Office of the Historian

79. Telegram 179177/Tosec 80150 From the Department of State to Secretary of State Kissinger, July 30, 1975, 0003Z.1 2

July 30, 1975, 0003Z

TELEGRAM
Department of State
179177

O 300003Z JUL 75 ZFF4

FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO USDEL SECRETARY IMMEDIATE

STATE 179177 TOSEC 080150

NODIS
CHEROKEE

E.O. 11652: GDS
TAGS: VS,VN,KS, UN

SUBJECT: MOYNIHAN’S VIEWS ON KOREAN QUESTION

FOR THE SECRETARY FROM INGERSOLL

1. A VERY AGITATED PAT MOYNIHAN TELEPHONED ME THIS MORNING FROM NEW YORK. HE SPENT 30 MINUTES TRYING TO CONVINCE ME OF THE WISDOM OF USUN’S PREFERRED SCENARIO (USUN 3412) FOR HANDLING THE VIETNAM AND KOREAN MEMBERSHIP QUESTIONS. HE INSISTED THAT ANY VETO OF THE VIETNAMESE APPLICATIONS WOULD BE VIEWED BY THE VAST MAJORITY OF UN MEMBERS AS VINDICTIVENESS ON OUR PART FOR WHICH WE WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY SUFFER RETALIATION IN THE FORM OF SUSPENSION OF ISRAEL. HE BELIEVES THE MIND-SET OF SENIOR ADVISERS SUCCEEDED IN DESTROYING TWO PRESIDENTS ON THE VIETNAM ISSUE AND MAY NOW THREATEN A THIRD. PAT FEELS VERY STRONGLY AND INDEED SAID TWICE THAT PERHAPS HE SHOULD NOT HAVE TAKEN THE UN JOB.

2. I TRIED REPEATEDLY TO CONVINCE PAT THAT OUR FOCUS WAS ON GETTING KOREA INTO THE UN, NOT ON KEEPING THE VIETNAMESE OUT OF IT, AND THAT WE THOUGHT THE CASE COULD BE ARGUED NOT ONLY LOGICALLY BUT WITH POLITICAL IMPACT. NEVERTHELESS, I SUGGESTED THAT IF HE FELT SO STRONGLY HE SHOULD APPEAL TO YOU DIRECTLY.

3. I SUBSEQUENTLY DISCUSSED THIS CONVERSATION WITH BUFFUM, WHO AT MY INSTRUCTION CALLED PAT TO REVIEW IN GREATER DETAIL THE ANALYSIS WHICH UNDERLAY YOUR DECISION. BUFFUM CALLED ME BACK TO SAY PAT HAD CALMED DOWN SOMEWHAT, THOUGH HE IS STILL UNHAPPY.

4. I WANTED YOU TO BE AWARE OF THIS EPISODE, NOT SO MUCH FOR WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT PAT’S STEWARDSHIP IN NEW YORK (WE ALL KNEW WHAT TO EXPECT) BUT FOR ITS REFLECTION OF GRAVE APPREHENSIONS WITHIN USUN ON THE VIETNAM AND KOREAN MEMBERSHIP FIGHT, AND ITS EFFECT ON THE POSITION OF ISRAEL. INGERSOLL

  1. Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy Files. Confidential; Cherokee; Immediate; Nodis. Drafted Duemling and approved by Ingersoll and Moffat. Kissinger accompanied Ford on a European trip which included stays in Warsaw (July 28–29), Helsinki (July 29–August 2), Bucharest (August 2–3), and Belgrade (August 3–4). On August 11 the United States vetoed the proposed admission to the United Nations of the North and South Vietnamese governments. On September 19 the United Nations General Assembly voted 123–0 (with 8 abstentions, including the United States) requesting that the Security Council revisit the issue of admission of both Vietnam governments. On September 30, the United States again vetoed in the Security Council admission of the Hanoi and Saigon governments.↩
  2. Ingersoll communicated to Kissinger Moynihan’s objections to the impending veto of the Vietnamese governments’ application for admission to the United Nations.↩