335. Memorandum of Conversation1
PARTICIPANTS
- President Ford
- Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, Secretary of State
- Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
- Brent Scowcroft, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
[Omitted here is discussion unrelated to U.S.-French relations.]
Rumsfeld: May I talk about France? Some time back we started talking to them about wartime LOCs. We now have an agreement ready to be signed. It is no big problem but it raises a major point. The U.S. military want the closest cooperation in case there is a war. That is understandable. But to the extent they have a free lunch, there is a disincentive for closer French cooperation with NATO. It puts arguments into the hands of the Gaullists—they get all the benefits and not the burden. It could be an incentive for others to want the same kind of arrangement. I think the Gaullists are in some trouble in France and I suspect that moving in this direction eases the pressure on them. I think we have to sign this, but I wonder if we shouldn’t slow down and not let them have everything.
[Page 1029]Kissinger: Giscard is very much a minority President. Mitterrand has been organizing very cleverly. If he came to power, he certainly wouldn’t return to NATO. Chirac wouldn’t either.
Rumsfeld: I would just say maybe we should slow down a bit.
Kissinger: I think we should do it case by case.
Rumsfeld: Orders to Defense in a crisis.
- Summary: Rumsfeld and Kissinger discussed LOC, NATO, and France.
Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Memoranda of Conversation, Box 18. Secret; Nodis. The meeting took place in the Oval Office.
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