Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume XXX, Public Diplomacy

208. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski) to the Deputy Director of the International Communication Agency (Bray)¹

Washington, June 16, 1980

SUBJECT

• Publicizing the Cuban Refugee Problem (C)

Thank you for your memorandum of June 6, 1980.² We are pleased by ICA’s efforts to expand its capabilities to publicize the Cuban refugee problem. (C)

My staff has informed me several times of the cultura l exchange tour of Alvin Ailey to Cuba in September. I see no reason for you to discontinue planning for the tour.³ (C)

Your arguments for not considering a daily one-hour program on Cuba are good ones, but frankly I am not persuaded. I do not agree, for example, that: (1) the information that we have available on Cuban activities abroad and on developments within Cuba is available to the Cuban population; (2) that this information is already being received in Cuba as a result of VOA and commercial radio broadcasting;(3) that audiences tune out propaganda or that accurate and credible information, which presumably would characterize the one-hour program, constitutes propaganda; and (4) if this were the case, then why would Cuba and the Soviet Union spend so much money broadcasting throughout the area and the world? I do think it is useful to insert Cuban-related material in regular programs, and I believe that VOA is doing a good job at that, but I also think we would be better served by a daily one-hour program on the subject. (C)

Finally, with regard to a continued expansion of our public affairs effort in the Caribbean, I would strongly recommend that ICA move expeditiously to transfer a Public Affairs Officer to Nassau. (C)

Zbigniew Brzezinski

1. Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, North/South Pastor Files, Country Files, Box 16, Cuba: Broadcasting (Cuba and Caribbean), 12/79–12/80. Confidential. Attached as Tab I to Pastor’s June 13 memorandum to Brzezinski (see footnote 1, Document 207).
2. See Document 207.
3. In a July 24 memorandum to Reinhardt, Brzezinski stated: “In light of your comments on the state of US-Cuban relations and more importantly, in light of the expense to ICA of the Alvin Ailey program, I wonder whether it could be justified in the overall budgetary priorities of ICA. It would seem to me that in the context of reduced budgets that we should reserve such high priority cooperative programs for democratic countries with which we have good diplomatic relations.” (Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, North/South Pastor Files, Country Files, Box 18, Cuba: Refugees, 7/22–31/80) In telegram 7237 from Havana, October 9, Wayne Smith referenced the cancellation of the tour and expressed his disappointment that neither the National Security Council nor ICA consulted with the U.S. Interests Section in Havana before reaching this decision. Smith indicated that he had seen copies of both the July 18 and 24 memoranda, asserting: “One could draw the conclusion from those memos that major cultural presentations are reserved for democratic countries with which we have excellent relations.” He commented that he never understood this to be the case, adding: “I had always thought we were interested in reaching out to communicate even with those whose views and values may not agree with our own. And where vocabularies may differ, what better way to communicate than through the performing arts.” (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D800487–0143)