56. Letter From Secretary of Defense Brown to President Carter 1

Dear Mr. President,

As you know, I shall be in Korea and Japan for the next week. I have reviewed the draft Presidential Decision on intelligence organization. It represents a determined effort by the Vice President and by Zbig to take account of what the persons concerned require to carry out their responsibilities. Some parts of the draft decision will make my work more difficult. But I believe we in the Department of Defense can live with its provisions, subject to the exact language of the revision of Executive Order 11905, and also to Stan Turner’s and my working out detailed procedures for implementation. I am prepared to work to that end.

If, however, you should be inclined toward considering other organizational arrangements, I would deem it essential to discuss the matter with you in person, as I mentioned in our telephone conversation of two weeks ago.2

Respectfully,

Harold Brown
  1. Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Brzezinski Office File, Box 95, Subject Chron, Intelligence, 8/77. No classification marking. This handwritten letter is dated “7/22” and marked “PERSONAL” at the top.
  2. Presumably a reference to Brown’s July 12 telephone conversation with Carter from 9:49 to 9:53 a.m. (Carter Library, Presidential Materials, Carter Daily Diary) No record of this conversation was found.