Preface

The Foreign Relations of the United States series presents the official documentary historical record of major foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity of the United States Government. The Historian of the Department of State is charged with the responsibility for the preparation of the Foreign Relations series. The staff of the Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, under the direction of the General Editor of the Foreign Relations series, plans, researches, compiles, and edits the volumes in the series. Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg first promulgated official regulations codifying specific standards for the selection and editing of documents for the series on March 26, 1925. These regulations, with minor modifications, guided the series through 1991.

Public Law 102–138, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, established a new statutory charter for the preparation of the series which was signed by President George H.W. Bush on October 28, 1991. Section 198 of P.L. 102–138 added a new Title IV to the Department of State’s Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 USC 4351, et seq.).

The statute requires that the Foreign Relations series be a thorough, accurate, and reliable record of major United States foreign policy decisions and significant United States diplomatic activity. The volumes of the series should include all records needed to provide comprehensive documentation of major foreign policy decisions and actions of the United States Government. The statute also confirms the editing principles established by Secretary Kellogg: the Foreign Relations series is guided by the principles of historical objectivity and accuracy; records should not be altered or deletions made without indicating in the published text that a deletion has been made; the published record should omit no facts that were of major importance in reaching a decision; and nothing should be omitted for the purposes of concealing a defect in policy. The statute also requires that the Foreign Relations series be published not more than 30 years after the events recorded. The editors are convinced that this volume meets all regulatory, statutory, and scholarly standards of selection and editing.

Structure and Scope of the Foreign Relations Series

This volume is part of a subseries of volumes of the Foreign Relations series that documents the most important issues in the foreign policy of Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford. The subseries presents in multiple volumes a comprehensive documentary rec[Page IV]ord of major foreign policy decisions and actions of both administrations. This volume documents U.S. policy toward Chile from January 20, 1969 to September 24, 1973, when the Nixon administration announced its extension of diplomatic recognition to the military junta under General Augusto Pinochet.

Although intended to stand on its own, this volume should be read in conjunction with other volumes in the series, in particular the electronic supplement, Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume E–16, Documents on Chile, 1969–1973. In addition to the electronic supplement, the reader should consult Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume E–10, Documents on American Republics, 1969–1972 and volume E–11, Documents on South America, 1973–1976, Part 2, for further documentation on the role Chile played in the Nixon administration’s overall policy in Latin America.

Focus of Research and Principles of Selection for Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, Volume XXI

The primary focus of this volume is on the attitudes adopted and actions taken by the U.S. Government toward the installation of two successive Chilean presidents: the election and inauguration of Salvador Allende in September 1970 and the military coup d’état of General Augusto Pinochet in September 1973. This volume differs from most volumes in the Foreign Relations series, however, in two important ways. First, many of the documents herein have been thoroughly examined, summarized, and declassified in several other public projects, in particular: the reports released in the mid-1970s by the Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities (the Church Committee); and the documents released in the late-1990s by the Chile Declassification Project (the Pinochet Project). The editors of this volume, while acknowledging what has been released before, have tried to meet the series’ standard of thoroughness, accuracy, and reliability not only by adding to the historical record but also by presenting a complete documentary account, regardless of previous declassification. Second, recognizing both the importance of the subject and the nature of the documentation, the editors also compiled an extensive electronic supplement (Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume E–16, Documents on Chile, 1969–1973), which, when released, will be available online at the Office of the Historian website. The supplement will include a selection of Presidential tape recordings, as transcribed by the editors, which adds context and detail to formal records on President Nixon’s posture toward President Allende; and several documents on human rights in the aftermath of the Pinochet coup, in particular, the disappearance and death of two U.S. citizens, Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi. In the latter instance, although Horman and Teruggi both died before September 24 (i.e. the [Page V] last day covered in this volume), the investigation into the circumstances surrounding these two tragic cases—and the resulting public controversy—continued long afterwards. Additional documentation, therefore, is scheduled for publication in the subsequent compilation on Chile in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume E–11, Documents on South America, 1973–1976, Part 2.

