Ford Administration Minutes of the Cabinet Meeting

Topics discussed at the meeting include Henry Kissinger's trip to the Middle East, the Consumer Protection Agency, and economic impact statements.

Extracted text

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THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON Minutes of the Cabinet Meeting Wednesday, March 26, 1975, 2:00 PM 2:04 President arrived 2:05 Press arrived 2:08 Press departed 2:09 President opened the Cabinet Meeting The President first welcomed several people; Special Trade Representative, Fred Dent; Dr. John Dunlop, Secretary of Labor; Acting Secretary of Commerce, John Tabor; and noted the presence of John Whitaker substituting for Rog Morton. Secretary Kissinger had just returned on Sunday from the Middle East and the President asked for a brief report on his mission. Secretary Kissinger: First the Secretary developed the strategy that was used in the Middle East. He said that it could be summed up in the phrase "step by step approach." At the end of the Israeli/Arab War in 1973, there was a movement toward an embargo against the industrialized nations. World opinion started to move with the Arab states and it became increasingly evident that the United States had to use a different approach to solve the Middle East problem. President Sadat and the United States agreed to segment the issues and the countries and to develop a step by step strategy. There is no doubt that the United States during this period of negotiation has been the dominate world power. Since July of 1974, the United States has made progress with two of the most difficult countries with which to work, Jordon and Egypt. Essentially, the roles within the Arab states evolved into two forces: the Moderates, headed by President Sadat and the Radicals, headed by King Asad. The Radicals wanted the United States to deal with Arab countries on a block or total basis. Whereas Sadat felt that the step by step approach with each country and each issue was the better method. Sadat's theory in cooperation with the United States was accepted by the greatest number of parties and it forced the USSR to go to a moderate course in the Middle East.

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