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November 26, 1974 - Ford, Bipartisan Congressional Leadership
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1552864
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November 26, 1974 - Ford, Bipartisan Congressional Leadership
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Memoranda of Conversations (Nixon and Ford Administrations)
Ford Administration Memoranda of Conversations
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File scanned from the National Security Adviser's Memoranda of Conversation Collection at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
1A
MEMORANDUM
THE WHITE HOUSE
CONFIDENTIAL
WASHINGTON
MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION
PARTICIPANTS:
President Ford
Bipartisan Congressional Leadership
Lt. General Brent Scowcroft, Deputy Assistant
to the President for National Security Affairs
DATE & TIME:
Tuesday - November 26, 1974
9:15 a. m.
PLACE:
Cabinet Room
President: Thanks for coming. I appreciate the kind remarks and the
actions taken while I was away. I appreciate what has been done on
Rockefeller and the Mass Transit bill.
We have a full plate this morning. I can give you an overview of the trip,
and I want to talk about the Aid Bill, the Export-Import Bank, and the budget.
The trip was strictly a working 8 days. I am glad the wives didn't go - - there
was not much for them to do. They had us in a compound in Vladivostok.
In Japan: You saw or read about the ceremony. This being the first visit
of a U.S. President, it was mandatory to go through the ceremony. Tanaka
resigned -- we knew he would -- but the Government there is a government
DECLASSIFIED
E.O. 12958, SEC. 3.5
SC MEMO, 11/24/98, STATE DEPT. QUIDELINES state 3/10/04
by consensus, so the discussions were with the Government and the leaders
as a whole. The security relationship continues to be important for both
sides.
The real substance revolves around cooperation in energy, food
DATE 5/7/04
and our cooperation in the Far East. I think Japan will move more aggressively
than in the past.
There was some expressed concern about the Korea visit. But they are an
ally and are under pressure from North Korea, and we have 40, 000 troops
there. Park is concerned with the threat from the North and he thinks some
of the dissidents were inspired by the North. He thinks he must be a strong
leader under those circumstances. North Korea is stronger on the sea and
in the air. They need the fulfillment of our commitment. I think we should
FORD
&
BY
CONFIDENTIAL
GERALD
LIBRARY
TOP SECRET - XGDS (3)
CLASSIFIED BY: HENRY A. KISSINGER
CONFIDENTIAL
2
continue to meet it and with our help I think they can survive. You know, they
just discovered a tunnel there that the North Koreans built through the DMZ
for infiltration into the South.
On the economic side, I haven't been there for 20 years, but their economy
is really moving. On Japan -- we urged them to cooperate on fisheries and
I think they will. We urged a move on beef quotas and hopefully there will
be some relief there.
The most important aspect of the trip, of course, was Vladivostok. I will
give you the figures, which I hope you will keep off the record, because it
is just an oral agreement. As you know, they have a big program under
way. As a result of about 12 hours of hard bargaining, we reached an agree-
ment which is in accord with the language set forth in the Senate language
on equivalence. We agreed on a number of 2400 strategic weapons. It is
within our program and requires a reduction in the Soviet program. It puts
a cap on the launching capacity of the United States and the Soviet Union.
On MIRVs the figure is 1320 of the 2400. On bombers, a ballistic missile
with a range less than 600 kilometers would not be counted; one with a range
over that would be.
The net result is a rigid ceiling on bombers and MIRVs. Those figures are
responsible; it does coincide with the Congressional requirements for
equivalence. The Secretary of Defense agrees with it, Chairman Brown
agrees with it and Secretary Schlesinger assures me the JCS will. This
position was worked out with Kissinger, Schlesinger, Brown and it meets
the Congressional mandate. As far as I know it meets with the wishes
of the people.
Are there any questions?
Rhodes: Is it 1320 warheads or launchers?
President: Launchers.
FORD
&
Thurmond: What will be the means of verification?
President: National means.
GERALD
LIBRARY
Pastore: How will we know about their MIRVs?
President: We watch their testing program and we will count any new
missile installed as MIRV'd if it is a type they have tested with MIRVs.
Question: How much delay is there in getting the agreement? You will
be involved.
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL
- 3 -
President: We will have a written agreement in principle within a
week. It will be worked out by next summer.
Pastore: What do we have to do to match them? A lot of people
have asked us.
Byrd: How about freedom to mix?
President: There is complete freedom to mix within the constraints
of SALT I.
