political relations with Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, the best files are POL 1 INDON, POL 1 PHIL and POL 1 THAI and POL US–INDON, as well as POL US–PHIL, POL US–PHIL and POL US–THAI. In the Philippines a strong partisan political tradition existed and POL 12 PHIL, POL 13, and POL 14 PHIL provide documentation on the political system, as do POL 23–7 and POL 23–8, which are files that contain material on the opposition to the Marcos administration. For Thailand, the POL 23–7 and POL 23–8 THAI files relate mostly to the incipient insurgency in the northeast. Both Thailand and the Philippines contributed troops to the Vietnam war effort and were official members of the so-called Troop Contributing Countries (TCC). The file for this issue is POL 27 VIET S, the catchall file for military operations in South Vietnam.

Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand were recipients of major U.S. aid programs, so the AID(US) INDON, AID(US) PHIL, and AID(US) THAI files and their related numerical sub files are important. Thailand and the Philippines had large U.S. military assistance programs, and Indonesia had an incipient one that was expanding, so DEF(US) INDON, DEF(US) PHIL, and DEF(US) THAI and their numerical sub-files are also of value. A specific file worthy of mention is DEF 1–1 INDON–US, a file for U.S.-Indonesia military contingency plans, that contains documents on the U.S.-initiated Indonesian effort to provide small arms and ammunition to the Lon Nol government in Cambodia. Another file in which documentation on this issue can be found is POL 27 CAMB/KHMER. DEF 15–4 PHIL–US contains documents on U.S. bases and installations in the Philippines.

Indonesia suffered from large foreign debt left over from the Sukarno years and had limited ability to repay it. Records of consultation and cooperation among Indonesia’s creditors are in the FN (financial) series of the Central Files, especially FN1–1 INDON. The question of foreign investment and land ownership in the Philippines was a difficult one, and FN 9 PHIL is the basic starting file. Trade with Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand are often files under INCO (short for international commodities) with the actual commodity:

Some Department of State “Lot” Files are worthy of mention. The basic conference files at the National Archives, entry 3051B, covering 1966–1972, and consolidating a number of Department of State conference files, contain records of the trips of Nixon, Agnew, Rogers, and others to the area. The files of U. Alexis Johnson, Lot 96 D 695, which [Page XVII] include both personal and official records, are valuable, especially for Johnson’s service as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, 1969–1973. This volume relied on Department of State Lot files relating to the NSC and the Under Secretaries Committee, S/S NSC Files: Lot 80 D 212 and S/S Under Secretaries Files: Lot 83 D 276. Additionally, the NSC Institutional Files (H-Files) at the Nixon Presidential Materials have a more complete record of NSC related materials than these State lot files.

Intelligence related files of particular value are the Helms DCI Files at the Central Intelligence Agency, Job 80–B0125A, the INR/IL Historical Files at the Department of State, and the Nixon Intelligence Files at the National Security Council in Washington. The latter will eventually be transferred to the Nixon Presidential Library.

The Subcommittee on United States Security Agreements and Commitments Abroad of the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, known as the Symington Subcommittee, conducted a series of investigations and hearings on various countries of Southeast Asia, including the Philippines and Thailand. Senator Stuart Symington (D–MO) was especially critical of what he alleged to be the mercenary nature of the Philippines and Thai troop contribution to the war in Vietnam, corruption in the Philippines and Thailand, and unwarranted U.S. Government commitments to the Philippines and Thailand. The declassified version of the hearings was printed by the U.S. Government Printing Office in 1970, after having been released by the Subcommittee on June 8. (United States Security Agreements and Commitments Abroad, Republic of Philippines, Kingdom of Laos, Kingdom of Thailand, hearings before the Subcommittee on United States Security Agreements and Commitments Abroad of the Committee of Foreign Relations, United States Senate, Ninety-First Congress, First Session, Parts 1–3, September-November 1969).

