Office of the Historian

Sources

Sources for the Foreign Relations Series

The 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 further 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. Many of the sources consulted in the preparation of this volume have declassified and are available for review at the National Archives and Records Administration.

The editors of the Foreign Relations series have complete access to all the retired records and papers of the Department of State: the central files of the Department; the special decentralized files (“lot files”) of the Department at the bureau, office, and division levels; the files of the Department’s Executive Secretariat, which contain the records of international conferences and high-level official visits, correspondence with foreign leaders by the President and Secretary of State, and memoranda of conversations between the President and Secretary of State and foreign officials; and the files of overseas diplomatic posts. The Department’s indexed central files through the end of the Ford Administration have been permanently transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, Maryland (Archives II). Beginning in July 1973, the Department phased out the old subject-numeric Central Files classification system, replacing it with an electronic system, the State Archiving System (SAS), which has been transferred to the National Archives and, as the Central Foreign Policy File, comprises part of the online Access to Archival Databases (AAD). The reader will note a period of overlap of the two systems during 1973, which is reflected in the citations found in this volume. Many of the Department’s decentralized office (or lot) files covering the 1969–1976 period, which the National Archives deems worthy of permanent retention, have been transferred, or are in the process of being transferred, from the Department’s custody to Archives II.

The editors of the Foreign Relations series also have full access to the papers of Presidents Nixon and Ford and other White House foreign policy records. Presidential papers maintained and preserved at the Presidential libraries include some of the most significant foreign [Page XII] affairs-related documentation from the Department of State and other Federal agencies including the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Henry Kissinger has approved access to his papers at the Library of Congress. These papers are an important source for the Nixon–Ford subseries of Foreign Relations.

Access to the Nixon White House tape recordings is governed by the terms of the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act (Public Law 93–526; 88 Stat. 1695) and an access agreement with the Office of Presidential Libraries of the National Archives and Records Administration and the Nixon estate. In February 1971 President Nixon initiated a voice-activated taping system in the Oval Office of the White House and, subsequently, in the President’s Office in the Executive Office Building, Camp David, the Cabinet Room, and White House and Camp David telephones. The audiotapes include conversations of President Nixon with his Assistant for National Security Affairs Henry Kissinger, other White House aides, Secretary of State William Rogers, other Cabinet officers, members of Congress, and key foreign officials. The clarity of the voices on the tape recordings is often very poor, but the editors have made every effort to verify the accuracy of the transcripts that they prepared of the recorded conversations. Readers are urged to consult the recordings for a full appreciation of those aspects of the discussions that cannot be fully captured in a transcription, such as the speakers’ inflection and emphases that may convey nuances of meaning, as well as the larger context of the discussion.

Research for this volume was completed through special access to restricted documents at the Nixon Presidential Materials Project, the Ford Library, the Library of Congress, and other agencies. While all the material printed in this volume has been declassified, some of it is extracted from still-classified documents. Since research for this volume was completed, the Nixon Presidential Materials have been transferred to their permanent home at the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California. The Nixon Library staff and Ford Library staff are processing and declassifying many of the documents used in this volume, but they may not be available in their entirety at the time of publication.

Sources for Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, Volume XXXVIII, Part 2

The compilations represented in Volume XXXVIII, Part 2 draw upon a wide range of sources.

The compilation covering the Congressional investigation and subsequent reorganization of the intelligence community (Chapter 1) draws extensively upon documentation from the Ford Library, Nixon Presidential Materials, Central Intelligence Agency, National Security [Page XIII] Council, and the papers of James R. Schlesinger and Henry A. Kissinger located in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. The Nixon White House National Security Council Files and the National Security Council Institutional Files (H-Files), both located at the time of research at Archives II and now located at the Nixon Library, and the Nixon Administration Intelligence Files maintained by the National Security Council provided valuable records of the state of the Intelligence Community and its relationship to other foreign policymaking agencies during the last 18 months of the Nixon administration. At the Ford Library, the President’s Handwriting File, the National Security Adviser collection (especially the Outside the System Chronological File and Memoranda of Conversations file), and the files of White House officials Richard B. Cheney, Philip W. Buchen, and John O. Marsh proved to be indispensable for gaining insight into the White House’s reaction to the public scandal created by the leak of the “Family Jewels” in late 1974 and the nature of its interactions with the Congressional committees created to investigate the intelligence community the following year. Additional perspective on the Congressional investigations and the functioning of the Intelligence Community following the Ford administration’s reorganization of the community in February 1976 is provided by the Executive Files of the Director of Central Intelligence, maintained by the CIA.