Thurmond: Jackson was on the radio saying it should have been 1700
not 2400. Can you answer that.
President: They wanted the higher figure. This was the best we
could get. Scoop will argue this is not an ones reduction--but it
is below their present program. And this I won't preclude further
negotiations on reductions. You have to start somewhere, and this
puts a cap on it. This puts a ceiling on planned development. Their
program was substantially more than 2400.
McClellan: This is a reduction below their existing and planned program.
President: Particularly what was planned.
McMarhan: Was it wise to restrict the B-1 missiles' ?
President: The military think so.
Cederberg: Why a 600 km limit?
President: Beyond that it's treated as a strategic weapon.
Frelinghuysen: Why did they agree ?
President: I think they are concerned about an unending arms race.
This is enough for security and it is stabilizing.
Whip: Did you detect anything more hopeful this time compared to
their previous attitude ?
President: I think he was genuinely concerned about an arms race.
FORD
P.
CONFIDENTIAL
GERALD
LIBRARY
CONFIDENTIAL
- 4 -
Rhodes: How about limiting other weapons ? Like naval expansion.
President: Not this time. We had only a limited time available.
Scott: Did you discuss energy and Siberian development?
President: Yes, and with the Japanese, too. The Japanese are
negotiating on the Yakhutsk project. There were no firm discussions.
Sparkman: You mentioned some concern about the EXIM and foreign
aid. I hope we can work out something on foreign aid today. The
EXIM conference report comes up today. There is considerable
opposition. I hope it will be supported.
President: I hope you will support the conference report.
I hope the Senate will act on the Trade Bill. We have a confidential
arrangement on Jewish emigration and Brezhnev has reaffirmed his
commitment. There will be no harrassment, no limitation on
applications, and no restrictions except on grounds of national
security.
Pastore: How much can we say ?
President: I told the Soviet Union I had to give you the figures. I hope
you will not talk about the numbers.
McClellan: This will be formalized within a week?
President: Yes.
Rhodes: Can we say that it is a figure that is below the Soviet program?
President: Yes.
Now Roy has the bad news about the budget.
[The meeting continued on budgetary topics. ]
CONFIDENTIAL
FORD
&
GERALD
LIBRARY
17
PARTICIPANTS
The President
Senate
Hugh Scott (R-Pa)
Mike Mansfield (D-Mont)
Robert Griffin (R-Mich)
Robert Byrd (D-WVa)
George Aiken (R-Vt)
John Sparkman (D-Ala)
John McClellan (D-Ark)
Milton Young (R-ND)
John Stennis (D-Miss)
Strom Thurmond (R-SC)
John Pastore (D-RI)
House
Carl Albert (D-Okla)
John Rhodes (R-Ariz)
Thomas O'Neill (D-Mass)
Les Arends (R-III)
John McFall (D-Cal)
Melvin Price (D-Ill)
William Bray (R-Ind)
George Mahon (D-Tex)
Al Cederberg (R-Mich)
Thomas Morgan (D-Pa)
Peter Frelinghuysen (R-NJ)
Staff
Regrets
Anne Armstrong
Senator James Eastland (D-Miss)
Roy Ash
Senator William Fulbright (D-Ark)
Philip Buchen
Rep. F. Edward Hebert (D-La)
Dean Burch
Rep. Craig Hosmer (R-Cal)
Robert Hartmann
Jack Marsh
Ron Nessen
Brent Scowcroft
FORD
a
Dick Cheney
Bill Timmons
Tom Korologos
GERALD
Max Friedersdorf
AGENDA
9:15 - 9:20 a.m.
PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
(5 minutes)
(Ron Nessen)
9:20 - 9:35 a.m.
FAR EAST TRIP OVERVIEW
(15 minutes)
(The President
9:35 - 9:45 a.m.
SALT NEGOTIATIONS
(10 minutes)
(The President)
9:45 - 9:55 a.m.
FOREIGN AID, EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
(10 minutes)
AND TRADE
(The President)
9:55 - 10:15 a.m.
BUDGET REDUCTIONS
(20 minutes)
(Roy Ash)
NOTE: The bipartisan leaders will be escorted from the
Cabinet Room to the East Roomfor the signing of
the Urban Mass Transit bill.
GREATO FORD LIBRARY
2
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LASSIFIED
E.O. 12958, SEC. 3.5
NSC MEMO, 11/24/98, STATE DEPT. GUIDELINES, state Review 3/10/04
BY We
NARA. DATE 5/7/24
2
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FORD