Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXI, Near East Region; Arabian Peninsula

298. Memorandum for the Special Committee¹

Washington, July 11, 1967.

SUBJECT

• Exceptions to Interim Military Aid Policy in the Middle East²

On 30 June the President approved the following actions as described in the memo of 21 June from the Control Group to the Special Committee:

1. The $15 million sale of 4 C-130 aircraft to Saudi Arabia.

2. The $9.9 million program for weapons maintenance and repair in Saudi Arabia.³

3. The negotiation and programming of the $14 million arms credit arranged between the President and King Hassan.

McGeorge Bundy

1. Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OSD Files: FRC 72 A 2468, Saudi Arabia 400, 11 Jul. 1967. Secret. A stamped notation on the memorandum indicates the Secretary of Defense saw it on July 13.
2. After the Six-Day War began, the U.S. Government stopped all aid shipments to countries that broke relations with the United States. For Middle Eastern countries that did not break relations, it let the arms pipeline continue to flow but blocked any new approvals.
3. In a July 8 action memorandum for the NSC Special Committee, the Control Group recommended: (1) resumption of the $120 million Saudi Mobility Modernization program under the September 1965 sales agreement; (2) issuance of a Munitions Control export license for commercial sale of 10,000 pistols, holsters, and ammunition for the Saudi police; and (3) shipment of F-86 spares to Saudi Arabia under the $500,000 cash sale agreement of May 11, 1967. (Johnson Library, National Security File, Special Committee, Control Group Meetings, Minutes)