D: I really don't have

to do this for the time being. I would like some political solution but to stop something very difficult to control.

K: The political solution-why not let the MPLA talk to the other units.

D: You mean they should appeal or we should appeal to them to sit down and talk.

K: We should all appeal to them to sit down and talk.

D: You have more information. I have very little information. K: We would be prepared to urge them all to sit down and talk. D: Appeal to them to sit down and talk from the two of us or a member of the Security Council. What do you think is better?

K: It could be an appeal from the Organization of African Unity which the two of us support.

D: In this way and as a second part of the deal, maybe not as a first one, politically I am sure he would understand.

K: But there has to be an end of supplies. This has to be part of it. I think it would make a good impression here.

D: The question is themselves. Whether they are going to take this from us.

K: I think if the two of us agree, we can get them to agree.
D: I will send this to Moscow and see what their reaction is.
[Omitted here is discussion unrelated to Angola.]

147. Memorandum for the Record1

Washington, December 11, 1975, 11 a.m.

SUBJECT

40 Committee Meeting, 11 December 1975, 11:00 a.m.

Members Present: Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Brent Scowcroft; Deputy Secretary of Defense William P. Clements; Director of Central Intelligence William E. Colby.

1 Source: National Security Council, Ford Administration Intelligence Files, 40 Committee Meetings. Secret; Eyes Only.

Substitute Members Present: Deputy Secretary of State Robert S. Ingersoll vice Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Joseph Sisco; Assistant to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. General W. Y. Smith vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff General George Brown.

Also Present: Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs William G. Hyland and Deputy Director, INR, Ambassador Roger Kirk for the entire meeting. Deputy Director for Operations, CIA, William Nelson for Items 1-5. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Edward W. Mulcahy; Chief, Africa Division, CIA, James M. Potts; and NSC Senior Staff Officer for Africa Harold Horan, for Items 1-3. Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asia Robert Miller for Items 4 and 5. [less than 1 line not declassified]

Angola Item 1

Scowcroft: Bill, what do you have for us?
Colby: (Briefed)2

Scowcroft: Have the Cubans used Soviet transport?

Potts: Yes. About 2,000 Cubans flew in Cuban aircraft to Conakry and then by Soviet aircraft into Angola.

Colby: (Continued briefing).

Scowcroft: What's behind the Nigerian thing?

Colby: South African involvement.

Ingersoll: They interfered in the Nigerian war, and they've never forgotten it.

now?

Colby: We have a few specific items to get your reactions on.
Scowcroft: First, are you into the [dollar amount not declassified]

Colby: Yes, we are spending it now-mainly on ammunition. Scowcroft: On the [dollar amount not declassified] are we in "G" now on this?

Colby: Bill (Clements) was quite properly wondering about who was trying to reprogram his funds. I went to the House Appropriations Committee-it is the only one really involved-and told them that I was checking in advance, that we were spending funds and were contemplating more and wanted to test their reaction. I expected to be ridden out on a rail. I must say that I was surprised at their reactionshow mild they were. And this committee is not known for its hawks. Clements: Who did you brief?

Colby: (Named names.)

2 Briefing is not attached.

Clements: That was the full Defense subcommittee.

Colby: Yes. You know them better than I.

Clements: Well, I hadn't known this before. Now what I need to do is to go forward from here. Also, I will have to talk to the Armed Services Committees. We'll get right on this.

Colby: Briefly, I'm going before the six committees telling them of the steps we are taking on Angola [less than 1 line not declassified] I've briefed House Foreign Affairs, Appropriations, Senate Foreign Affairs, and I talk to House Armed Services tomorrow.

Scowcroft: Okay, good. The President is anxious on the [dollar amount not declassified]

Colby: This came up before the House Select Committee on Intelligence, too. Dellums was strongly against our doing anything in Angola. He thought we would generate a racist problem.

Ingersoll: Clark is against it, too.

Colby: Clark's bill is not well drafted. He says there should be no aid except under the Foreign Assistance Act and this falls there. Scowcroft: In general, the opposition has been much less than I expected. Mostly it has been in the press.

Ingersoll: Secretary Kissinger has said that some of the aid we give Zaire might be going on to Angola.

Mulcahy: I briefed seven congressmen last night at about the "Confidential" level and there was no strong objection.

