440. Memorandum From the Presidentʼs Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon1
SUBJECT
- Kidnappings in Turkey—As of 5:00 p.m. Saturday2
The search in Turkey is still on. After the campus disturbances and deaths yesterday, our embassy reports Ankara as “remarkably” calm today. Local press accounts have been condemning the kidnappers but have taken the opportunity for a few punches at the U.S. presence in Turkey. Your position on not pressing Turkey to negotiate has been given coverage.
There has been no further word from the terrorists since a message Friday addressed to the U.S. embassy which reiterated conditions for release and enclosed four—believed authentic—messages from the kidnapped airmen. This message did not explicitly threaten execution and now that the deadline has passed, it is generally felt in Turk circles that it will be extended de facto. The danger, of course, will continue until they are released.
Prime Minister Demirel has conveyed to Ambassador Handley that Turk efforts were being broadened today. The men are believed to be somewhere in the greater Ankara area and Turk police have raided local homes on the basis of “tip-offs.” There are no government plans to negotiate with the kidnappers. The Turks have also ruled out plans to impose martial law for the time being.
Ambassador Handley, in line with our policy, has told the Turkish government that we do not intend to pay ransom. This policy has come under attack here by families of the airmen speaking to the U.S. [Page 1083] press. The Air Force prepositioned an aircraft in Athens containing the ransom sum on an extremis contingency basis pending any change in our policy, but it would not move without such a change.3
- Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC, Box 633, Country Files—Middle East, Turkey, Vol. II 1 Jan 1970–31 Dec 1971. Secret; Nodis. Sent for information. The memorandum was not initialed by Kissinger, but Haig initialed the first page.↩
- At 1:30 a.m. on March 4, four USAF airmen were abducted with their vehicle by “radical leftists” armed with automatic weapons. On the morning of March 4 messages were sent to Turkish news agencies and the Turkish radio organization demanding $400,000 ransom by 6 p.m. on Friday and that a revolutionary manifesto the group provided be read over Turkish radio. The Department of State instructed the Embassy in Ankara to inform the Government that the United States would not pay the ransom, a decision that coincided with the Turkish Governmentʼs unwillingness to pay ransom. (Memorandum from Rogers to Nixon, March 4; ibid.)↩
- On March 8 Kissinger sent the President a memorandum, which Nixon saw, informing him that the kidnapped airmen had been freed unharmed. (Ibid.)↩