Office of the Historian

245. Memorandum From Arnold Nachmanoff of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)1

Washington, August 12, 1971.

SUBJECT

  • Appointment for Ambassador Korry (Chile) Today or Tomorrow

Ambassador Korry is in town until tomorrow evening and would very much like to talk with you. (He came up suddenly because of his father’s death.) I think it would be useful for you to talk to Korry because of an important new development which has arisen concerning Chile.

Very briefly, Anaconda met separately with Secretary Connally and John Irwin2 during the past couple of days and proposed that the U.S. send a special envoy to Chile to indicate that if the Chileans agree to a fair settlement on compensation with the copper companies, the U.S. will help to open up financial credits from the multilateral institutions and New York banks as well as bilaterally. In essence, Anaconda is proposing that we offer a deal to Allende which in effect would make it possible for him to compensate the companies and obtain compensatory financing from the international agencies. We have just received a memo to the President from Secretary Connally indicating that he supports this idea (copy attached for your information).3

We will staff the Connally memo—and probably should take it up in the SRG since it has significant implications for our overall political strategy—but I think it would be useful for you to talk with Korry and get a perspective before he leaves. (I don’t think Korry will bother you about his personal future since that problem seems to have been taken care of for the time being.) [I have just learned that you will be seeing Anaconda representatives Tuesday;4 since Korry probably stimulated this idea, you should see him first.]

Recommendation

That you see Ambassador Korry today or tomorrow to discuss this new problem.5

  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 775, Country Files, Latin America, Chile, Vol V. Confidential. Sent for action. Sent through Haig who initialed the memorandum.↩
  2. A memorandum of conversation of the meeting between Irwin and John Place, President of Anaconda, August 11, is ibid. It is Document 79 in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, vol. E–16, Documents on Chile, 1969–1973. No record of the Connally–Place conversation has been found.↩
  3. Document 244.↩
  4. Tuesday, August 17. Brackets in the original.↩
  5. A handwritten notation at the bottom of the page reads, “Dr. Kissinger met with Amb. Korry 5:30 p.m. 13 Aug 1971.” No record of this conversation has been found.↩