Department of Defense records of most value were the official records of Secretary of Defense Laird for 1969–1972, FRC 330 74 0142. In addition, worthy of mention are the Laird Papers at the Ford Library. These papers are copies of Laird’s official records, chosen by his key aides at the end of his term that document some of the main themes of his tenure. Most of the documents of value for this volume are filed under Cambodia or Vietnam. Other Defense Department Records that are now available, but were not used when this volume was researched, deserve mention as potentially valuable resources. They are the Official Records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Earle G. Wheeler and Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, both RG 218, National Archives, College Park, Maryland.

[Page XVIII]

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
        • Indonesia
        • Philippines, 1969, 1970, 1971
        • Thailand Lotus File 1969–70
        • Thailand, 1972–1975
  • National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland
    • Record Group 59, Records of the Department of State
      • Central Files
        • AID (US) INDON, general U.S. aid policy, Indonesia
        • AID (US) 8 INDON, U.S. grants and technical assistance to Indonesia
        • AID (US) 15–8 INDON, PL–480 Title I commodity sales, Indonesia
        • AID (US) PHIL, general U.S. aid policy, Philippines
        • AID (US) THAI, general U.S. aid policy, Thailand
        • AID (US) 10 THAI, strategic and political economic aid to Thailand
        • AID (US) 15 THAI, PL–480, Food for Peace program, Thailand
        • AID (US) 15–8 THAI, PL–480 Title I commodity sales, Thailand
        • DEF 9–5 CHINAT, training of Republic of China forces
        • DEF 6 PHIL, armed forces of the Philippines
        • DEF 15–4 PHIL–US, U.S.-Philippines base agreement
        • DEF THAI–US, defense affairs, Thailand-United States
        • DEF 1–1 THAI–US, contingency military planning, Thailand-United States
        • DEF 19 THAI–LAOS, Thai military assistance to Laos
        • FN 1–1 INDON, general Indonesian finance policy
        • FN 9 PHIL–US, foreign investment
        • INCO–COTTON 17 US–THAI, Thailand-United States cotton trade
        • INCO–RICE INDON, Indonesian rice industry and commodities
        • INCO–RICE 17 INDON–THAI, Indonesian-Thailand rice trade
        • ORG 7 EA, organization and administration, visits by officials of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
        • ORG 7 JCS, organization and administration, visits by the Joint Chiefs of Staff
        • ORG 7 S, administration and organization, visits by Secretary of State
        • ORG 7 U, organization and administration, visits by the Under Secretary of State
        • POL CAMB–INDON, political affairs and relations, Cambodia-Indonesia
        • POL 27 CAMB, military operations in Cambodia
        • POL 27 CAMB/KHMER, military operations, Cambodia/Khmer Republic
        • POL CHICOM–US, political affairs and relations, People’s Republic of China-United States
        • POL INDON–US, political affairs and relations, Indonesia-United States
        • POL 7 INDON, meetings with Indonesian leaders
        • POL 7 INDON, visits to Indonesia and meetings with Indonesians
        • POL 15–1 INDON, Indonesian head of state, executive branch
        • POL PHIL, political affairs and relations, Philippines
        • POL PHIL–US, political affairs and relations, Philippines-United States
        • POL 1 PHIL, general policy, Philippines
        • POL 1 PHIL–US, U.S.-Philippines relations, general
        • POL 7 PHIL, meetings and visits with Philippines officials
        • POL 7 PHIL, meetings with Filipino leaders
        • POL 12–6 PHIL, political parties and memberships, Philippines
        • POL 13–2 PHIL, students and youth groups, Philippines
        • POL 14 PHIL, Philippines elections
        • POL 15 PHIL, Government of the Philippines
        • POL 15–1 PHIL, Filipino head of state, executive branch
        • POL 15–4 PHIL, administration, Philippines
        • POL 15–5 PHIL, constitution, Philippines
        • POL 23 PHIL, internal security, Philippines
        • POL 23–7 PHIL, infiltration, subversion, and sabotage in the Philippines
        • POL 23–8 PHIL, demonstrations, riots, and protests in the Philippines
        • POL THAI–US, political affairs and relations, Thailand-United States
        • POL 1 THAI–US, U.S.-Thai relations, general
        • POL 7 THAI, meetings with Thai leaders
        • POL 15 THAI, Government of Thailand