Although organized into five chapters, this volume is perhaps best surveyed in terms of three periods in Allende’s political career: before his election on September 4, 1970; between his election and inauguration on November 4, 1970; and after his inauguration until his overthrow and death on September 11, 1973. The first period also corresponds to the final two years of the administration of President Eduardo Frei, which, in terms of U.S. policy, continued largely along lines established during his first four years in office. Frei, for instance, received substantial political and economic support, including covert assistance during the 1964 election from the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Since the deliberations on whether to provide similar assistance to any of the major candidates in the 1970 election were heavily influenced by the decision-making process six years earlier, as well as by political developments in the intervening years, readers should consult the compilation on Chile in Foreign Relations, 1964–1968, volume XXXI, South and Central America; Mexico. Allende’s narrow victory in the 1970 election represented a decisive break in this continuity, a break that is clearly represented in the pace of documentation, as the Nixon administration sought to block Allende’s confirmation and inauguration. The second period, covering these intervening two months, is the heart of the volume, documenting day-to-day decisions in a series of meetings, memoranda, and backchannel messages on Track I and Track II, attempting to block Allende, either by constitutional means or by military coup d’état, respectively. The third period, which picks up the story after Allende’s inauguration, demonstrates how the Nixon administration adopted and implemented its “cool and correct” policy to destabilize the Chilean Government while simultaneously strengthening ties with the Chilean military. This policy was largely determined less through covert operations and more through the formal interagency process on economic affairs, including discouraging favorable terms in international lending and foreign assistance to Chile, while encouraging a favorable settlement in the nationalization of copper and other Chilean industries, previously dominated by U.S. multinational corporations. The volume concludes with the events of September 1973: the coup d’état under General Pinochet, Allende’s suicide, and U.S. diplomatic recognition of the military junta.

Editorial Methodology

The documents are presented chronologically according to Washington time. Memoranda of conversation are placed according to the [Page VI] time and date of the conversation, rather than the date the memorandum was drafted.

Editorial treatment of the documents published in the Foreign Relations series follows Office style guidelines, supplemented by guidance from the General Editor and the chief technical editor. The documents are reproduced as exactly as possible, including marginalia or other notations, which are described in the footnotes. Texts are transcribed and printed according to accepted conventions for the publication of historical documents within the limitations of modern typography. A heading has been supplied by the editors for each document included in the volume. Spelling, capitalization, and punctuation are retained as found in the original text, except that obvious typographical errors are silently corrected. Other mistakes and omissions in the documents are corrected by bracketed insertions: a correction is set in italic type; an addition in roman type. Words repeated in telegrams to avoid garbling or provide emphasis are silently corrected. Words or phrases underlined in the source text are printed in italics. Abbreviations and contractions are preserved as found in the original text, and a list of abbreviations is included in the front matter of each volume. In telegrams, the telegram number (including special designators such as Secto) is printed at the start of the text of the telegram.

Bracketed insertions are also used to indicate omitted text that deals with an unrelated subject (in roman type) or that remains classified after declassification review (in italic type). The amount and, where possible, the nature of the material not declassified has been noted by indicating the number of lines or pages of text that were omitted. Entire documents withheld for declassification purposes have been accounted for and are listed with headings, source notes, and number of pages not declassified in their chronological place. All brackets that appear in the original text are so identified in footnotes.

The first footnote to each document indicates the source of the document, original classification, distribution, and drafting information. This note also provides the background of important documents and policies and indicates whether the President or his major policy advisers read the document.

Editorial notes and additional annotation summarize pertinent material not printed in the volume, indicate the location of additional documentary sources, provide references to important related documents printed in other volumes, describe key events, and provide summaries of and citations to public statements that supplement and elucidate the printed documents. Information derived from memoirs and other first-hand accounts has been used when appropriate to supplement or explicate the official record.

[Page VII]

The numbers in the index refer to document numbers rather than to page numbers.

Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation

The Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation, established under the Foreign Relations statute, reviews records, advises, and makes recommendations concerning the Foreign Relations series. The Advisory Committee monitors the overall compilation and editorial process of the series and advises on all aspects of the preparation and declassification of the series. The Advisory Committee does not necessarily review the contents of individual volumes in the series, but it makes recommendations on issues that come to its attention and reviews volumes, as it deems necessary to fulfill its advisory and statutory obligations.

Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act Review

Under the terms of the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act (PRMPA) of 1974 (44 USC 2111 note), the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has custody of the Nixon Presidential historical materials. The requirements of the PRMPA and implementing regulations govern access to the Nixon Presidential historical materials. The PRMPA and implementing public access regulations require NARA to review for additional restrictions in order to ensure the protection of the privacy rights of former Nixon White House officials, since these officials were not given the opportunity to separate their personal materials from public papers. Thus, the PRMPA and implementing public access regulations require NARA formally to notify the Nixon estate and former Nixon White House staff members that the agency is scheduling for public release Nixon White House historical materials. The Nixon estate and former White House staff members have 30 days to contest the release of Nixon historical materials in which they were a participant or are mentioned. Further, the PRMPA and implementing regulations require NARA to segregate and return to the creator of files private and personal materials. All Foreign Relations volumes that include materials from NARA’s Nixon Presidential Materials Staff are processed and released in accordance with the PRMPA.

Nixon White House Tapes

Access to the Nixon White House tape recordings is governed by the terms of the PRMPA and an access agreement with the Office of Presidential Libraries of the National Archives and Records Administration and the Nixon Estate. In February 1971, President Nixon initiated a voice activated taping system in the Oval Office of the White House and, subsequently, in the President’s Office in the Executive [Page VIII] Office Building, Camp David, the Cabinet Room, and White House and Camp David telephones. The audiotapes include conversations of President Nixon with his Assistant for National Security Affairs, Henry Kissinger, other White House aides, Secretary of State Rogers, other Cabinet officers, members of Congress, and key foreign officials. The clarity of the voices on the tape recordings is often very poor, but the editor has made every effort to verify the accuracy of the transcripts produced here. Readers are advised that the tape recording is the official document; the transcript represents an interpretation of that document. Through the use of digital audio and other advances in technology, the Office of the Historian has been able to enhance the tape recordings and over time produce more accurate transcripts. The result is that some transcripts printed here may differ from transcripts of the same conversations printed in previous Foreign Relations volumes. The most accurate transcripts possible, however, cannot substitute for listening to the recordings. Readers are urged to consult the recordings themselves for a full appreciation of those aspects of the conversations that cannot be captured in a transcript, such as the speakers’ inflections and emphases that may convey nuances of meaning, as well as the larger context of the discussion.

Declassification Review

The Office of Information Programs and Services, Bureau of Administration, conducted the declassification review for the Department of State of the documents published in this volume. The review was conducted in accordance with the standards set forth in Executive Order 13526, as amended, on Classified National Security Information and applicable laws.

The principle guiding declassification review is to release all information, subject only to the current requirements of national security as embodied in law and regulation. Declassification decisions entailed concurrence of the appropriate geographic and functional bureaus in the Department of State, other concerned agencies of the U.S. Government, and the appropriate foreign governments regarding specific documents of those governments. The declassification review of this volume, which began in 2000 and was completed in 2013 resulted in the decision to withhold 1 document in full, excisions of a paragraph or more in 55 documents, and minor excisions of less than a paragraph in 112 documents.

The Office of the Historian is confident, on the basis of the research conducted in preparing this volume and as a result of the declassification review process described above, that the record presented in this volume presented here provides an accurate and comprehensive account of U.S. foreign policy on Chile.

[Page IX]

Acknowledgments

The editors wish to acknowledge the assistance of officials at the Nixon Presidential Materials Project of the National Archives and Records Administration (Archives) in College Park, Maryland, and at the Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In addition, they are grateful to the Richard Nixon Estate for allowing access to the Nixon Presidential recordings and the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace for facilitating that access. Research in the Kissinger Papers, including transcripts of telephone conversations, could not have occurred without the kind permission of Henry A. Kissinger. The editors would also like to thank Peter Kornbluh, Senior Analyst and Director of the Chile Declassification Project at the National Security Archive, for his expertise and encouragement.

James McElveen and James Siekmeier collected the documents, made the selections, and annotated them under the direct supervision of successive chiefs of the Asia and Americas Division, Edward C. Keefer and Erin R. Mahan, and under the general direction of two successive General Editors, David S. Patterson and Edward C. Keefer. Although both contributed to the research and annotation of the entire volume, McElveen was responsible for compiling the first three chapters, through Allende’s inauguration in November 1970; and Siekmeier, for the last two chapters, through Allende’s overthrow (and formal diplomatic recognition of the military junta under General Pinochet). Susan Weetman, Carl Ashley, and Dean Weatherhead coordinated the declassification review. David Geyer assumed responsibility for resolving substantive issues of compilation and review during the final stages of production. Kristen Ahlberg, Keri Lewis, Mandy A. Chalou, and Rita Baker performed the copy and technical editing.