Office of the Historian

Sources

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 record 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 for these years have been permanently transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration (Archives II) at College Park, Maryland. Many of the Department’s decentralized office (or lot)files covering this 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 Johnson and other White House foreign policy records. Presidential papers maintained and preserved at the Presidential libraries 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.

Department of State historians also have access to records of the Department of Defense, particularly the records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretaries of Defense and their major assistants.

In preparing this volume, the editor made extensive use of Presidential papers and other White House records at the Lyndon B. Johnson Library, which proved the richest source of documentation on President Johnson’s role in the Near East region and the Arabian Peninsula. Within the National Security File, the Country Files, the Special Head of State Correspondence File, the Meetings with the President file, the Memos to the President file, and the files of Harold Saunders, McGeorge Bundy, and Robert Komer were particularly valuable. The Papers of George Ball within the White House Central File were also useful.

Thanks to the leadership of the Johnson Library, the Department of State historians had full access to the audiotapes of President Johnson’s telephone conversations. These audiotapes include substantial numbers of telephone conversations between President Johnson and Secretary of State Rusk, Secretary of Defense McNamara, the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs McGeorge Bundy, and [Page XVI] key members of Congress. The editor of this volume selected for publication one audiotape of a President Johnson telephone conversation with Secretary Rusk dealing with Yemen and prepared a transcript of the conversation specifically for this volume. Although the transcripts give the substance of the conversations, readers are urged to consult the recordings for a full appreciation of those dimensions that cannot be captured fully in a transcription, such as the speakers’ inflections and emphases that may convey nuances of meaning.

Second in importance to the records at the Johnson Library were the records of the Department of State. The central files of the Department of State provide rich detail on U.S. policy toward the Near East region and the Arabian Peninsula. They are augmented in this regard by the lot files of the Department and by the files of the Secretary of Defense and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. The Papers of General Maxwell D. Taylor at the National Defense University, Washington, D. C., were also useful.

The Central Intelligence Agency provides the Department of State historians access to intelligence documents from records in its custody and at the Presidential libraries. This access is arranged and facilitated by the CIA’s History Staff, part of the Center for the Study of Intelligence, pursuant to a May 1992 memorandum of understanding.

The editor included a selection of intelligence estimates and analyses seen by high-level policymakers, especially those that were made available to President Johnson. Among the intelligence records reviewed for the volume were those in country and intelligence files at the Johnson Library, the files of the Directors of Central Intelligence, especially John McCone, CIA intelligence reports and summaries, retired files of the Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research containing National Intelligence Estimates, and the INR Historical Files.

Almost all of this documentation has been made available for use in the Foreign Relations series thanks to the consent of the agencies mentioned, the assistance of their staffs, and especially the cooperation and support of the National Archives and Records Administration.

The following list identifies the particular files and collections used in the preparation of this volume. Although much of the research in Department of State records for this volume occurred while they were still in the custody of the Department, the declassification and transfer to the National Archives of Department of State records, including the central files through mid-1973 and increasing numbers of lot files, as well as the records of other agencies is in process. Many of those records are already available for public review at the National Archives and Records Administration (Archives II) at College Park, Maryland. The declassification review of these records is going forward in accordance [Page XVII] with the provisions of Executive Order 12958, under which all records over 25 years old, except file series exemptions requested by agencies and approved by the President, should be reviewed for declassification by 2002.

