427. Memorandum from Komer to Dungan, March 141
The latest version of the Blank Report is a whale of an improvement, though still far less a cohesive rationale for US aid programs than a mishmash of ex cathedra pronouncements.
My only major concern is that it still comes out (especially Section IV) with a strong plug for reduction of aid. Isn’t this precisely what will get picked up and add to the already shaky outlook on the Hill? How about one more effort to persuade the group that foreign aid must fluctuate with the exigencies of cold war policy, that some programs can be reduced but others may need to be strengthened, and that the Committee should hesitate to express a judgment about the overall level of foreign aid? Also note inconsistency between conclusions and new p. 8 which says “it is clear that reductions in foreign aid can only be accomplished by reducing the military strength of the Free World or by failing to meet specific commitments in other important areas.”
I have one other major worry. The old wheeze on p. 9 that “US should not aid a foreign government in projects establishing government-owned enterprises which compete with existing private endeav[Typeset Page 1714]ors” can come back to haunt us, especially in India. These countries simply lack a developed private economy which would make a restriction like that proposed viable. We’re asking for trouble if we leave this in.
- Comments on Blank Report on U.S. aid programs. Secret. 1 p. Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Kaysen Series, Foreign Aid, Clay Report.↩