Office of the Historian
  1. Home
  2. Historical Documents
  3. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume XXXV, National Security Policy, 1973–1976
  4. Sources

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 also 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. U.S. foreign policy agencies and Departments—the Department of State, the National Security Council, the Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Nixon Presidential Materials Project at the National Archives and Records Administration facility in College Park, Maryland, and the Gerald R. Ford Library at Ann Arbor, Michigan—have complied fully with this law and provided complete access to their relevant records. In addition, Henry Kissinger, Elliot Richardson, and James Schlesinger have approved access to their private papers at the Library of Congress. These papers are key sources for the Nixon-Ford subseries.

Sources for Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, Volume XXXV

The Nixon Presidential Materials Project at the National Archives and Records Administration facility in College Park, Maryland, held a number of important record collections used in documenting the formulation and implementation of national security policy; these records were transferred to their permanent home at the Nixon Presidential Library, in Yorba Linda, California, after research for this volume was completed. The National Security Council (NSC) Institutional Files (H-Files) are particularly important. The H-Files contain the working files and meeting minutes of the National Security Council and its various subgroups under Nixon, including the Senior Review Group, the Verification Panel, and the Defense Program Review Committee (DPRC), the subcommittee responsible for defense matters. Those bodies often met to discuss the many defense-related studies conducted by the administration. The H-Files contain the materials associated with those study memoranda, called National Security Study Memoranda (NSSMs), and the resulting policy papers, or National Security Decision Memoranda (NSDMs). The H-Files’ Intelligence Files, [Page XIV] especially those pertaining to the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB), shed light upon the Team A/Team B exercise and telecommunications security. The NSC Files are also useful, notably their Subject Files and Agency Files, which include sub-files for the Department of Defense, PFIAB, and other official bodies. Those interested in the views of President Nixon or his Assistant for National Security Affairs Henry Kissinger should consult the President/HAK Memcons (part of the NSC Files), the White House Tapes, and the White House Special Files, especially the latter’s President’s Handwriting Files, Memoranda for the President, and Memoranda from the President.

The Ford Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, similarly holds several important collections. The NSC Institutional Files (H-Files) are, again, the place to start. The H-Files hold NSSMs, NSDMs, and the files and minutes associated with the meetings of the National Security Council and its various subcommittees under Ford, including the Senior Review Group, the Verification Panel, and the Defense Review Panel (DRP). Researchers should pay close attention to the records of the DRP, as in 1976 it replaced the DPRC as the NSC subgroup responsible for defense matters. The National Security Adviser Files at the Ford Library are also crucial. Notable are the Kissinger-Scowcroft West Wing Office Files and the Presidential Agency Files, which contain sub-files regarding the Department of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, among other agencies. The National Security Adviser Memoranda of Conversation show that President Ford and his Assistants for National Security Affairs—first Kissinger; later Brent Scowcroft—regularly discussed national security policy alone or with other officials, including Secretaries of Defense James Schlesinger and Donald Rumsfeld. The NSC Program Analysis Staff Files should not be missed, for they contain unique documentation regarding the DRP and the Team A/Team B controversy. Material about that episode is also found in the files of Counselor to the President John O. Marsh. It is a challenge to document President Ford’s views, but the Presidential Handwriting File and the Presidential Files of the White House Special Files do shed some light on them when it comes to the defense budget.

For the Department of State’s positions on national security matters, researchers should consult the National Archives. The Central Foreign Policy File contains a significant amount of non-cable traffic—internal memoranda and studies—about security assistance. Lot Files are another important resource. Lot 80D212 contains NSSMs and associated materials. Deputy Secretary of State Charles W. Robinson often represented the Department at meetings held to discuss defense policy during Secretary of State Kissinger’s many absences. His Lot File—Lot 77D117—contains unique records of some DRP and NSC meetings held in 1976. The transcripts of Secretary Kissinger’s staff meetings reveal a [Page XV] great deal about his views and those of other Department officials about security assistance and other defense issues.

