253. Memorandum of Conversation1 2

PARTICIPANTS:

  • Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, United Kingdom
  • Sir Dennis Greenhill, Permanent Under Secretary
  • Ambassador Cromer, British Ambassador to the United States
  • Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
  • Helmut Sonnenfeldt, NSC Staff
  • Cdr. Jonathan T. Howe, NSC Staff

After picture taking and opening amenities, the group sat down for discussions over tea.

[Page 2]

[Omitted here is discussion unrelated to Uganda.]

Home: Uganda is a mess; we are trying to settle some of those chaps, some 50 thousand of them. Can you do anything?

Kissinger: I believe we are looking to see if we can take any but I am confident that we cannot take enough to help your problem. We are eager to avoid this issue before November 7.

Annenberg: It is a difficult political situation.

Sonnenfeldt: Our immigration laws are difficult.

Kissinger: Iʼd be amazed if we could move enough to make any difference.

Sonnenfeldt: Or whether we could do it under the existing laws.

Home: Even 200 would help.

Annenberg: An exodus will be underway in November.

Cromer: And it is quite a burden.

Kissinger: Are there other places they could go like Kenya?

Home: I donʼt know where. We are talking to the Kenyans now.

  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 62, Folder K/062/06/001. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. The meeting took place in Home’s office.
  2. During Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Kissingerʼs meeting with British Foreign Secretary Douglas-Home and British Ambassador Cromer, the issue of where to settle Asians expelled from Uganda was raised. Kissinger doubted that the United States could help very much, and was eager to avoid the issue before November 7.