The documentation included in the chapter on information policy, public diplomacy, and cultural affairs (Chapter 2) comes from several sources. Researchers are urged to consult the records of the United States Information Agency’s (USIA) Executive Committee, part of Record Group 306 at Archives II. Created in 1969, the Executive Committee served as the USIA’s central deliberative and policymaking body during James Keogh’s directorship, 1973–1976. The Committee’s records include meeting minutes as well as papers, studies, reports, proposals, and memoranda it considered.

The chapter also draws upon several other USIA collections, including the Director’s chronological files, 1973–1976; special reports prepared by the Agency’s Office of Research; and the Agency’s Historical Collection, especially the Subject Files, 1953–2000, and the Reports and Studies, 1953–1998, sub-collections. Readers should note that source note citations to this collection are reflective of the files’ disposition at Archives II at the time of this volume’s compilation and that some of the file entry numbers may have changed since that time.

Most of the records of the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (CU) for this period were transferred to the University of Arkansas in 1983. Some high-level materials still remain in the Department of State’s possession, however. Researchers are advised to note the following: the Records of the Assistant Secretary [Page XIV] of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, Subject Files, 1960–1976, and the Subject Files, 1961–1977, of the Bureau’s Office of Policy and Plans. As of this writing, these two collections are housed at the Washington National Records Center in Suitland, Maryland, but are scheduled for transfer to Archives II. The following Department of State materials located at Archives II also include relevant documentation: the Policy Planning Staff Director’s File (Lord); the Records of the Counselor (Sonnenfeldt); the Records of the Deputy Secretary, 1976–1977 (Robinson); the General Correspondence of the Deputy Under Secretary for Management (Eagleburger); and the Central Foreign Policy File.

Chapter 2 also includes records of the Nixon and Ford administrations. The Nixon and Ford administration intelligence files located at the National Security Council in Washington, DC, include documentation on covert propaganda and media programs conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency. There are occasional references to CU in the Chronological File of the Kissinger Papers, located at the Library of Congress. As for the Nixon Presidential Materials, researchers should consider the following: NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files); White House Special Files, President’s Handwriting; White House Special Files, Confidential Files; and White House Central Files, Subject Files. At the Ford Library, the White House Central Files’ Subject Files and the NSC Institutional Files are useful, as are the following materials in the National Security Adviser’s collection: Memoranda of Conversations, National Security Decision and Study Memoranda, NSC Logged Documents, and Presidential Subject File. The Public Papers of Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter and the Department of State Bulletin provide insights on the administrations’ information policies, public diplomacy, and cultural affairs.

For the compilation on the management of the Department of State (Chapter 3), the lot files created by the office of the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Management were the most important. Lots 78 D 295 and 79 D 63 largely cover the tenure of L. Dean Brown as Deputy Under Secretary and provide extensive documentation related to the organization of the Foreign Service, personnel issues, and the status of minorities and women within the Department. These topics are also covered in the files of Lawrence S. Eagleburger (Lot 84D204), who succeeded Brown in May 1975. Moreover, Eagleburger’s lot file documents a broad range of topics related to Department of State policymaking beyond organizational matters due in large part to his role as Executive Assistant to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger beginning in September 1973. For candid insight into Kissinger’s views of the Department and its organization, the memoranda of conversations collections within the Department of State files in the Kissinger Papers and the National Security Adviser files at the Ford Library, were of great value. Like [Page XV] wise, the lot files of other key Department figures, especially Winston Lord, Charles W. Robinson, and Philip C. Habib, provided useful perspectives on efforts to improve the flow of information, deal with leaks, and to foster greater institutionalization in foreign policymaking. Documentation for the compilation covering the transition from Ford to Carter (Chapter 6) was drawn largely from the Transition Records of the Department of State Executive Secretariat (Lot 77D253, Entry 5338), an excellent, if somewhat small, resource for illustrating the mechanics of institutional transition from one administration to another.

