284. National Security Decision Memorandum 671
TO
- The Secretary of State
- The Secretary of Defense
SUBJECT
- Military Supply Policy Toward Greece
Based on the NSC discussion of June 172 and the memorandum from the Chairman of the NSC Under Secretaries Committee, “Resumption of Deliveries of Suspended Military Shipments to Greece,”3 the President has approved the following as the principal elements in a course of action to implement the decision to resume arms shipments to Greece:
- —Prime Minister Papadopoulos may be told in advance and in strictest confidence of the U.S. intention to resume military shipments after, in our judgment, such resumption will no longer seriously jeopardize the Foreign Military Sales bill and assuming legislative authority for such resumption.
- —In this connection, he may be told that our target for resumption is about September 1.
- —The Prime Minister should be further informed that in connection with the resumption it is anticipated that there will be further specific steps which we can cite as further evidence of progress toward full constitutional government. The Prime Minister can be told that the U.S. takes at face value and accepts without reservation his assurances on moving toward parliamentary democracy.
The U.S. Ambassador in Greece should be given discretion on the question of timing of (a) the delivery of the letter from the President to the Prime Minister; (b) advice to the Prime Minister of our intention to resume shipments; and (c) informing him of the necessity of specific further evidence of progress toward constitutional government in Greece.
- Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–217, National Security Decision Memoranda, NSDM 67. Secret; Nodis; Exclusively Eyes Only. A copy was sent to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.↩
- See Document 283.↩
- Document 278.↩