Office of the Historian

192. Letter From Secretary of State Haig to Secretary of Defense Weinberger1

Washington, May 9, 1981
Dear Cap:

I am writing in response to your letter concerning en route access in Morocco.2 I agree that the time is ripe to approach Morocco on this matter. Our recent decisions to be more forthcoming on arms sales to Morocco and to delink them from Moroccan participation in the Saharan peace process should improve the reception we will receive.3

We will raise the issue immediately with King Hassan and propose that a small State/DOD team make a low key survey of airfields in Morocco so that we could consider a more precise proposal to the Moroccans, possibly including improvements to selected facilities. We would make it clear from the outset that we were not seeking base rights but only access to facilities, and that we envision only a small peacetime presence.

Following the survey we may need a formal approach to Morocco. I suggest our staffs work together to define more precisely what we want from Morocco, what facility improvements we may be willing to fund, and what price we are willing to pay in terms of additional assistance. We would also need them to address what we say to Algeria and other area states.

With warm regards,

Sincerely,

Alexander M. Haig, Jr.4
  1. Source: Washington National Records Center, OSD Files, FRC 330–83–0104, 1981 Official Records (Secret & Below) of the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, and the Executive Secretary to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, Box 13, Morocco (Jan–Jun). Secret.↩
  2. See Document 191.↩
  3. See footnote 4, Document 372. See also Foreign Relations, 1977–1980, vol. XVII, Part 3, North Africa, Documents 214–216, 219, 220, 222–224, 230, 232, 233, 235, 237, 242–248, and 250.↩
  4. Haig signed “Al” above this typed signature.↩