Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume XXIX, Eastern Europe; Eastern Mediterranean, 1969–1972

253. Memorandum From the Presidentʼs Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon¹

Washington, September 24, 1969.

SUBJECT

• Your Query About Effectiveness of Greek Forces

You asked about a statement in the Christian Science Monitor² that “the Greek army no longer exists as a stable, organized force in being. It is divided and humiliated and its effectiveness as an instrument of the Greek nation is broken.”

Attached is the Defense Intelligence Agencyʼs judgment³ that except for problems resulting partly from our suspension of arms, “there is no indication that any of the Greek Armed Forces have had their capabilities degraded as a result of the internal political situation.”

CIA feels that there may be some damage to morale because of Junta interference with the officer corps, but that this would make little difference in a foreign war and has not affected the basic capability of the army.

State feels that the army might even be more effective than before the coup, because the junta has removed some dead wood at the top.

Stories like that in the Monitor appear regularly and often seem generated by anti-junta expatriates.

1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 593, Country Files—Middle East, Greece, Vol. I Jan 69–Oct 70. Secret. Sent for information. A notation on the memorandum, presumably made by Nixon, reads: “good.”
2. August 28, 1969.
3. Attached but not printed.