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Plenary Meeting with King Hassan III of Morocco, September 26, 1991
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428081925
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document
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Plenary Meeting with King Hassan III of Morocco, September 26, 1991
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Records of the National Security Council (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Presidential Memcon Files
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Morocco
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26
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1991-09-26
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1991
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SECRET
SECRET
6629 ADD ON
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION
SUBJECT:
Plenary Meeting with King Hassan III of
Morocco (S)
PARTICIPANTS:
The President
The Vice President
Nicholas F. Brady, Secretary of the Treasury
Richard B. Cheney, Secretary of Defense
John Sununu, Chief of Staff
Brent Scowcroft, Assistant to the President
for National Security Affairs
Lawrence Eagleburger, Acting Secretary
of State
Frederick Vreeland, Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Near Eastern and South
Asian Affairs
Michael Ussery, U.S. Ambassador to Morocco
Richard Haass, Senior Director for Near East
and South Asia
Edmund Hull, Director for Near East and South
Asia Affairs (Notetaker)
Alec Toumayan, Interpreter
King Hassan II
Abdellattif Filali, Minister for Foreign
Affairs
Ahmed Osman, President of the National
Assembly
Ahmed Reda Guedira, Counselor to His Majesty
the King
Mohammed Berrada, Minister of Finance
Hassan Abouyoub, Minister for Foreign Trade
Mohammed Belkhayat, Moroccan Ambassador to
the United State
DATE, TIME
September 26, 1991; 11:40 - 12:30 a.m. EST
AND PLACE:
The Cabinet Room
After the arrival ceremony, the President and King Hassan, joined
by General Scowcroft, Ambassador Belkhayat, and Interpreter Alec
Toumayan, met for 40 minutes in the Oval Office before joining
the two delegations for the Plenary Meeting in the Cabinet Room.
(U)
DECLASSIFIED
PER E.O. 12958,
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Declassify on: OADR
AS AMENDED
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2000 0429
as 8/21/09
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The President: I want to welcome His Majesty and his
distinguished colleagues and apologize for the delay in joining
you. I had many questions to ask His Majesty, and we also
renewed a longstanding friendship. This all took some time. We
covered many subjects, but now I would like to turn the floor
over to you to hear your views. If there are any questions, we
have people here to answer. We will also want to respond and
comment. (U)
King Hassan: First let me tell you how happy I am to be here
today. It is deeply moving to see an old friend who is always
faithful to that friendship. Because of your personal
leadership, we see an American policy in the international area
predicated more and more on respect for international legality.
Sometimes there may be wide gaps between that objective and its
realization, but it is most important that the intention be
clearly expressed.
(C)
In Morocco, which is located on the southern shore of the
Mediterranean, we have observed with great interest the problems
of the socialist bloc. This camp has been active in Africa of
which we are a part. Our region has suffered from the
"pollution" of the Cold War. We thank God that the Western
Mediterranean has been less polluted in this sense than has the
Eastern Mediterranean which suffers directly from the Arab-
Israeli dispute. Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and other Arab
countries are directly involved; we are removed.
(C)
Looking north from our perspective across the Bosphorus, we
clearly perceived Soviet naval power -- both above and below
water. In this regard, there is now a major change for which we
thank God. Now the situation is quieter.
(C)
In another sense, these changes in Europe have placed Morocco and
other Mediterranean countries in a precarious economic situation.
We now find the EEC more inclined toward Eastern Europe and less
attentive toward our needs. They planned for a common market of
300 million and instead have a market of 700 million. We are
concerned with being "shut out" of everything. Yet, I doubt
whether the Eastern Europeans will succeed. "Rich" is not in
their vocabulary. They are not used to enterprise. The Maghreb
countries have an opportunity -- not as recipients of aid, but
initially as partners and ultimately as associates.
(C)
South of the Sahara, the situation is not good. The failure of
socialism in Eastern Europe and its return to market principles
bodes ill for African states which have followed socialist
ideals. Two countries are key: Zaire -- here we can say this
country is a little tired and sick -- and Sudan a country
which is even sicker. They share a short, common border, and
they are in the heart of the African continent. A line of
destabilization runs through them, right up the Red Sea and into
the Middle East. Egypt borders Sudan. Saudi Arabia is but 30
miles away.
(C)
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Elsewhere in Africa, the picture is mixed. Thank God there is
reconciliation in Angola, but meanwhile Zaire falls into
disorder. The French and Belgians have personal accounts to
settle with Zaire. This is not so for U.S. and Morocco which has
twice deployed its forces there. Regardless of Mobuto's
mistakes, we should support actions which are not too radical,
not too blunt.