Unpublished Sources

  • Department of State
  • Central Files. See National Archives and Records Administration below.
  • Lot Files. These files may be transferred to Archives II at College Park, Maryland, Record Group 59. See also National Archives and Records Administration below.
    • INR/IL Historical Files
      • Files of the Office of Intelligence Coordination, containing records from the 1940s through the 1970s, as maintained by the Office of Intelligence Liaison, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State.
    • NEA Files: Lot 71 D 287
      • Miscellaneous files relating to the Middle East crisis of 1967.
    • NEA/ARP Files: Lot 67 D 619
      • Arabian Peninsula subject files for 1965, as maintained by the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State.
    • NEA/ARP Files: Lot 69 D 350
      • Arabian Peninsula subject files for 1967, as maintained by the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State.
    • NEA/ARP Files: Lot 69 D 523
      • Arabian Peninsula subject files for 1968, as maintained by the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State.
    • NEA/ARP Files: Lot 69 D 547
      • Arabian Peninsula subject files for 1956, 1961-1962, 1964-1966, and 1968, as maintained by the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State.
    • NEA/IRA Files: Lot 70 D 503
      • NEA/IRG files 67-1 through 68-42, as maintained by the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State.
    • NEA/RA Files: Lot 71 D 218
      • NEA Regional Affairs subject files for 1962-1968, as maintained by the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State.
  • Central Intelligence Agency
    • Job 79-R01012A, ODDI Registry of NIE and SNIE Files
    • Job 80-00105A, DDO/NE (Critchfield) Files
    • Job 80-B01285A, DCI (McCone) Files, DCI Memos for the Record
    • Job 80-R01580R, DCI Executive Registry Files
  • National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland
    • Record Group 59, Records of the Department of State
      • Central Files. During the 1964-1968 period, the Department’s central files were filed according to a subject-numeric system. The records were divided into broad categories: Administration, Consular, Culture and Information, Economic, Political and Defense, Science, and Social. Within each of these divisions were subcategories. For example, Political and Defense contained four subtopics: POL (politics), DEF (defense), CSM (Communism), and INT (intelligence). The subcategories were divided into numerical subdivisions or, in some cases, country files with numerical subdivisions. The POL series began with files with numerical subdivisions on international issues, such as issues relating to international rivers, and continued with country files. The list below is arranged in the order of the Department’s filing system.
        • ORG 7 NEA: organization and administration, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State
        • AID (US) YEMEN: general policy, U.S. aid to Yemen
        • AID (US) 8 YEMEN: U. S. grants and technical assistance to Yemen
        • PET 10-3 SAUD: concessions, leases of resources and oil fields, Saudi Arabia
        • DEF 4: collective defense pacts and alliances
        • DEF 1 IND: defense policy, Indian Ocean
        • DEF 15 IND-US: bases and installations, Indian Ocean-U.S.
        • DEF 19 IRAQ: military assistance, Iraq
        • DEF 1 IRAQ-US: defense policy, Iraq-U.S.
        • DEF 1 KUW: defense policy, Kuwait
        • DEF 12-5 KUW: procurement and sale of armaments, Kuwait
        • DEF 12-5 KUW-US: procurement and sale of armaments, Kuwait-U.S.
        • DEF 1-4 SAUD: air defense, Saudi Arabia
        • DEF 6-2 SAUD: naval forces, Saudi Arabia
        • DEF 12-5 SAUD: procurement and sale of armaments, Saudi Arabia
        • DEF 12-5 SAUD-UK: procurement and sale of armaments, Saudi Arabia-U. K.
        • DEF 7 SAUD-US: visits and missions, Saudi Arabia-U.S.
        • DEF 1 UK: defense policy, United Kingdom
        • DEF 19-8 US-SAUD: defense equipment and supplies, U.S.-Saudi Arabia
        • POL 7 ADEN: visits and meetings with Aden officials
        • POL 13 ADEN: non-party blocs, Aden
        • POL 19 ADEN: government of dependencies, Aden
        • POL 23-9 ADEN: rebellions and coups, Aden
        • POL ADEN-UAR: political affairs and relations, Aden-United Arab Republic
        • POL 19 ADEN/UN: government of dependencies, Aden-UN
        • POL ADEN-US: political affairs and relations, Aden-U.S.
        • POL 1 ADEN-US: general policy and background, Aden-U.S.
        • POL 31-1 ADEN-YEMEN: air disputes and violations, Aden-Yemen
        • POL 32-1 ADEN-YEMEN: Aden-Yemen boundary disputes
        • POL 27 ARAB-ISR: military operations, Arabs-Israel
        • POL BAHRAINIS: political affairs and relations, Bahrain
        • POL 19 BAHRAINIS: government of dependencies, Bahrain
        • POL BAHRAINIS-US: political affairs and relations, Bahrain-U. S.
        • POL 7 IRAN: visits and meetings with Iranian leaders
        • POL IRAN-IRAQ: political affairs and relations, Iran-Iraq
        • POL 32-1 IRAN-IRAQ: Iran-Iraq boundary disputes
        • POL IRAQ: political affairs and relations, Iraq
        • POL 7 IRAQ: visits and meetings with Iraqi leaders
        • POL 13-3 IRAQ: ethnic and national minorities, Iraq
        • POL 15-1 IRAQ: head of state, executive branch, Iraq
        • POL 23-9 IRAQ: rebellions and coups, Iraq
        • POL IRAQ-KUW: political affairs and relations, Iraq-Kuwait
        • POL 32-1 IRAQ-KUW: Iraqi-Kuwaiti boundary disputes
        • POL IRAQ-UAR: political affairs and relations, Iraq-United Arab Republic
        • POL IRAQ-US: political affairs and relations, Iraq-U.S.
        • POL 1 IRAQ-US: general policy, Iraq-U.S.
        • POL 17 IRAQ-US: diplomatic and consular representation, Iraq-U. S.
        • POL 3 ISLAMIC: Islamic organizations and alignments
        • POL 6 KUW: people, biographic data, Kuwait
        • POL 7 KUW: visits and meetings with Kuwaiti leaders
        • POL 23 KUW: internal security and counter-insurgency, Kuwait
        • POL 1 KUW-US: general policy, Kuwait-U.S.
        • POL MUSCAT & OMAN: political affairs and relations, Muscat and Oman
