254. Memorandum From the President’s Deputy Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Komer) to President Johnson1
Attached is Rusk’s request for another monthly 500,000 tons of food for India and 175,000 tons for Pakistan.2 Freeman’s cables to you confirm that a new Indian food crisis is upon us. As a result, there will be pressure for a sharp increase in monthly shipments, perhaps from 500,000 to 700,000 tons. In fact, after Rusk’s memo was drafted, we got an official Indian request for 650,000 tons (including 100,000 tons of milo) next month.
We’re looking into this, but suggest going ahead on the old basis now and awaiting Freeman’s recommendation on anything further. The reason for moving fast is that we’ve actually been taking five weeks to make each four week allocation, which means that we’re really shipping at a slower rate when the problem is growing.
Freeman seems to have gotten quite an impressive set of commitments from Subramaniam (though without any reciprocal commitments on our part). Thus we’re making progress on the long-term problem, though we still have the short-term food crisis to sort out. Freeman clearly wants to come to the ranch to report. Would you prefer to have us ask him to give his recommendations in writing first?
Approve India/Pak allotment
Ask Freeman to report in writing3
I’ll handle Freeman
- Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, India, India’s Food Problem, Vol. I. Secret. A handwritten notation reads: “Rec’d Ranch 11–28–65, 8:30 p.”↩
- Attached was a November 26 memorandum from Rusk to the President recommending the release of grain for India and Pakistan under existing P.L. 480 agreements.↩
- Johnson indicated his approval of this option by completing the sentence in his handwriting to read: “first and I’ll see him as soon as possible.” Komer noted in the margin: “I told Schnittker 29 Nov 65.”↩
- McGeorge Bundy initialed below Komer’s signature.↩