Henry A. ~ issin ~ er SUBJECT - Department of State

7 janv. 1970 - Henry A. ~ i s s i n ~ e r. HC. SUBJECT: Message from King Hassan to You. Ambassador Tasca, who is in Rome en route to his new post in.
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DECLASSIFIED PA/HO Department of State E.O. 12958, as amended September 6, 2007 \-

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INFORMATION J a n u a r y 7 , 1970

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MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT FROM:

Henry A. ~ i s s i n ~HC e r

SUBJECT:

Message from King Hassan t o You

Ambassador Tasca, who i s i n Rome en r o u t e t o h i s new p o s t i n Athens, h a s been a s k e d by King H a s s a n ' s most i n t i m a t e c o n f i d a n t , t o t r a n s m i t a p e r s o n a l message from t h e King t o you. Tasca, you w i l l r e c a l l , s e r v e d l a s t i n Morocco and was warmly r e g a r d e d by King Hassan.

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King Hassan wants you t o know t h a t he i s d e e p l y concerned w i t h t h e d a n g e r s t o t h e Maghreb s t a t e s stemming from t h e new r a d i c a l m i l i t a r y regime i n Libya. He f e e l s t h a t N a s s e r ' s s u b v e r s i v e c a p a b i l i t i e s have been g r e a t l y improved by a c c e s s t o Libyan f i n a n c i a l r e s o u r c e s . According t o t h e King, t h e young and i n e x p e r i e n c e d l e a d e r of t h e Libyan m i l i t a r y regime i s o n l y a " s t r a w man" f o r Nasser who h a s i n s e r t e d E g y p t i a n t r o o p s i n t o Libya t o p r o t e c t a g a i n s t t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of a " c o u n t e r r e v o l u t i o n . " King Hassan f e a r s t h a t Nasser's n e x t s t e p w i l l be t o e l i m i n a t e P r e s i d e n t Boumedienne o f A l g e r i a i n f a v o r of someone more w i l l i n g t o a c c e p t h i s l e a d e r s h i p i n t h e Arab w o r l d . The e l i m i n a t i o n of Boumedienne, a c c o r d i n g t o t h e King, would g r e a t l y i n c r e a s e t h e s u b v e r s i v e p o t e n t i a l of b o t h N a s s e r and t h e Sovi'ets i n T u n i s i a and Morocco. The King5would l i k e t h e ' U . S . t o u s e whatever a p p r o p r i a t e i n f l u e n c e i s a v a i l a b l e t o p r e v e n t N a s s e r ' s and S o v i e t p l a n s i n t h e Maghreb c o u n t r i e s from s u c c e e d i n g . He f e e l s t h a t u n l e s s we t a k e a p o s i t i v e i n t e r e s t i n t h i s m a t t e r , t h e r e i s a r e a l danger t h a t t h e e n t i r e l i t t o r a l of t h e s o u t h e r n M e d i t e r r a n e a n , from t h e UAR t o Morocco, i s l i k e l y t o f a l l t o Communist d o m i n a t i o n . King Hassan h a s been u n d e r s t a n d a b l y nervous s i n c e t h e ~ i b ~ a n ' coup. N a s s e r ' s growing i n f l u e n c e i n Libya h a s c o n t r i b u t e d f u r t h e r t o h i s a g i t a t i o n , even though t h e r e i s no immediate o r g a n i z e d t h r e a t t o h i s t h r o n e . The l i n i n g up of Morocco, T u n i s i a and A l g e r i a a g a i n s t N a s s e r ' s demands a t t h e r e c e n t Arab s u m m i t -- and H a s s a n ' s moderating i n f l u e n c e t h e r e -- have p r o b a b l y a l s o c o n t r i b u t e d t o h i s f e a r t h a t Morocco may b e c l o s e t o t h e t o p of N a s s e r ' s l i s t f o r r e p r i s a l .

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DECLASSIFIED PA/HO Department of State E.O. 12958, as amended September 6, 2007

A n o t h e r i n t e r e s t i n g p o i n t i n Ambassador T a s c a ' s r e p o r t i s King H a s s a n ' s i m p r e s s i o n d u r i n g t h e Arab summit t h a t N a s s e r would l i k e t o c o n c l u d e an a g r e e m e n t w i t h I s r a e l b u t f e a r s o v e r t h r o w i f h e d i d . Hassan f e e l s t h a t t h e P a l e s t i n i a n s -n o t N a s s e r -- a r e t h e key t o a s e t t l e m e n t now. A l l of t h i s i n d i c a t e s t h e need f o r a s y s t e m a t i c review of t h e N o r t h A f r i c a n s i t u a t i o n . I s h a l l p r o v i d e you s h o r t l y w i t h a recommendation on how t o d o s o .