231. Transcript of a Telephone Conversation Between Secretary of State Rogers and the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)1
R: On reflection, I don’t think it’s a good idea to send a threat. All the passengers are released and in a hotel. We have a cable.2 I think the idea that—now that they are out of the plane the threat to their lives is lessened. The Jordanians also thought it bad to do a threat now because the moderates are fighting with the radicals in connection with the passengers. I don’t see the point.
K: You don’t think it would give the moderates ammunition?
R: When they take action that minimizes the risk to the passengers is not the time to tell them “be careful.” They have already let them out of the plane.
K: OK.
R: Secondly, the radicals are fearful about an invasion from Israel, not the U.S. They are there and it’s a possibility. Anything that seems equivocal would be bad. If we were conveying it directly, I would feel differently. We did that when I met with their representatives. I said this is serious but we know your government is not responsible but it reflects on the Arabs.3 All those things reflected on troops. The thing that frightened me about the planes was that they will explode them with passengers in them. Now they are under command of PFLP and the Jordanian Army and in different hotels. Now if we say we may invade it might cause these fanatics to react the wrong way.
K: It’s just that we agreed to check this morning.
R: I would have checked earlier but I was testifying.
K: I wasn’t criticizing.
R: We will keep you advised.
- Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, Kissinger Telephone Conversations, Box 30, Chronological Files. No classification marking.↩
- Telegram 4638 from Amman, September 12, 1245Z. (Ibid., RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, AV 12 US)↩
- See Document 211.↩