52. Memorandum From the Associate Press Secretary (Schecter) and Paul Henze of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski)1

SUBJECT

  • First NSCUSIA Meeting, Tuesday, May 17, 3:00 p.m., Situation Room

The basic theme of the meeting was how to regard the USIA as an opportunity and not a problem. Schecter, Henze and Pisano joined forces with Deputy Director Charles Bray and Policy Guidance head Jim Thurber. Three major areas were outlined:

1. Daily guidance.

2. Long-range guidance and planning.

3. USIA possibilities for assistance to the Administration.

Bray suggested that Thurber and USIA area experts have access to their appropriate NSC counterparts. We agreed to meet again next week with both sides presenting a list of major issues that are expected to be of importance over the next six months to a year.

We also discussed the possibility of the USIA setting up a radio or TV interview for Mrs. Carter before her Latin American trip2 to [Page 143] outline exactly what she will be doing. Such an interview would help to end speculation about her “substantive talks” with Latin American leaders and place her visit in the proper perspective.

Bray and Thurber stressed the importance of the USIA receiving as much advance notice as possible on the texts of Presidential speeches. They seemed anxious to cooperate and to work more closely with the NSC. However, Schecter explained that in the case of Presidential speeches, it is often impossible to supply an early advance text. We have to strike a balance between cooperation with USIA and their role in not intruding on the policy process.

  1. Source: Carter Library, White House Central Files, Subject File, Federal Government, United States Information Agency, Executive, Box FG–210, FG–266 1/20/77–1/20/81. No classification marking. Sent for information. Inderfurth initialed the top right-hand corner of the memorandum. A notation in an unknown hand in the lower-right hand corner reads: “Second mtg scheduled 5/24/77 @ 430.”
  2. Reference is to the First Lady’s goodwill trip to Jamaica, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela May 30–June 8. Documentation on the trip is scheduled for publication in Foreign Relations, 1977–1980, vol. XXIII, Mexico, Cuba, and the Caribbean and Foreign Relations, 1977–1980, vol. XXIV, South America. See also Document 53.