To document efforts undertaken by the Nixon and Ford administrations to create new institutions to deal with the proliferation of defense, economic, and transnational, global issues between 1973 and 1976 (Chapter 4), the Nixon-era National Security Council files, especially the Agency Files, the NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), and the National Security Council Institutional Files at the Ford Library were the most useful. At NARA, the Charles W. Robinson lot file (Entry 5176) contains significant documentation related to economic matters. Similarly, the Nixon and Ford NSC collections formed the foundation of the compilation on the National Security Council System (Chapter 5). Of these, the Nixon H-Files as well as the Outside the System Chronological File and Kissinger-Scowcroft West Wing Office Files in the NSC collection at the Ford Library contained the richest veins of documentation, particularly on the various initiatives to expand NSC membership.

Much of the documentation used in the volume has been made available for use in the Foreign Relations series thanks to the consent of the agencies mentioned, the assistance of their staffs, and especially the cooperation and support of the National Archives and Records Administration.

The following list identifies the particular files and collections used in the preparation of this volume. The declassification and transfer to the National Archives of the Department of State records is in process, and many of these records are already available for public review at the National Archives. The declassification review of other records is going forward in accordance with the provisions of Executive Orders 12958 and 13142, under which all records over 25 years old, except file series exemptions requested by agencies and approved by the President.

Unpublished Sources

  • Department of State
    • Central Foreign Policy File. See National Archives and Records Administration below.
    • Lot Files. For lot files already transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, Maryland, Record Group 59, see National Archives and Records Administration below.
    • Administrative Correspondence Files, 1969–1977, Policy and Procedural Files of the Deputy Under Secretary for Management: Lot 79D63
    • Files of Philip C. Habib: Lot 81D5
    • Miscellaneous Management and Management Operations Files, 1969–1976: Lot 82D210
    • Files of Lawrence S. Eagleburger: Lot 84D204
    • INR/IL Historical Files
  • National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland
    • Record Group 59, General Records of the Department of State
      • Central Foreign Policy File, 1973–1976
        • Part of the online Access to Archival Databases: Electronic telegrams, P-Reel Index, P-Reel microfilm
      • Lot Files
        • Records of Joseph Sisco, 1951–76: Lots 74D131 and 76D251, Entry 5405
        • Policy Planning Staff (S/P), Director’s Files (Winston Lord) 1969–77: Lot 77D112, Entry 5027
        • Records of the Deputy Secretary of State Charles W. Robinson, 1976–77: Lot 77D117, Entry 5176
        • Transition Records of the Executive Secretariat, 1959–77: Lot 77D253, Entry 5338
        • Administrative Correspondence Files, General Correspondence Files of the Deputy Under Secretary for Management, 1968–75: Lot 78D295
        • Records of the Office of the Counselor Helmut Sonnenfeldt: Lot 81D286, Entry 5339
        • Records of Henry Kissinger, 1973–77: Lot 91D414, Entry 5403
    • Record Group 306, Records of the United States Information Agency
      • Executive Committee File, 1973–1975
      • Historical Collection
        • Bureau of Programs, Records Relating to Select USIA Programs: Entry A1 (1061)
        • Reports and Studies, 1953–1998: Entry A1 (1070)
        • Subject Files, 1953–2000: Entry A1 (1066)
      • Office of the Director, Subject File, 1973–1975
      • Office of Research
        • Special Reports, 1964–1982: Entry 1009B
  • Nixon Presidential Materials Project, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland (now at the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, Yorba Linda, California)
    • National Security Council Files
      • Agency Files
      • Country Files
      • Institutional Materials
      • Kissinger Office Files
        • Country Files
        • HAK Administrative and Staff Files
        • HAK Trip Files
      • NSC Unfiled Material
      • Presidential/HAK Memcons
      • Subject Files
    • National Security Council Institutional Files (H-Files)
      • Miscellaneous Institutional Files of the Nixon Administration—NSC System, Staff and Committees
      • National Security Council Meeting Minutes
      • National Security Decision Memoranda
      • National Security Study Memoranda
      • Under Secretaries Decision Memoranda
      • Under Secretaries Study Memoranda
    • White House Central Files
      • Staff Members and Office Files, Office of Presidential Papers and Archives, Daily Diary
      • Subject Files
    • White House Special Files
      • President’s Office Files
      • President’s Personal Files
      • Subject Files
    • White House Tapes
  • Gerald R. Ford Library, Ann Arbor, Michigan
    • Cabinet Meetings
    • National Security Adviser
      • Brent Scowcroft Daily Work Files
      • John K. Matheny Files
      • Kissinger Reports on USSR, China, and Middle East Discussions
      • Kissinger/Scowcroft West Wing Office Files
      • Legislative Interdepartmental Group File
      • Memoranda of Conversations
      • Name File
      • National Security Council Staff for Program Analysis, Convenience Files
      • National Security Study and Decision Memoranda, 1974–1977
      • NSC Press and Congressional Liaison Staff, 1973–1976
      • Outside the System Chronological File
      • Presidential Agency Files
      • Presidential Files of NSC Logged Documents
      • Presidential Subject Files
      • Presidential Transition File, 1974
      • Robert C. McFarlane Files
    • National Security Council
      • Institutional Files
        • National Security Council Meetings
        • Davis, Jeanne W.—Personal File
    • Philip W. Buchen Files
    • Richard B. Cheney Files
    • James E. Connor Files
    • Paul C. Leach Files
    • John O. Marsh Files
    • Ron Nessen Files
    • Papers of Michael Raoul-Duval
    • Papers of L. William Seidman
    • President’s Daily Diary
    • President’s Handwriting File
    • White House Central Files
      • Subject File
  • Central Intelligence Agency, Langley, Virginia
    • Executive Registry: Executive Files of the Director of Central Intelligence
      • Job 79M00467A
      • Job 79M01467A
      • Job 80B01495B
      • Job 80M01009A
      • Job 80M01044A
      • Job 80M01066A
    • Declassified “Family Jewels” Document Collection (CIA FOIA Electronic Reading Room)
  • National Security Council, Washington, D.C.
    • Nixon Administration Intelligence Files
    • Ford Administration Intelligence Files
  • Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Washington, D.C.
    • Henry A. Kissinger Papers
      • Chronological File
      • Files on the Department of State
    • James R. Schlesinger Papers
  • Washington National Records Center, Suitland, Maryland
    • Record Group 59, General Records of the Department of State
    • Records of the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, Subject Files, 1960–1976: Lots 76D186 and 78D184
    • Record Group 306, Records of the United States Information Agency
    • Records of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of Policy and Plans, Subject Files, 1961–1977, FRC 306-81-24
    • Record Group 330, Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense
    • OSD Files: FRC 330–78–0036
      • Documents of Former Special Assistants to the Secretary of Defense, 1973–1975
    • OSD Files: FRC 330–78–0002
      • Top Secret records of the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and the Special Assistant to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, 1973
    • OSD Files: FRC 330–78–0059
      • Top Secret records of the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and the Special Assistant to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, 1975
    • OSD Files: FRC 330–78–0050
      • Top Secret records of the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and the Special Assistant to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, 1976

