593. National Security Decision Memorandum 111 2

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TO:

  • The Secretary of State
  • The Secretary of Defense
  • The Secretary of the Treasury
  • The Director of Central Intelligence
  • The Administrator of the Agency for International Development
  • The Director of the U.S. Information Agency

SUBJECT:

  • Peru

The President’s recent decision to defer application of the Hickenlooper Amendment with respect to Peru was based inter alia on the premise that this action would provide additional time to:

1.
Prepare our political position in the hemisphere for a confrontation with Peru, if that becomes necessary, and
2.
Maximize pressures on Peru to induce the Peruvians to agree to a satisfactory settlement of the IPC issue.

In preparing our political position, the President wishes to maintain a restrained, reasonable, and conciliatory public posture while the United States works carefully with friendly governments in an effort to assure that they will not support Peru in a future confrontation.

In maintaining maximum pressure, the United States should try to influence the decisions of both public and private sector entities to the extent possible. However, the President wishes to avoid overt actions which the Peruvian Government can exploit as acts of bad faith or economic aggression, and which Peru might use as an excuse to:

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1.
Terminate the administrative appeal processes currently available to IPC and the discussions with the United States, and/or
2.
Mobilize popular sentiment in Peru and the hemisphere against the United States.
Henry A. Kissinger
  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–209, NSDM 11. Secret. Copies were sent to the Secretaries of Agriculture and Commerce.
  2. Kissinger transmitted President Nixon’s decision to defer application of the Hickenlooper Amendment with respect to Peru. Nixon directed preparation of a campaign to generate pro-United States support in the region, and to increase pressure on Peru to settle the IPC dispute.