I am extremely concerned about several aspects of our policy in Central America. I would like to start with a simplification of our policy management over Central American issues with a discontinuance of the regular use of the CORE group and the CPPG and other vehicles, to be replaced by a SIG/Central America under State leadership. This would be supported by an IG/Central America also under State chair. Special meetings devoted to covert action items would be discussed at an NSPG Working Group under NSC chairmanship.

We must get our public diplomacy strategy concerning Central America into shape. Among other things it is essential that we, in the foreign policy side, are sufficiently focussed and organized to assist, coordinate and provide general substantive guidance to a burgeoning effort within the White House to generate domestic bipartisan support for the President's programs in the U.S. I would expect the Public Diplomacy coordinator on this subject to participate in the Central American SIGs and IGs where he would receive his policy direction. He would, in turn, provide overall direction to the international and domestic public diplomacy campaign. The scope of this assignment underscores the essentiality of his identification as the President's Personal Representative. This has been Dick Stone's status and, as he prepares for his new assignment, I think it is essential to replace him immediately. The replacement will report to the SPG, on which both you and Dave Gergen participate. As in the case of both Peter Dailey and Dick Stone, the replacement will carry out his responsibilities in the context of Larry Eagleburger's International Political Committee (IPC). The replacement that I have in mind, subject to your comment and reaction, is Otto Reich who we both know as AID's Latin American Administrator. He is a committed officer, a sound politician and an expert in the field. I would expect that he would receive whatever support he requires from the various Departments and Agencies, similar to Dick Stone.

I would be extremely interested in your earliest thoughts on this matter.

William P. Clark

SECRET

DECLASSIFY ON:

OADR

UNCLASSIFIED

Faith Whittlesey Effort. The Faith Whittlesey effort is off to
a good start. She had meetings with governmental representatives
on May 16 (Roger Fontaine and I attended from the NSC) and with
private interest groups on May 18. As I've indicated previously
to you, she has issued orders for a wide range of papers and
background materials to be prepared. Her meeting on Wednesday
was largely with conservative groups, and as she told me privately,
she says the Central American issue is a good one to reinvigorate
support from the conservative sector for the President. She is
aware that the group will need to be extended and be bipartisan.
The private reps at the second meeting raised the question of
establishing a "Coalition for a Democratic Central America." This
would be helpful if it happens.

She is

I

I had a very pleasant half hour meeting with Faith today.
prepared to work very closely with us and was concerned about
George Shultz's charge that she was just duplicating an effort.
described to her the NSDD-77 and our overall public diplomacy
approach: She does not seek to preempt any position on policy.
defines her effort as one designed to build support for policy.
recognizes fully the need for substantive and quality control of
the product and is quite prepared to depend on us (NSC, State) for
policy correctness. She also is prepared to take any and all
information we can develop.

She

She

We both agreed that the biggest problem will be packaging the
product. She has asked for help and suggestions for writers who
could possibly be made available. She does not have any hang-ups
as to whether the writer sits in the White House on her staff (where
she has a vacancy for one) or in the Department with Dick Stone. She
is reviewing possible writers and I am too. I have several leads.

Private Funding Effort. I have provided Jeff Davis with a list of
Funding programs that require private sector support. He is
enthusiastic about the package and proceeding forward. Roy Godson
reported that he met early this week with a group of private donors
that Charlie Wick brought to the sitroom two months ago.
The group
made their first commitment of $400,000 which includes support to
Freedom House, a pro-INF group in Holland, Accuracy in Media, and a
European based labor program. These are useful steps forward.
More to follow.

3299

I believe it is important to confirm for the record my
understanding of the outcome of our discussion this morning.