The Library of Congress holds a number of private papers of former officials intimately involved in the making of national security policy during the Nixon and Ford years. The Kissinger Papers are indispensable. Their Subject File contains the copies of the minutes of Kissinger’s occasional meetings with Secretary of Defense Schlesinger during which a wide range of defense and foreign policy issues were discussed. Like Robinson’s Lot File, the Kissinger Papers include copies of the minutes of NSC and NSC subgroup meetings not found in the Ford Library. These records are in the Papers’ files on the NSC, Committees and Panels. Also at the Library of Congress are the private papers of all three secretaries of defense from 1973 to 1976: Eliot Richardson, James Schlesinger, and Donald Rumsfeld. Richardson’s papers are not particularly valuable as he served as Secretary of Defense for only a few months. The Schlesinger Papers’ Action Memoranda are important—not only for his time at the Pentagon, but also for his stint as Director of Central Intelligence—and should be consulted. The editor was not granted access to Secretary Rumsfeld’s papers.

Researchers should consult the decimal files of the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense held at the Washington National Records Center in Suitland, Maryland, which contain internal Department of Defense studies, memoranda, and correspondence. Each year’s files, which are extensive, are divided into two separate collections, Secret and Top Secret; see the source list below. Also useful are the Records of the Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Record Group 218, held at the National Archives.

As for intelligence matters—namely Team A/Team B and the Hughes Glomar Explorer—two sets of records, in addition to those listed above, are noteworthy. The National Security Council in Washington, D.C. maintains the records of the so-called NSC intelligence files. Of inestimable historical value, these files contain NSC and CIA studies and correspondence, including memoranda to the President. The centerpiece of these files is the records of the NSC subcommittee responsible for covert actions. During most of the Nixon and Ford administrations, this committee was known as the 40 Committee. The Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Virginia also maintains a number of indispensable records. Those dealing with the production of finished intelligence are centered in the National Intelligence Council Files, while the Executive Registry contains the records of the Director and Deputy Director of Central Intelligence.

[Page XVI]