        • POL 19 MUSCAT & OMAN: government of dependencies, Muscat and Oman
        • POL 33 PERSIAN GULF: waters and boundaries, Persian Gulf
        • POL SAUD: political affairs and relations, Saudi Arabia
        • POL 7 SAUD: visits and meetings with Saudi Arabian leaders
        • POL 15-1 SAUD: Saudi Arabian head of state
        • POL SAUD-UAR: political affairs and relations, Saudi Arabia-United Arab Republic
        • POL 1 SAUD-UAR: general policy, Saudi Arabia-United Arab Republic
        • POL 17 SAUD-UAR: diplomatic and consular representation, Saudi Arabia-U. A. R.
        • POL 27 SAUD-UAR: military operations, Saudi Arabia-U. A. R.
        • POL 31-1 SAUD-UAR: air disputes and violations, Saudi Arabia-U. A. R.
        • POL SAUD-US: political affairs and relations, Saudi Arabia-U. S.
        • POL 1 SAUD-US: general policy, Saudi Arabia-U.S.
        • POL 32-1 SAUD-YEMEN: territory and boundary disputes, Saudi Arabia-Yemen
        • POL 15 S YEMEN: South Yemen Government
        • POL 16 S YEMEN: independence and recognition, South Yemen
        • POL 23-9 S YEMEN: rebellions and coups, South Yemen
        • POL S YEMEN-US: political affairs and relations, South Yemen-U. S.
        • POL 3 TRUCIALST: organizations and alignments, Trucial States
        • POL 19 TRUCIALST: government of dependencies, Trucial States
        • POL 7 UAR: visits and meetings with United Arab Republic leaders
        • POL 1 UAR-UK: general policy, United Arab Republic-United Kingdom
        • POL 27 UAR-YEMEN: military operations, United Arab Republic-Yemen
        • POL UK-YEMEN: political affairs and relations, United Kingdom-Yemen
        • POL 31-1 UK-YEMEN: air disputes and violations, United Kingdom-Yemen
        • POL 31-1 UK-YEMEN/UN: air disputes and violations, U. K.-Yemen and the UN
        • POL 15-1 US/JOHNSON: head of state, executive branch, President Lyndon B. Johnson
        • POL US-YEMEN: political affairs and relations, U.S.-Yemen
        • POL 17 US-YEMEN: diplomatic and consular representation, U. S.-Yemen
        • POL 15-1 YEMEN: Yemeni head of state
        • POL 16 YEMEN: independence and recognition, Yemen
        • POL 23-9 YEMEN: rebellions and coups, Yemen
        • POL 27 YEMEN: military operations, Yemen
        • POL 27-10 YEMEN: chemical and germ warfare, Yemen
        • POL 27-14 YEMEN: truce, cease-fire, armistice, Yemen
        • POL 27-14 YEMEN/UN: truce, cease-fire, armistice, Yemen-U. N.
        • POL 17 YEMEN-US: diplomatic and consular representation, Yemen-U. S.
      • Lot Files
        • NEA/ARP Files: Lot 69 D 257
          • Arabian Peninsula subject files for 1954-1966, as maintained by the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State.
        • Rusk Files: Lot 72 D 192
          • Files of Secretary of State Dean Rusk, 1961-1969, including texts of speeches and public statements, miscellaneous correspondence files, White House correspondence, chronological files, and memoranda of telephone conversations.
        • S/S Files: Lot 68 D 451
          • Minutes of meetings and memoranda of the Special Group, Counterinsurgency, for July-December 1964, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat of the Department of State.
        • S/S Conference Files: Lot 69 D 182
          • Collection of documentation on visits to the United States by ranking foreign officials and on major conferences attended by the Secretary of State January-November 1968, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat of the Department of State.
    • Washington National Records Center, Suitland, Maryland
      • Record Group 330, Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense
        • OASD/ISA Files: FRC 68 A 306
          • Secret and lower-classified general files of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, 1964.
        • OASD/ISA Files: FRC 70 A 3717
          • Secret files of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, 1965.
        • OASD/ISA Files: FRC 70 A 5127
          • Top Secret files of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, 1965.
        • OASD/ISA Files: FRC 70 A 6648
          • Secret files of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, 1966.
        • OASD/ISA Files: FRC 72 A 1498
          • Secret files of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, 1968.
        • OSD Files: FRC 69 A 7425
          • Top Secret files of the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Special Assistants, 1964.
        • OSD Files: FRC 70 A 1265
          • Top Secret files of the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Special Assistants, 1965.
        • OSD Files: FRC 70 A 1266
          • Secret files of the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense and Special Assistants, 1965.
        • OSD Files: FRC 72 A 2468
          • Files of the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Special Assistants, 1967.
        • OSD Files: FRC 73 A 1250
          • Files of the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Special Assistants, 1968.
    • National Defense University, Washington, D. C.
      • Taylor Papers
        • Papers of Maxwell D. Taylor, Military Adviser to the President, 1961-1962, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1962-1964.
    • Lyndon B. Johnson Library, Austin, Texas
      • Papers of President Lyndon B. Johnson
        • National Security File
          • Country File: India, Iraq, Kuwait, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Republic, United Kingdom, Yemen
          • Special Head of State Correspondence File
          • Meetings with the President
          • Memos to the President, McGeorge Bundy
          • National Intelligence Estimates
          • National Security Action Memorandums
          • Files of Robert W. Komer
          • Name File: Komer Memos, Saunders Memos
          • President’s Appointment File
          • Files of Harold Saunders
        • Special Files
          • President’s Daily Diary
          • Recordings and Transcripts of Telephone Conversations and Meetings
        • White House Central Files
          • Subject File
        • Other Personal Papers
          • Papers of George Ball