310. Memorandum From the Director of Military Assistance of the Department of Defense (Heinz) to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs (Schwartz)1
SUBJECT
- MAP for Saudi Arabia
Over the past three years Congress has questioned with increasing intensity the rationale for a grant program to Saudi Arabia. Basically the concern is not with providing training or a training mission to Saudi Arabia, but why Saudi Arabia should not pay the expenses when they are so rich in oil and can afford to spend large amounts to purchase military equipment as well as to aid Jordan.
Each year the grant program has become more difficult to defend. Insofar as student training is concerned, we have used the argument of having more control over the program and being able to select the students. This argument is getting weak, particularly since Saudi Arabia does purchase large amounts of other training.
Insofar as support of the USMTM is concerned, we have stated that Saudi Arabia does provide assistance-in-kind of about $1.4 million for the Mission. Congress wonders why they cannot pay it all, and I [Page 594] find it difficult to justify, in view of Saudi Arabia’s increasing expenditures and cash assets. The MAP costs of maintaining USMTM will be about $600 thousand in FY 69, and will probably decrease in the future as we reduce the size of the training mission.
As MAP is reduced, it will become more and more difficult to justify MAP funds of $600-$800 thousand annually for Saudi Arabia. Therefore I propose that we undertake to have Saudi Arabia pick up all of its student training on a sales basis, and to provide either a cash payment or contributed currency in the amount of MAP costs associated with the support.
The Ambassador probably would resist such an effort on the basis that it would disturb the current relationships we have with Saudi Arabia, and that it is hard to explain why the U.S. can’t afford this amount. The trouble is that while the U.S. can, MAP can’t. My opinion is that we will have to bite this bullet sooner or later, and the sooner we get started the better.
Saudi Arabia has freely picked up the tab for training missions in connection with sales contracts. We have a large Army Engineer group there in connection with the vehicle sales program. There are other trainers there supporting the Hawk program. In fact, each sales contract with Saudi Arabia carries with it costs for training.
If we start now we should be able, for FY 70, to arrange to have Saudi Arabia pick up all student training costs on a sales basis and to provide contributed currency to offset USMTM costs. I note that Ethiopia provides contributed currency to offset MAAG costs and I see no reason why Saudi Arabia cannot do the same. There should be a way of approaching this diplomatically without rocking the boat. Saudi Arabia has always contributed assistance-in-kind toward the Mission costs, and a new arrangement would require only that they also provide contributed currencies. We would then be in a position to justify USMTM before being forced to do something about it by Congressional action.
Request your reaction to this proposal.
- Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OASD/ISA Files: 72 A 1498, 091.3 Saudi Arabia, 29 April 1968. Confidential. Copies were sent to Director for Operations Joseph J. Wolf in the Department of State’s Office of Politico-Military Affairs and Deputy Director of Military Assistance James D. Dunlap in DOD.↩
- Printed from a copy that indicates Heinz signed the original.↩