Clements: Are you telling them that we are supplying help directly or indirectly through Zaire?

Mulcahy: Well, I fuzz that over.

Clements: I can't fuzz it.

Colby: No, in our congressional briefings we tell them the facts— that it is indirect.

Clements: We have to tell them.

Hyland: Are Americans flying?
Colby: No.

Potts: Well, we found that one man hired by one of the airlines is a naturalized American citizen.

Nelson: There are some free lancing, but we are not behind any movement to hire Americans.

Clements: Where do our supply planes go?

Colby: [less than 1 line not declassified]

Clements: Staged?

Colby: Yes, off-loaded and put on private aircraft to go on into Angola.

Smith: Commercial aircraft?

Colby: Yes.

Clements: What about this list of items for the [dollar amount not declassified]

Scowcroft: We have not focused on the list.

Horan: The list changes with the situation.

Colby: Yes. For example, the SA-7's [less than 1 line not declassified] We don't want to give those away unless we have to.

Scowcroft: Can't anyone find any MIGs?

Colby: You want my guess? There aren't any.

Potts: We've had pictures taken of several airfields and they are not there. There are still one or two places where they might be that we have yet to cover.

Ingersoll: There were reports that two were delivered in crates.

Smith: Yes, but they are reported there today but not there tomorrow. There are lots of reports. But the main thing is, none are flying.

Scowcroft: We're about to start a study on Angola stemming from an expression of JCS concern.3 The President wanted to act quickly, and we needed the [dollar amount not declassified] to stay in the ball game. Without reference to what we might do after the [dollar amount not declassified] the study will give us a better base to move from. You should know that the President called in Dobrynin and talked to him sternly on Angola. Whether this will lead to anything remains to be seen.

4

Colby: I think we must move hard on the diplomatic front. There are a number of things coming up: OAU, other African nations, Europe, UN. We will offer all the covert help we can, but the major thrust should be on the diplomatic front.

Ingersoll: We are doing a lot of things.

Scowcroft: Can we get the [dollar amount not declassified] by the time Congress adjourns?

Clements: Yes, no question. We'll go right at it today. I won't brief the Foreign Affairs committees.

Colby: No. Don't go near them.

Scowcroft: Go ahead, Bill.

Colby: There are several Angola items on the agenda: [2 lines not declassified]

Scowcroft: I think [less than 1 line not declassified] helicopters would be great. But I am confused about how you keep getting all this from

3 See Document 148.

4 See Document 145.

that [dollar amount not declassified] We could probably buy a C-130 for what you say it will cost.

it?

Colby: It takes a lot of money.

Scowcroft: [less than 1 line not declassified] Why do we have to rent

Colby: We have to cover the cost.

Smith: [less than 1 line not declassified]

Colby: The deal is we provide the C-130, and they provide the helicopters.

Scowcroft: We're not providing it if we bill them. We provide it by parking it on their runway and say here it is. The crew, fuel, etc. is up to them. Why should it cost us money?

Colby: We have to pay the Air Force.

Smith: I don't have the details, but we have to show some payment for the use of Government equipment.

Scowcroft: You mean we have to do all this work to reprogram DOD money, just to pay the Air Force?

Clements: We can't send it for free.

Colby: The accounting gets all fouled up.

Scowcroft: Can't we rent it for a dollar a year or something?

Colby: [11⁄2 lines not declassified]

Smith: I'll check this out.

Hyland: How much would it cost to buy one?

Scowcroft: What does it cost to run one?

Colby: [less than 1 line not declassified] plus the cost to operate. Everything-fuel, crews. Look, let us work out the dollars. You don't care about that...

Scowcroft: I do care. We're strapped. Look at the percentage of the [dollar amount not declassified] this would take.

Colby: Put it on us to do this and we will work on the Pentagon to draw this figure down to the smallest amount possible.

Scowcroft: Will one C-130 do it?

Potts: [less than 1 line not declassified] have been talking about three helicopters.

Scowcroft: That's two flights right there.

Potts: We've been talking one to [less than 1 line not declassified] and they have not dropped out. They would use the C-130 for continuing support to the helicopters.

Colby: You put this task on us, and we'll get the Air Force down and push this.