Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume XXII, Southeast Asia and the Pacific

61. Memorandum From the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (McIntyre) to President Carter¹

Washington, October 9, 1979

SUBJECT

• Kampuchean Famine Relief

Cy Vance is asking you to make a statement now initiating a large U.S. contribution to an international relief effort in Kampuchea.² I recognize the dimensions of the human tragedy and the need for the United States to exercise moral leadership. But I am concerned that major questions remain to be answered:

Will the relief be equitably distributed? Both the Pol Pot and Heng Samrin regimes have used food denial to the other as a deliberate policy. No one in the U.S. Government has been able to tell OMB staff what the nature of the agreement is that the International Red Cross (ICRC) were finally able to reach with the Heng Samrin regime to assure that the food will go to starving civilians rather than military forces. Indeed the Heng Samrin government radio broadcasts have asserted that their forces would distribute the food and merely report back to the ICRC. This position may simply reflect political face-saving, but it may also indicate that they are deadly serious. The United States may have no choice but to proceed under the circumstances, but we should be under no illusion about the difficulty of assuring fair and equitable distribution of the relief supplies.

Can we legally use refugee funds to aid persons who have not crossed international borders? OMB is holding the proposed Presidential Determination authorizing release of emergency refugee assistance funds³ because of this legal concern. Until we are certain that the proposed funds can be spent legally, we will continue to hold the Determination. (This issue will be handled expeditiously).

Recommendation. Any public statement of support by the United States should emphasize that continued assistance will depend on adequate assurances of equitable distribution of relief supplies.

Also your statement should be limited to a general announcement that the U.S. will provide $5 million in PL-480 food stuffs, while we continue to examine the legalities of using the Emergency Refugee Fund.⁴

1. Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Country File, Box 42, Kampuchea, 1/77–10/79. No classification marking.
2. Vance’s October 8 request to Carter is in Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Country File, Box 42, Kampuchea, 1/77–10/79.
3. Reference is to Presidential Determination No. 80–1, October 15. (3 CFR, 1979 Comp., p. 493)
4. Carter did not make a specific aid pledge to Kampuchea in his October 9 news conference. Instead, he made a non-committal statement about the need for aid to Kampuchea. See Public Papers: Carter, 1979, Book II, p. 1844.