Office of the Historian

205. Memorandum From Harold E. Horan of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (Scowcroft)1

Washington, July 10, 1974.

SUBJECT

  • Turkish Opium

Bud McFarlane told me last night that according to Tom Korologos,2 the Mondale Amendment cutting off aid to Turkey, which will be offered in connection with the authorization bill for the Drug Enforcement Agency budget (S. 3355), is now due to come up on the Senate Floor tomorrow, July 11.3 I have confirmed this with Mr. Weiss, Chief of the Congressional Relations Section of DEA.

In Korologos’ view, and others agree, Secretary Kissinger needs to get involved in this one on an urgent basis. One suggestion is that the Secretary contact the Senate Foreign Relations and the Military Affairs [Page 672] Committees to urge against precipitate action in view of the damage such action could create not only for our bilateral relations, but in the NATO context. We might urge that on an issue as important as this, the Senate Committees should have an opportunity to hold hearings (I understand, by the way, that the House will hold hearings next week on the Wolff Resolution calling on the President to suspend aid to Turkey.) Also, cutting off aid now would weaken seriously our ability to cooperate with the Turks in preventing Turkish heroin from being smuggled into the US.

Attached at Tab A is a draft copy of an options paper4 for Presidential decision which State is circulating to members of the European/IG and the Combined Committee on International Narcotics Control. The Secretary has been provided an advance copy as well. The recommended option involves working with the Turks on controls, but with a clear warning that Section 481 of the Foreign Assistance Act is being considered and would be invoked if we were not convinced their control system is adequate. The credibility of this threat would be increased by applying pressure at several points by “(a) denying a recent GOT request of transfer to Turkey of two excess US naval vessels,” and “(b) informing the GOT that we will not for the present grant Turkey any military assistance under our current continuing resolution authority and will not make any disbursements under FY 1975 Foreign Assistance until we are convinced that the GOT has an adequate plan to prevent smuggling.” An element of this scenario is that we must persuade Congress to withhold punitive action against Turkey.

Recommendation

That you urge Secretary Kissinger to contact the appropriate Committees to request delay on action of the type proposed by Mondale.5

  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 634, Country Files, Middle East, Turkey, Vol. IV. Secret. Sent for urgent action. A notation in Scowcroft’s handwriting on the memorandum indicates that Kissinger saw it.↩
  2. Thomas Korologos was Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs.↩
  3. According to the President’s Evening Report of July 11: “A wide range of efforts from several sources converged successfully on Senator Mondale this morning; the net result being that he revised his original amendment which would have cut off aid to Turkey immediately. The new amendment, co-sponsored by Senators Humphrey, Buckley and several others, passed the Senate 81 to 8. It would require suspension of aid after January 1975 unless the President can certify that the Turks have taken effective safeguard measures to prevent the diversion of opium into illicit markets.” (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 61, President’s Daily Briefs, July 1–15, 1974)↩
  4. Attached but not printed.↩
  5. No approval or disapproval is indicated.↩