Office of the Historian

644. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant (Rostow) to President Johnson1

Washington, September 21, 1967, 6:30 p.m.

SUBJECT

  • Your meeting with Prime Minister Jonathan of Lesotho (11:30 AM tomorrow)2

This is a short, informal office call. No lunch or dinner is involved.

Nick Katzenbach’s general briefing memorandum is at Tab A.3 State’s suggested talking points are at Tab B. Biographic information on Jonathan is at Tab C.

Jonathan is the first Prime Minister of Lesotho (Les-soo-too), a tiny independent enclave completely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. Lesotho is firmly aligned with the West and generally votes with us in the UN except where it would involve trouble with South Africa, which could bankrupt her overnight at will. We have a few very small AID projects in Lesotho ($43, 000 worth), plus about $100,000 in scholarship grants to her university. We also help with food through the World Food Program. Except for small amounts of PL 480, we can’t do more as long as the Congress keeps enacting strict limits on the number of aided countries.

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Jonathan will want to tell you about the problems of a country of blacks in the middle of apartheid. He knows that we can’t help much under present circumstances, but he will ask you to remember him if and when conditions change. He will also tell you about his speech to the General Assembly on Monday in which he will call for a peaceful settlement in Vietnam. (His line is strictly pro-talks. He doesn’t lecture us; he urges both sides to find a way to the table.)

In addition to a general discussion of Vietnam, you may wish to make some of the following points:

  • —We know it must be terribly difficult to live with the fact of economic dependence on South Africa, but we hope that Lesotho can carry on necessary trade and economic cooperation while maintaining her independence and freedom of expression. We completely understand the necessity for Jonathan to temper his foreign policy in order to deal with the economic realities of his position.
  • —Our direct help to Lesotho will be limited to food for the foreseeable future. We will try to be as generous as possible.
  • —We will continue to keep Lesotho’s interests in mind in using our influence in the World Bank and other international aid institutions.
  • —We congratulate Lesotho on its first anniversary of independence (October 4). She has already taken her place at the UN and elsewhere in the community of responsible nations.

W.W. Rostow 4
  1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Lesotho (Basutoland), Vol. I, 8/66–5/68. No classification marking.↩
  2. No record of this conversation has been found.↩
  3. None of the tabs is printed.↩
  4. Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.↩