Office of the Historian

Sources

Sources for the Foreign Relations Series

The 1991 Foreign Relations statute requires that the published record in the Foreign Relations series include all records needed to provide comprehensive documentation on major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant U.S. diplomatic activity. It further requires that government agencies, departments, and other entities of the U.S. Government engaged in foreign policy formulation, execution, or support cooperate with the Department of State Historian by providing full and complete access to records pertinent to foreign policy decisions and actions and by providing copies of selected records. Most of the sources consulted in the preparation of this volume have been declassified and are available for review at the National Archives and Records Administration.

The editors of the Foreign Relations series have complete access to all the retired records and papers of the Department of State: the central files of the Department; the special decentralized files (“lot files”) of the Department at the bureau, office, and division levels; the files of the Department′s Executive Secretariat, which contain the records of international conferences and high-level official visits, correspondence with foreign leaders by the President and Secretary of State, and memoranda of conversations between the President and Secretary of State and foreign officials; and the files of overseas diplomatic posts. All the Department′s indexed central files through July 1973 have been permanently transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, Maryland (Archives II). Many of the Department′s decentralized office files covering the 1969–1976 period, which the National Archives deems worthy of permanent retention, have been transferred or are in the process of being transferred from the Department′s custody to Archives II.

The editors of the Foreign Relations series also have full access to the papers of Presidents Nixon and Ford as well as other White House foreign policy records. Presidential papers maintained and preserved at the Presidential libraries include some of the most significant foreign affairs-related documentation from the Department of State and other Federal agencies including the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dr. Henry Kissinger has approved access to his papers at the Library of Congress. These papers are a key source for the Nixon-Ford subseries of the Foreign Relations series.

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Research for this volume was completed through special access to restricted documents at the Nixon Presidential Materials Project, the Ford Presidential Library, the Library of Congress, and other agencies. While all the material printed in this volume has been declassified, some of it is extracted from still classified documents. In the time since the research for this volume was completed, the Nixon Presidential Materials have been transferred to the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California. The Nixon Presidential Library staff is processing and declassifying many of the documents used in this volume, but they may not be available in their entirety at the time of publication.

Sources for Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, Volume XXVI

The holdings of the Nixon Presidential Materials Staff at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), specifically the National Security Council (NSC) Files are the most valuable resources for Nixon administration foreign policy at the highest level. Within the NSC Files, the NSC Institutional Files or (H-Files), are of particular importance. These contain the relevant National Security Study Memoranda, the resulting National Security Decision Memoranda, supporting study and policy papers, other background material, and memoranda of note. They contain documents prepared for the National Security Council, Senior Review Group meetings, and Washington Special Action Group meetings, and the minutes of those meetings.

Also held by the Nixon Presidential Materials Staff as part of the NSC Files, are the Agency Files, the Country Files, the Saunders Files, Kissinger′s Office Files, Presidential/HAK Memcons, and Subject Files. For this volume, the Presidential/HAK Memcons provided crucial memoranda of conversation that included many verbatim discussions between Kissinger and leaders of the countries involved in shuttle diplomacy, especially Israel, Egypt, and Syria, but also including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon. The Country Files hold valuable material for researching bilateral relations. Although much of the material in the Country Files can be found in Record Group 59, the Department of State Central Files, the Country Files contain cable traffic on topics deemed most significant by the White House. The Country Files also include memoranda of conversation involving various Middle Eastern leaders, and White House, State Department, and NSC assessments of each country′s importance to the United States in terms of Middle East negotiations. The Country Files, the Presidential Trip Files, and VIP Visits Files (which include important briefing material) provide comprehensive documentation on high-level meetings, which are crucial to the makeup of this volume. The most critical Country Files for this volume include Israel, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. Kissinger′s [Page XIII] Office Files, particularly his Country Files on Egypt, and the Middle East, are an important source of material. Although significant for researching Middle East issues during this period, the Harold H. Saunders Files include lower level material during this era of U.S. diplomacy in the Arab-Israeli dispute. Saunders regularly maintained copies of critical cable traffic, most NSC internal memoranda, study papers, background and briefing material prepared for Kissinger, and letters to Kissinger for Nixon.

The most significant material for this volume found in the Ford Library derived from the National Security Adviser file. Since this volume includes a large number of memoranda of conversation relating to the various negotiations during Ford′s presidency, the Memoranda of Conversation section of this file proved especially rich with verbatim memoranda of conversation between Kissinger and various foreign and domestic leaders. Also within the National Security Adviser file, the Trip Briefing Books for Henry Kissinger held helpful documentation for Kissinger′s shuttles that took place in the Middle East from 1974 to 1975.

For the chapter on Lebanon, the Record Group 59 Lot Files, held at NARA, were of primary importance for Secretary of State Kissinger′s Staff Meetings, which included memoranda of conversation between Kissinger and high level officers within the Department. At these meetings Kissinger and his staff observed the situation in Lebanon between 1975 and 1976 and debated what U.S. actions needed to be implemented. Many of these conversations include Kissinger′s take not only on Lebanon but also asides about his views regarding the Department of State′s bureaucracy and general current affairs of that time. Additionally, the Country Files for Lebanon provide some relevant cable traffic between the Department of State and the U.S. embassy in Lebanon.

The Henry A. Kissinger Papers at the Library of Congress were essential for this volume although these papers are closed to the public. The Kissinger Papers contain copies of telegrams and memoranda of conversation not available in any other repositories. The Geopolitical Files and Subject Files proved most helpful in finding telegrams and memoranda of conversation that were not available elsewhere. Additionally, within the Geopolitical Files and the Chronological Files for Egypt, Israel, Syria, and the Middle East, there are many documents either not found in other repositories or found in more complete form.

