Office of the Historian

5. National Security Study Memorandum 301

Washington, March 19, 1969.

TO

  • The Secretary of State
  • The Secretary of Defense
  • The Secretary of the Interior
  • The Secretary of Agriculture
  • The Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission
  • The Director of Central Intelligence
  • The Administrator, Agency for International Development

SUBJECT

  • Water Development and Middle East Policy

The President has requested a paper covering the economic and technological aspects of the following:

  • —the pros and cons in current thinking about the applicability of large-scale desalting in the Middle East;
  • —the pros and cons of proceeding with a 40-million-gallon-perday desalting plant in Israel;
  • —the alternative approaches to water development in the Middle East.

This paper should identify ways in which the U.S. private sector is involved in programs now dealing with these matters.

In addition to the above report on the economic and technological aspects, a paper should present alternative strategies for relating the technological track to our political strategy in the area.

The President has directed that the study be prepared by the NSC Interdepartmental Group for Near East and that the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and the Administrator of AID each designate a representative to sit on the Group for this purpose.

These papers should be forwarded to the NSC Review Group by May 23.

Henry A. Kissinger
  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–141, National Security Study Memoranda, NSSM 30. Secret; Exdis. Copies were sent to Mayo and DuBridge.↩