51. Memorandum From Robert W. Komer of the National Security Council Staff to President Johnson 1
We’ve bought some time in Libya by agreeing to begin base talks 29 April. Our strategy is to be forthcoming at the outset but then bargain hard.
Meanwhile, Parliament has been in recess and press attacks have quieted down. Most important, the King is now making an effort to hold the line, and we’re thinking of a message from you to stiffen his spine as negotiations begin. He tightened his grip on the government last month by threatening to abdicate and then giving in to pressure to stay on. He also told us Thursday that he expected elections early in the fall to produce a “more reasonable” Chamber—with the clear inference that he’d see to it (but we’re not succumbing to overoptimism).
Badeau on 5 April got Nasser to agree to lay off US bases. However, his attacks on the British for bombing the Yemeni fort at Harib can’t help but spill over on us in Arab minds. And any signs of a major pro-Israeli move by us might call all bets off.
We’ll have a negotiating strategy to show you next weekend, and are developing an action program to get key Libyans to back whatever agreement we can get. With luck, we should be able to hold on to our most important Wheelus assets for 3–5 years (and some even longer), though much will depend on what happens elsewhere in the Arab world.
- Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Libya, Vol. I. Secret.↩