Documentation from Record Group 330, Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the Washington National Records Center in Suitland, Maryland, which are also closed to the general public, proved of minimal use as the Department of Defense played no significant role in diplomatic negotiations. However, material relating to arms sales are [Page XIV] plentiful there, especially memoranda of conversation between Israeli leaders and the Secretary of Defense as well as some Arab leaders and DOD officials.

For those who wish to see conversations between King Hussein and Kissinger as well as a meeting between King Hussein and President Ford, several memoranda of conversation are listed below. They provide insight into various subjects of interest to both sides during this period. For 1974, there are memoranda of conversation for January 19 (National Archives, S/S Files, Lot 91D414, Box 3, Folder–Nodis Memcons September–December Folder 7 cont′d), March 3 (National Archives, S/S Files, Lot 91D414, Box 7, Folder–Nodis Memcons March 1974 Folder 6), March 15 (National Archives, S/S Files, Lot 91D414, Box 7, Folder–Nodis Memcons March 1974 Folder 7), May 5 (National Archives, S/S Files, Lot 91D414, Box 8, Folder–Nodis Memcons May 1974 Folder 3), August 16 (National Archives, S/S Files, Lot 91D414, Box 9, Folder–Nodis Memcons August 1974 Folder 4), and October 12 (National Archives, S/S Files, Lot 91D414, Box 25, Folder–CATC Nodis Memcons). On April 29, 1975, King Hussein met with President Ford for the first time and discussed the Egyptian-Israeli negotiations as well as bilateral relations between Jordan and the United States (National Archives, S/S Files, Lot 91D414, Box 22, Folder–Classified External Memcons, December 1974–April 1975 Folder 7).

Almost all of this documentation has been made available for use in the Foreign Relations series thanks to the consent of the agencies mentioned, the assistance of their staffs, and especially the cooperation and support of the National Archives and Records Administration.

The following list identifies the particular files and collections used in the preparation of this volume. In addition to the paper files cited below, a growing number of documents are available on the Internet. The Office of the Historian maintains a list of these Internet resources on its website and suggests that readers refer to that site on a regular basis.

Unpublished Sources

  • Department of State
    • Central Files. See Record Group 59 under National Archives and Records Administration below
    • Lot Files. See Record Group 59 under National Archives and Records Administration Below
  • National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland
    • Record Group 59, General Records of the Department of State
      • Central Foreign Policy Files, 1973–1976
        • Part of the online Access to Archival Databases; Electronic Telegrams, P-Reel Index, P-Reel microfilm
      • Lot Files
        • S/S Files, Lot 78D443
          • Transcripts of Secretary of State Kissinger′s Staff Meetings, 1973–1977
        • S/S Files, Lot 91D414
          • Records of Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, 1973–1977
        • S/S Files, Lot 74D131
          • Records of Assistant Secretary of State Joseph Sisco, 1973–77
  • Nixon Presidential Materials Project, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland (now at the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, Yorba Linda, California)
    • National Security Council (NSC) Files
      • Agency Files
      • Backchannel Files
      • Country Files
        • Europe
      • Kissinger Office Files
      • Country Files
        • Middle East
      • HAK Trip Files
      • Name Files
      • NSC Institutional Materials (H-Files)
        • Meeting Files, Senior Review Group Meetings
        • Minutes of Meetings, NSC Meeting Minutes
        • Minutes of Meetings, Senior Review Group
        • Miscellaneous Institutional Files of the Nixon Administration
        • Policy Papers, National Security Decision Memorandums
        • Study Memorandums, National Security Study Memorandums
      • NSC Unfiled Material
      • Presidential Correspondence
      • Presidential/HAK Memcons
      • Harold H. Saunders Files, Middle East Negotiations Files Subject Files
      • VIP Visits
    • White House Central Files
      • President′s Daily Diary
    • Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Ann Arbor, Michigan
      • National Security Adviser Files
        • Backchannel Messages
        • Kissinger Reports on the USSR, China, and Middle East Discussions
        • Kissinger-Scowcroft West Wing Office Files
        • Memoranda of Conversations
        • National Security Decision Memoranda and National Security Study Memoranda
        • NSC Staff for Middle East and South Asia, Convenience Files
        • NSC Meeting Minutes
        • Presidential Country Files for the Middle East and South Asia
        • Presidential Name File
        • Presidential Subject File
        • Scowcroft Daily Work Files
      • National Security Council Institutional Files
      • President′s Daily Diary
    • Library of Congress, Washington, DC
      • Papers of Henry A. Kissinger
        • Cables
        • Chronological File
        • Department of State
        • Geopolitical File
        • Memoranda of Conversations
        • National Security Council
    • Washington National Records Center, Suitland, Maryland
      • RG 330, Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense
        • OSD Files: FRC 330–79–0050
          • Top Secret Records of the Secretary of Defense and the Special Assistant to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense
        • OSD Files: FRC 330–79–0058
          • Secret Records of the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and the Special Assistant to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense

Published Sources

  • Kissinger, Henry. Years of Upheaval. Boston: Little, Brown, 1982.
  • ———. Years of Renewal. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999.
  • United Nations. Yearbook of the United Nations, 1973. New York: Office of Public Information, United Nations, 1976.
  • United States. Department of State. Bulletin. 1973–1976.
  • ———. National Archives and Records Administration. Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Richard M. Nixon, 1971, 1972, 1973. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1972, 1974, 1975.
  • ———. National Archives and Records Administration. Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Gerald R. Ford, 1974, 1975, 1976–1977. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1975, 1977, 1979.