(C)
In Africa then, there are two countries which remain stable and
moderate: South Africa at the southern tip and Morocco at the
northern tip. We recognized change in South Africa, and I
received De Klerk as a chief of state to encourage this change.
We have given the South Africans rights to land and overfly their
aircraft. In the coming month, we will establish diplomatic
relations.
SQT
Although the USSR is no longer a menace, we must take care
because there are tens of thousands of Marxist/Leninists
remaining throughout the world. They are "nostalgics" ready to
aid any extremist faction -- racial or religious. We must be
vigilant. Previously, we knew from where the threat came -- the
KGB or Stassi. Now we do not know. There is no discipline now,
but disarray caused by these Marxist/Leninist nostalgics.
Therefore, we should not be euphoric, but rather vigilant. The
world today falls into two camps -- those who say "In God we
trust" and those who say "In gold we trust. The latter is
dangerous.
(S)
It is a historic moment -- a critical period for the Middle East.
Not since 1956 when President Eisenhower and that iron man John
Foster Dulles stood up to Britain, France and Israel over Suez,
has there been a stand taken like the one today under your
leadership. We know your position is based on principle -- there
is no double standard. But, as I have said before, I do not
think Shamir will make peace. He will arrange for himself to be
overthrown before he will sign an agreement. He and his
associates were the pioneers. The next generation will have to
be the peacemakers. This at least is my psychological analysis
for what it is worth.
(8)
We must ask both the Arabs and the Israelis to look at the long
term. They cannot "improvise" their existence in the region.
The Arab countries must grasp the opportunity. The world is
living in a period of legality; UN prestige is at an all time
high. For our part, Morocco and the Maghreb have not refused to
participate as observers of a Middle East peace plan. Allow me
to clarify our view. The problem is that the countries directly
concerned -- Egypt and Syria -- object to the presence of
observers. Mubarak told me this as did Assad's vice president.
Jordan, on the other hand, is for observers, and the Palestinians
too may favor observers because they are disinterested parties.
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But, the Palestinian position is not united. A Palestinian
National Council in underway to confirm or replace their
leadership. Let me say that the Gulf Cooperation Council and
Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) countries are ready to participate if
the concerned parties accept that participation. U.S. diplomacy
can play a role in this regard. We cannot say we will come now
because they may say we do not need you. At the Rabat summit
last week, the AMU countries agreed that we would participate as
observers if all concerned parties agreed. Only Libya reserved
its position, but in private. They promised not to make an
uproar. As I told you, I am mandated to meet with the Syrians,
Egyptians and Jordanians in New York next week to consult
further, and I will keep you informed of their responses.
185
On bilateral issues, we can congratulate ourselves on the state
of our relations. During the Cold War, we signed agreements on
staging and other issues. Since the end of the Cold War, we see
no lack of U.S. interest in these issues. Internally, we have
taken measures to encourage investment. We hope this
administration can encourage Americans to come to Morocco. Mr.
President, I know you are a busy man with other meetings. I will
stop here. These are my views.
(C)
The President: Thank you, Your Majesty. I know Larry
Eagleburger does not want his lunch to burn so I will not speak
long. I do want my colleagues to know that we also covered Iraq
in our private meeting, and we see eye-to-eye on the need for
Iraq to respect UNSC resolutions. On Israel, I might just say
that I am not as pessimistic as you about Shamir. In any case,
we must press forward. There are big problems with Israel, Syria
and the PLO, but this is the last, best change for peace. I
appreciate your clarification about participation as an observer.
Larry, we need to inform Jim Baker and get back to those
concerned.
(S)
Acting Secretary Eagleburger: I spoke with Secretary Baker last
night (after my meeting with the King.) (8)
The President: In Israel, we find the people are much more
supportive of the peace process than is the government. A large
percentage are willing to accept our approach -- land for peace
as I noted in my arrival statement. Shamir could be like
Nixon going to China. It could be harder for a moderate to take
the steps which need to be taken. In any case, we will work in
an equitable fashion on this very difficult issue. I hope to
hear from you after your talks in New York. Perhaps a letter.
(8)
We also discussed the Sahara in the Oval Office. I appreciate
your views. There will be time in the one-on-one meeting we have
upstairs prior to dinner to discuss other issues. Let me say I
agree with you on South Africa, and we are lifting some of our
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sanctions. And, I agree that we must not let our guard down vis-
a-vis communism. We are concerned, for example, with communist
presence in the ANC and that organization's support for radical
causes. I am delighted to hear of your treatment of De Klerk.
(S)
Now it is time to let you get to your lunch.
(U)
-- End of Conversation --
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