409. Memorandum From Harold Saunders of the NSC Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)1 2
SUBJECT:
- Bangladesh Relief
You will recall that the initial decision on our response to the Bangladesh relief program was to make available 175,000 tons of grain ($21 million) and $300,000 in support of the UN effort. That initial contribution was to be within a share of total contributions not to exceed 33 1/3%. The concept was that when other contributions move high enough so that our share had fallen clearly below the 1/3 level then we could consider another contribution.
We are not quite at the stage where we would want to go ahead with another major contribution since the withdrawal of Indian troops is so close. That could be done several weeks hence. However, international contributions have come in at an unexpectedly high level, and there is one thing that Maury Williams and the Department of Agriculture would like to add quietly to our initial contribution. It would be in our interest and it would still leave US within the initial one-third share.
Maury would like quietly just to go ahead and order that $10-$20 million in edible oil be added to the program. As you remember, edible oil is a major domestic problem for the Department of Agriculture, and its sale would be in our government’s interest. This can be done and still keep our initial contribution within one-third.
For your information, pledges in hand now add up to about $280 million as follows:
| UK | $25.8 |
| Canada | 5.5 |
| Sweden | 6.0 |
| Australia | 1.0 |
| USSR (rice) | 5.5 |
| Pakistan (with US transportation) | 10.0 |
| Switzerland | $2.5 |
| New Zealand | 1.0 |
| Other contributions to the UN for refugee return and rehabilitatation in East Bengal | 24.0 |
| India (food, relief supplies, transportation, foreign exchange loan) | 168.0 |
| International volunteer agencies (Red Cross-3, Catholic agencies-10, World Council of Churches-5, CARE-1.3) | 20.0 |
| US | 21.0 |
| Total | $279.3 |
Even without counting the Indian contribution, the total effort including our first contribution stands at about $120 million. Keeping strictly within the one-third for our initial contribution we could go up to $40 million.
Against this background, Maury Williams really has authority to go ahead with this oil, but I thought I would let you know the situation so that you might inject any thoughts you might have.
RECOMMENDATION: That Williams go ahead quietly with no fanfare on this supplement of $10–20 million in edible oil to our initial contribution and that we then hold a second major contribution until at least the end of March.
- Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 591, Country Files, Middle East, Bangladesh. Confidential. Sent for action. Haig signed the approval line for Kissinger. In a March 10 handwritten note, attached to the memorandum and addressed to Jeanne Davis, Saunders wrote that he had informed Williams and Van Hollen of Haig’s approval of the recommendation.↩
- Saunders recommended that AID be authorized to extend an additional $10–20 million in relief assistance to Bangladesh. President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs Haig approved for Kissinger.↩