46. Memorandum From Director of Central Intelligence Turner to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski)1
SUBJECT
- Cuban Perceptions of American Policy Makers
1. The following information was received from [1 line not declassified] senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Cuban leaders involved in foreign affairs. It is believed that this information will be of particular interest and use to you because of the insight it offers on Cuban officials’ perceptions of U.S. foreign policy. The information in paragraph three, with the exception of the first sentence, is also being made available to Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. No further distribution of the information will be made. (S)
[Page 104]2. According to a senior official of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), senior Cuban foreign policy makers, particularly Carlos Rafael Rodriguez, Vice President of the Council of State and Ministers, assess American foreign policy makers as weak. Rodriguez holds a strong dislike for Presidential Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski and considers him incompetent. Rodriguez has commented that while former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was hated by many government leaders throughout the world, he was nevertheless held in high regard and respected for his competence and intelligence. According to Rodriguez, Brzezinski is not. (S)
3. The senior MFA official said that Brzezinski’s key role in normalizing relations between the U.S. and China has served to increase the Cuban leadership’s dislike for him. Cuban leaders perceive a left and a right wing among American policy makers. They see Brzezinski as heading the right wing, but they are not certain who heads the left, given their belief that Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in their analysis wields little overall power or influence. (S)