Policy: We have an extremely difficult situation in
Central America. There will be hard slogging ahead to
achieve what we want to achieve. First of all, we need an
effective shield to protect the Salvadoran democracy against
the efforts of the rebels to destroy the government and the
economy. We have to safeguard not only El Salvador but also
the other Central American countries against the Nicaraguan
virus. At the same time we have to win, the struggle in our
own country to help the American people understand the
Soviet-Cuban-Nicaraguan threat to the whole region. And we
have to obtain the support of the Congress. Although our
influence in Salvador is probably waning because of the
conditions imposed by the Congress, we must be able to be
persuasive with the El Salvador government in bringing about
those reforms in their system of justice necessary to win the
support of the American people and the Congress. At the same
time we must maintain pressure on the Nicaraguans to cease
and desist from exporting their revolution to neighboring

Though we must continue to strengthen the shield against
the Salvadoran rebels and keep the pressure on Nicaragua, we
cannot expect a military solution, at least in the next
several years. In all likelihood the only way in which we
can reestablish a peaceful Central America, free from foreign
incursions into democratic countries, is by regional ven
negotiations leading to a reciprocal and verifiable agreement
in which the Nicaraguans come to terms with the need for them
to mind their own business. At the same time, in forcing
Nicaragua to the negotiating table, we must not sell out the
Nicaraguan patriots who wish their government to live up to
the promises of free elections and a pluralistic society made
when the Sandinistas came to power.

POF7.4 4/1/87

las

Within El Salvador we must be prepared to seek negotiations. But these negotiations must concern participation in a free electoral process and not negotiations with respect to power sharing.

Negotiations with either the Nicaraguans or the. Salvadoran rebels will not be easy, because we will be dealing with people we don't like and don't trust.

Moreover,

we will not be able to achieve success unless we can show the Nicaraguans that they cannot defeat the anti-Sandinista forces in Nicaragua. Nor can we get the Salvadoran rebels to talk about free elections unless we are able to show them that they cannot win the military struggle and will probably lose it in the long run. Finally, in bringing about a reciprocal and verificable agreement, we have to be willing and able to deal effectively with major regional governments like Mexico.

Responsibility for Policy Implementation: These I understand to be your policies. I support them, and I accept the responsibility to carry them out. However, if I am to da so, we need, as I believe we all agreed at the meeting, to. establish simple and straightforward management procedures. The present management situation is a mess and would not work even if the problems were simple. Therefore, what we discussed was that you will look to me to carry out your policies. If those policies change, you will tell me. If I an not carrying them out effectively, you will hold me accountable. But we will set up a structure so that I can be your sole delegate with regard to carrying out your policies.

Organizational Arrangements: What this means is that there will be an Assistant Secretary acceptable to you (and you and I have agreed on Tony Motley) who will report to me and through me to you. We will use Dick Stone as our negotiator, who, in coordination with Tony, will also report solely to me and through me to you. Similarly, there will be an interagency committee, but it will be a tool of management and not a decision-making body. I shall resolve any issues and report to you.

Ken Dam and Larry Eagleburger will work closely with me so that there will always be someone fully informed and able to act for me if I have to be away. Tony Motley will be our chief of staff responsible for pulling together all our work both within the State Department and within the government as a whole.

Meanwhile, I shall keep you and Bill Clark and others in the White House fully informed at all times. I believe that it is important for the NSC or the NSPG to meet on a regular basis to review what we do and particularly to resolve any differences with respect to policy.

We all agree that we have to do much better in public diplomacy. We have to beef up our capacity here in the State Department, and we plan to do so. In addition, I believe that Faith Whittlesey could be very useful. But if she is to be useful and effective, her work too must be handled in the same way as operations and diplomacy. With respect to Central America, she will therefore work directly with Tony Motley. He and I in turn will be responsible for her work with regard to Central America.

With respect to personnel decisions in the Department of State, it will be important, with Tony Motley as a non-career Assistant Secretary, to have a full complement of deputies to him who are Foreign Service Officers or are otherwise fully familiar with the machinery of the U.S. Government and in particular the Department of State. We will, of course, consult with Presidential Personnel, but after full consultation, I would expect Tony Motley to have the dominant voice in making those personnel decisions..

Personnel: As an immediate step, I propose that the following assignments be made:

Ambassador Motley from Brazil to become Assistant
Secretary for ARA;

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Since Enders will be going to Spain, it is important to decide Terence Todman's next assignment, which I understand is to be to Denmark.