Office of the Historian

80. Memorandum From the Assistant Administrator of the Agency for International Development, Far East (Poats) to Secretary of State Rusk1

Washington, November 22, 1966.

SUBJECT

  • Your request for information on the basis for the Presidentʼs decision on the Prek Thnot Project

The President made the decision not to participate in financing this project in Cambodia at this time on the basis of a briefing given him in Texas by Walt Rostow, drawing upon Stateʼs telegram 72950 of October 25 (copy attached), and Gene Blackʼs message from Djakarta, Embtel 2227 (copy attached).2 There was further discussion with Rostow by Bill Gaud and perhaps others with regard to Blackʼs inquiry, but no memo was sent to the White House at that time. State and AID were in process of preparing additional information at the request of Mr. Rostow on behalf of the President on the week-end of November 12–13 when Mr. Rostow cancelled this request and informed us that the President had decided not to go ahead with a U.S. contribution to the project.

Stateʼs message #85330 of November 15 (copy attached)3 which recorded this decision was sent to Black on November 15.

The reversal of our earlier consideration of participation in this project resulted from passage of an amendment to the Foreign Assistance Appropriations Act signed October 15, and receipt of information on Cambodian gifts to the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese representatives in Phnom Penh. The amendment to the Appropriations Act removed the Presidentʼs authority to waive, on the basis of his determination of “national interest,” the legal prohibition against providing economic assistance to any country which furnishes items of economic assistance to North Vietnam or Cuba. The law now leaves the President no waiver latitude except a finding of “national security” importance to the United States.

The two outgoing cables attached explain the rationale for the decision, and, I believe, reflect the considerations presented to the President by Mr. Rostow.

Rutherford Poats
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, E 11–2 MEKONG. Secret; Exdis.↩
  2. Both attached, but not printed. A note on the source text indicates that Rusk saw telegram 2227 from Djakarta, November 9.↩
  3. Attached, but not printed. A note on the source text indicates Rusk saw telegram 85330 to Taipei and Tokyo.↩