62. Memorandum From Gerald Funk of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski)1
SUBJECT
- Liberian Trip Summary (U)
General Situation
The leadership of the Government of Liberia is frightened and confused by the problems it is facing, and it is operating on two distinct levels—the Military Peoples Redemption Council seeing one set of problems, and the Cabinet (and civil servants), another. But all agree that they need help, desperately, and that they want this help to come from the US—their “first and best friend.”
We (Congressman Gray, Asst. Sec. Moose and I) talked to virtually the entire Cabinet and top civil servants several times over 3 days, met with Doe twice, and with the entire PRC! In all that time there was no threat to move toward the Libyans, Ethiopians, Cubans and Soviets, but it is painfully clear that if they don’t get the help they need to survive from us, they will take that help from any source.
The PRC’s View
The PRC has been expanded from the original 17 to include an additional 11 “associate members”—thus allowing for marginally better tribal balance, and a mechanism for denoting some of the more hopeless incompetents from the all-powerful 17 who act as executive and legislature. Doe and his top 3/4 people are intelligent and highly motivated to bring honest reform, but they have the equivalent of perhaps a 5th grade education. They are clearly popular, for now, but they seem to realize this will change rapidly if they can’t deliver.
They are focused on two problems—the desperate need for military housing (as requested by Tolbert when he saw the President last year),2 and the hostility of their neighbors, which they blow all out of proportion.
[Page 188]Thus, Doe and his immediate circle are asking for housing aid, and modest military help—trucks, radios, some small arms. We are answering the military needs. But the housing will require a program of $10 million a year for four years.
The Cabinet’s View
The Cabinet, which is dominated by Foreign Minister Matthews, Planning Minister Tipoth, Justice Minister Cheapoo and Financial Advisor Tarr—is focused on the real and crucial immediate problem: how to maintain financial liquidity. They were left with $5 million in the bank and a shortfall of $25 million at the end of the fiscal year, June 30. (The Tolbert government would have faced the same problem, but with a line of commercial credit to carry them over the year end.)
Once through this credit crunch, the Cabinet sees a need to get on with the military housing—as they feel that will ensure the PRC’s early return to the barracks.
Policy Statements
The Cabinet has issued political and policy statements which we can live with—“true non-alignment,” honoring all existing agreements, maintaining free enterprise system, etc. The human rights situation is not great, but steadily and clearly improving.
What Do We Need to Do?
We have already shown our good will and won a large measure of confidence from both the PRC and the Cabinet by being responsive to the immediate needs of the military ($2.5 in FMS, trucks, radios, small arms, plus training teams in country)—and by PL–480 rice help for October.3
But we have to help them find a way to maintain liquidity, or the whole economy and quite probably the political system will cave in. We can be certain the Soviets and friends will scavenge the remains.
It has been suggested that OPIC could give 50 percent guarantees on loans from Chase and Citibank to LAMCO and perhaps Firestone for legitimate and long proposed projects, and these funds, put on deposit in Liberia, would get the country through its present credit crunch. First indications from OPIC were negative, but everyone else appears ready to play ball. We will be working on this early in the [Page 189] week, trying to find one variation or alternative that will keep it glued together.4
- Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Country File, Box 48, Liberia: 12/78–1/81. Confidential. Outside the System. Sent for information. Copies were sent to Bloomfield, Owen, Poats, and Thornton. An unidentified person with initials DR indicated in the upper right margin that he saw the memorandum on June 10.↩
- See Document 49.↩
- In a June 12 memorandum to Brzezinski, Funk provided the details of the Liberian assistance package. (Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Country File, Box 48, Liberia: 12/78–1/81)↩
- An unknown hand drew a line in the left margin beside this paragraph.↩