Published Sources

  • U.S. Government Documents and Documentary Collections
    • Colby, William and Peter Forbath, Honorable Men: My Life in the CIA. (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978)
    • Commission on CIA Activities Within the United States, Report to the President By the Commission on CIA Activities Within the United States, June 1975 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1975)
    • Commission on the Organization of the Government for the Conduct of Foreign Policy, June 1975 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1975)
    • Congress and the Nation, Volume IV, 1973–1976 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1977)
    • Ford, Gerald R., A Time to Heal. (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers/The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., 1979)
    • Haig, Alexander M., Jr. with Charles McCarry, Inner Circles: How America Changed the World, A Memoir. (New York: Warner, 1992)
    • Kissinger, Henry A., White House Years. (Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1979)
    • ———. Years of Upheaval. (Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1982)
    • ———. Years of Renewal. (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1999)
    • Nixon Richard M., RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon. (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1978)
    • Schorr, Daniel, Clearing the Air. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977)
    • U.S. Department of State, Department of State Bulletin, 1973–1977
    • ———. Department of State Newsletter, 1973–1977
    • ———. Diplomacy for the 70s: A Program of Management Reform for the Department of State. Publication 8551. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1970)
    • United States House of Representatives, Select Committee on Intelligence, Recommendations of the House Select Committee on Intelligence (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1976)
    • U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Richard M. Nixon, 1973, 1974 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1975, 1975); Gerald R. Ford, 1974, 1975, 1976–1977 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1975, 1977, 1979); and Jimmy Carter, 1977 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1977, 1978)
    • ———. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, 1973–1977
    • United States Senate, Select Committee to Study Government Operations With Respect to Intelligence Activities, Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1975)
    • ———. Select Committee to Study Government Operations With Respect to Intelligence Activities, Hearings Before the Select Committee to Study Government Operations With Respect to Intelligence Activities (7 Volumes, 6 Books) (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1976)