        • POL 15–1 THAI, Thai head of state, executive branch
        • POL 17 THAI–US, diplomatic and consular representation, Thailand-United States
        • POL 23 THAI, internal security, Thailand
        • POL 23–7 THAI, infiltration, subversion, and sabotage in Thailand
        • POL 30 THAI, defectors and expellees, Thailand
        • POL 6–2 US/EISENHOWER, DWIGHT D, condolences upon the death of former President Eisenhower
        • POL 7 US/AGNEW, visits and meetings, Vice President Agnew
        • POL 7 US/Connally, visits and meetings, John Connally
        • POL 7 US/GREEN, visits and meetings, Marshall Green
        • POL 7 US/KENNEDY, visits and meetings, David Kennedy
        • POL 7 US/NIXON, visits and meetings, President Nixon
        • POL 15 US, government, United States
        • POL 27 VIET S, military operations in South Vietnam
        • US–HK/BEAMS, DOVIE, protective services, welfare and whereabouts, Dovie Beams
        • SEATO 3, Southeast Asia Treaty Organization meetings
      • Lot Files
        • Conference Files, 1966–1972: Entry No. 3051 B
          • Files of the meetings and conferences of the President, Vice President, Secretary of State, and Under Secretary of State, 1966–1972. Formerly S/S Lot Files: 67 D 586, 68 D 453, 69 D 182, 70 D 387, 71 D 227, and 73 D 323
        • EA/PAB Files: Lot 74 D 471
          • Letters and Memoranda file for 1972–1973 maintained by the Office of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs
        • Green Files: Lot 74 D 471
          • Files of Marshall Green
        • Johnson Files: Lot 96 D 695
          • Files of U. Alexis Johnson, 1958–1973, including both personal and official records
        • S/S National Security Council Files: Lot 80 D 212
          • NSSMs and Related Papers January 1965–May 1980
        • S/S NSC Under Secretaries Files: Lot 83 D 276
          • Records of the National Security Council Under Secretaries Committee, Decision Memoranda, 1962–1977 Subject Files
  • Nixon Presidential Materials Project
    • National Security Council Files
      • Backchannel Files
      • Country Files, Far East: Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand
      • Haig Chronological Files
      • Haig Special File
      • Kissinger Office Files
      • Lake Chronological Files
      • Nixon Intelligence Files
      • President’s Daily Briefs
      • Subject Files: HAK/Richardson Meetings; National Security Study Memoranda;
      • Presidential Determinations; Symington Subcommittee
      • Trip Files
      • Vietnam Subject File
      • VIP Visits
    • National Security Council Institutional Files (H-Files)
      • Review Group/Senior Review Group Minutes
      • Review Group/Senior Review Group Meetings
      • Vietnam Special Study Group Meetings
      • Washington Special Actions Group Meetings
      • Washington Special Actions Group Minutes
    • White House Special Files
      • Memoranda for the President
      • President’s Office Files
      • Staff Member and Office Files
    • White House Central Files
      • Staff Member and Office Files, Daily Diary
    • White House Tapes
  • National Security Council
    • Nixon Intelligence Files
      • Subject Files: Minutes of 40 Committee; 303/40 Committee Records; Philippines; Thailand
  • Central Intelligence Agency
    • Executive Registry Files, DCI Eyes Only Files 1970, Job 80–B01285A
  • Washington National Records Center, Suitland, Maryland
    • RG 330, Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense
      • OSD Files: Secretary Laird File: FRC 330 74 0142
  • Library of Congress
    • Manuscript Division
      • Papers of Henry A. Kissinger: Chronological File; Geopolitical File; Memoranda of Conversations; Memoranda to the President; Telephone Conversations

Published Sources

  • Documentary Collections
    • Congressional Quarterly, ed., Congress and the Nation, Volume III, 1969–1972 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1973)
    • U.S. Senate, United States Security Agreements and Commitments Abroad, Kingdom of Thailand, Hearings Before the Subcommittee on United States Security Agreements and Commitments Abroad of the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, 91st Cong., 1st Sess., Part 3 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1969)
    • U.S. Department of State, Bulletin, 1969–1972
    • U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Richard Nixon, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 (Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973)