473. Memorandum for the Record1
SUBJECT
- Minutes of the Meeting of the 303 Committee, 8 July 1966
PRESENT
- Mr. Rostow, Ambassador Johnson, Mr. Vance, and Mr. Helms
- Mr. Bill Moyers and Mr. Cord Meyer were present for Items 1 and 2
- Mr. Leonard Marks and Mr. Robert Kintner were present for Item 1
- Mr. John Waller and Mr. [name not declassified] were present for Item 4
[Omitted here is discussion of other subjects.]
4. Congo—The Air Support Problem
a. On the question of the Congo, the committee punted again on third down. Ambassador Johnson noted that Ambassador Godley, who had recently been in Washington and had just returned to Leopoldville, was to see Mobutu shortly on where he was headed with plans for a Congolese Air Force. Ambassador Godley was to point out to Mobutu that the [less than 1 line not declassified] Air Force was ginned up for an emergency but now the threat from neighbours and rebels had dwindled markedly. There was some need to cut back and become realistic. Ambassador Johnson mentioned that via Ambassador Reinhardt we were pressing the Italians to step up their training, but they had their own domestic political problems in agreeing to any long-range aid commitment. The Belgians were pretty well written off as far as concrete assistance at this time.
b. It was agreed to await the results of the Mobutu–Godley talks before facing the subject again.
[Omitted here is discussion of other subjects.]
- Source: National Security Council, Intelligence Files, 303 Committee, Minutes 1966. Secret; Eyes Only. Prepared on July 9.↩