Office of the Historian

372. Information Memorandum From the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (Kramer) to Secretary of Defense Weinberger1

Washington, February 27, 1981

SUBJECT

  • Report of IG on the Western Sahara Situation, February 25, 1981

(U) Bob Pelletreau attended the Interagency Group (IG) meeting on the Western Sahara yesterday, accompanied by Jim Woods, Director of the ISA Africa Region. Joint Staff was represented by BGen Granger (J–5). Assistant Secretary of State (designate) Nick Veliotes chaired the meeting.2

(S) Most of the meeting was devoted to developing background information to bring decision-makers up to date on the situation and policy options available to the U.S. The discussion focused principally on diplomatic options (whether to take a passive, active, or wait-and-see stance with respect to the search for a negotiated settlement of the war). Principal conclusions:

  • (S)—Militarily, the Moroccans are in much better shape than a year ago; conversely, the POLISARIO are feeling the pinch (lower morale, some depletion of combat strength, difficulties in recruiting).
  • (C)—But the economic costs of the war are very great ($2 million a day or more) for Morocco; and the POLISARIO continue to have the edge on the diplomatic front (with the OAU, in the UN, and with the “non-aligned” states generally).
  • (C)—Therefore, the only practical solution remains a negotiated diplomatic settlement acceptable to all the principal parties (Morocco, Algeria, POLISARIO).

(S) How active a role the U.S. should play in this negotiating process remained unresolved; the discussion paper is to be reworked and presumably another IG meeting will be called to pick up the discussion.3 (The pace may pick up as a consequence of a Congressional hearing called to review the Administration’s proposal to sell 108 M–60 tanks to Morocco. This hearing, chaired by Mr. Zablocki, will be held March 3, on behalf of the Sub-Committee on Africa and the Sub-Committee [Page 764] on International Security and Scientific Affairs of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.4 Witnesses will include ex-Ambassador Duke, ex-Ambassador (Algeria) Haynes, and ex-NSC staffer Bill Quandt. So far, a Defense witness has not been called.)

(U) Points made by Defense representatives at the meeting:

  • (S)—The need for better national intelligence on this situation, and especially on the POLISARIO; a higher priority must be assigned and more resources dedicated if we are to have the kind of intelligence appreciation needed to support policy formulation.
  • (S)—The necessity to consider Morocco as a strategic factor in our en route military access to the Middle East and Persian Gulf; particularly in light of our continuing difficulties in obtaining satisfactory access assurances from Spain and Portugal, the need for an approach to Morocco is becoming urgent (Mr. Veliotes accepted, in principle, the importance of facilities access in Morocco and is receptive to initiating an interagency review of the feasibility of such an approach; a paper we are now preparing will address this issue and propose a formal approach to State).
  • (S)—The desirability of developing other contingent options for support of Morocco in its military struggle (ISA will develop such a list, in consultation with Joint Staff).5
  • (S)—Fundamentally, the need to consider more broadly our basic national security interest in the outcome of the war (i.e., is it really a matter of indifference to us whether the result of future negotiations is the creation of an economically unviable, Marxist-oriented and Libyan-supported mini-state on the Atlantic).

(S) No specific action responsibilities were assigned at the meeting; as noted above, we are working separately on the facilities access question and on the preparation of a list of possible additional military support measures for Morocco.

Franklin D. Kramer
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (Acting)
  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. A stamped notation indicates that it was received in the Secretary’s office at 10:57 a.m. on February 27.↩
  2. No minutes of the meeting have been found.↩
  3. Not found. There is no indication that another IG meeting took place.↩
  4. The hearings, entitled “Arms Sales in North Africa and the Conflict in the Western Sahara: An Assessment of U.S. Policy,” took place on March 25. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1981)↩
  5. No record of the list of options has been found.↩