216. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to Treasury Secretary Simon, Attorney General Saxbe, and the Deputy Secretary of State (Ingersoll)1 2
SUBJECT
- Protection of Foreign Officials and Installations
The President has reviewed the memorandum from the Acting Secretary of State of April 30, 1974, concerning protection of foreign officials and establishments in the United States. As a basis for decision as to the steps which would be appropriate and necessary in this connection, the President has directed that a comprehensive study be prepared under the general guidance of the Cabinet Committee to Combat Terrorism.
The study should define the goals of a program to protect foreign officials and establishments in the United States. Specifically, the study should:
- —consider all foreign official personnel, the dependents of such personnel, and installations within U.S. territorial jurisdiction;
- —identify levels of protection that should be afforded various official personnel and installations, in view of such factors as status, location, purpose of visit, length of stay, etc., as appropriate;
- —address the extent to which protection of the foreign official sector should exceed or differ from that afforded to people and property generally in the U.S.;
- —assess the degree to which continuation of present federal, state and local protection would meet program goals, noting particularly:
- —any inadequacies in existing federal, state and local laws,
- —any problems of jurisdiction, and
- —any shortcomings in federal, state and local enforcement of present laws;
- —identify and assess current federal, state, and local resources and capabilities, and extent of their availability for achieving program goals.
The study should assure that all reasonable courses of action are fully examined and that options specify:
- —assignment and coordination of responsibilities and jurisdiction among federal, state, and local authorities and organizations;
- —implementing plan and schedule;
- —sources of required human resources, equipment and funds;
- —any federal, state, and local legislative actions required; and
- —a means for progress review and program revitalization.
The study should be conducted by an ad hoc group comprising representatives of the recipients of this memorandum and the NSC Staff and chaired by the Chairman of the Working Group of the [Page 3] Cabinet Committee to Combat Terrorism. The study should be submitted to the Chairman of the Cabinet Committee by August 16, 1974, for the Committee’s review and forwarding for the President’s consideration not later than August 23, 1974.
- Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 325, Subject Files, Protection of Foreign Officials and Installations, 1 of 1. Confidential. Copies were sent to the Secretary of Defense, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., the Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs, and the Director of the FBI. For the summary of the report requested by the President, see Document [October 16, 1974]. The April 30 memorandum is published as Document 215.↩
- President Nixon directed the Cabinet Committee to Combat Terrorism to conduct a study concerning the protection of foreign officials and establishments in the U.S. ↩