Unpublished Sources

  • National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland
    • Record Group 59, Records of the Department of State
      • Central Foreign Policy File, 1973–1976
      • Lot Files
        • Records of Henry A. Kissinger, Entry 5403, Lot 91D414
          • Records of Secretary of State Kissinger, 1973–1977
        • Transcripts of Secretary of State Kissinger’s Staff Meetings, Entry 5177, Lot 78D443
          • Transcripts of Secretary of State Kissinger’s Staff Meetings, 1973–77
        • Records of Charles W. Robinson, Entry 5176, Lot 77D117
          • Records of Deputy Secretary Robinson, 1976–77
        • Records of the Office of the Counselor, Sonnenfeldt Files, Entry 5339, Lot 81D286
          • Records of Counselor Helmut Sonnenfeldt, 1955–77
        • SIS–I NSSM Files: Lot 80D212
          • National Security Study Memoranda (IVSSMs) and follow-up studies, organized by NSSM number, 1969–1976
        • S/S–I Files: Entry UDWX1510, Lot 83D305
          • National Security Decision Memoranda (NSDMs) and associated materials, organized by NSDM number, 1969–1976
    • Record Group 218, Records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
      • Records of the Chairman, Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, 1970–74
      • Records of the Chairman, General George S. Brown, 1974–78
  • Nixon Presidential Materials
    • National Security Council Files
      • Agency Files
        • Department of Defense
        • President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board
      • Kissinger Office Files
      • Name Files
      • President’s Daily Briefing
      • President/HAK Memcons
      • Subject Files
    • NSC Institutional Files (H-Files)
      • National Security Council Meetings and Minutes
      • Senior Review Group Meetings and Minutes
      • Verification Panel Meetings and Minutes
      • Defense Program Review Committee Meetings and Minutes
      • Intelligence Files, PFIAB
      • Policy Papers: National Security Decision Memoranda
      • Study Memoranda
    • White House Central Files
      • President’s Daily Diary
    • White House Special Files
      • President’s Office Files
        • Memoranda for the President
        • President’s Handwriting Files
    • President’s Personal Files
      • Memoranda from the President
    • White House Tapes
  • Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Ann Arbor, Michigan
    • National Security Adviser
      • Memoranda of Conversations
      • National Security Council Meetings File
      • Kissinger-Scowcroft West Wing Office Files
      • National Security Decision Memoranda and National Security Study Memoranda
      • Presidential Agency File
        • Department of Defense
        • Joint Chiefs of Staff
      • Presidential Name File
      • Presidential Subject File
      • Presidential Country Files for Europe and Canada
      • NSC Staff for Program Analysis: Convenience Files
      • Staff Assistants: Peter W. Rodman Files
    • NSC Institutional Files (H-Files)
    • Presidential Handwriting File
    • White House Special Files
      • Presidential Files
    • White House, Staff Secretary’s Office
      • President’s Daily Diary
    • John O. Marsh Files
      • Intelligence Subject File
    • Philip W. Buchen Files
      • Intelligence Subject File
  • Central Intelligence Agency, Langley, Virginia
    • National Intelligence Council
      • Job 79R00603A: O/DDI Policy Files
      • Job 79R01012A: Intelligence Publications Files
      • Job 84R01033R: Speeches/Lectures/Briefing Files
      • Job 85B00134R: Intelligence Publications Files
      • Job 91M00696R: Subject Policy Files
      • Job 91R00884R: Intelligence Publications Files
    • Office of the Director of Central Intelligence
      • Job 80M01048A: Subject Files
      • Job 80M01066A: E[xecutive] R[egistry] Subject Files
      • Job 80M01009A: Subject Files
  • Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Washington, D.C.
    • Manuscripts Division
      • Papers of Henry A. Kissinger
        • Geopolitical File
        • Subject File
        • Memoranda of Conversations
        • Files on the National Security Council
      • Eliot Richardson Papers
      • James Schlesinger Papers
        • Action Memoranda
  • National Security Council, Washington, D.C.
    • Intelligence Files
  • Washington National Records Center, Suitland, Maryland
    • RG 330, Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense
      • FRC 330–76–0117
        • Secret Decimal Files of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, 1973
      • FRC 330–76–0187
        • Top Secret Decimal Files of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, 1973
      • FRC 330–77–0063
        • Top Secret Decimal Files of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, 1974
      • FRC 330–78–0002
        • Top Secret Decimal Files of the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, 1973
      • FRC 330–78–0010
        • Top Secret Decimal Files of the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, 1974
      • FRC 330–78–0011
        • Secret Decimal Files of the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, 1974
      • FRC 330–79–0049
        • Secret Decimal Files of the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, 1976
      • FRC 330–79–0050
        • Top Secret Decimal Files of the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, 1976

Published Sources

  • Center for the Study of Intelligence. Intentions and Capabilities: Estimates on Soviet Strategic Forces, 1950–1983. Washington: Central Intelligence Agency, 1996.
  • Central Intelligence Agency. “Project AZORIAN: The Story of the Hughes Glomar Explorer,” Studies in Intelligence 22, No. 3 (Fall 1978), pp. 1–50.
  • National Intelligence Council. Tracking the Dragon: National Intelligence Estimates on China during the Era of Mao, 1949–1976. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2004.
  • Sharp, David H. The CIA’S Greatest Covert operation: Inside the Daring Mission to Recover a Nuclear-Armed Soviet Sub. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2012.
  • U.S. Department of State. Bulletin, 1973–1976.
  • U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Gerald R. Ford, 1974–1977. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1975–1979.
  • U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Richard M. Nixon, 1973–1974. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1971–1975.