Mr. Clifford said at the NSC meeting there was a discussion in great detail as to what we could do about the Soviet moves. From a military standpoint there was no doubt from the beginning that there was nothing we could do about it. Although we deplored the action no one suggested military action on our part. It was decided to proceed in the United Nations, first in the Security Council and then to the General Assembly. Instructions were issued for Ambassador Ball’s presentation. They also discussed the possibility of issuing a presidential statement on the crisis. General Wheeler thought that the president should issue a statement that evening while Mr. Clifford said he voted for a delay until we could see out events were shaping up [sic]. In retrospect he believes that General Wheeler was right, although he doubts a twelve hour delay hurt much. When issued, the President’s statement was a good one and forthright.
c. Briefing of Governor Maddox
Mr. Clifford said on Wednesday he participated in an incident which was a signal privilege. Mr. Rusk, Mr. Helms and he briefed Governor Maddox Twice the governor asked questions, but they not sure whether he was referring to Vietnam or Czechoslovakia so they covered both situations. Mr. Clifford said that he read in the paper yesterday that some arsonists had tried to burn down the Governor’s library. It was reported that both books were destroyed, even one which he had not yet had a chance to color. Mr. Clifford said it was less than an inspiring experience.
d. Deployment of Troops to Chicago
On Thursday Mr. Clifford said he began conversations about possible trouble in Chicago [at the National Convention of the Democratic Party]. He and Mr. McGiffert attended a meeting in the White House, first with Mr. Califano and then with the President. As a result, the President decided to preposition troops. If the police first, and then the National Guard can’t handle the situation, we would already have Army troops available on the scene. The president is concerned that if real trouble started it might turn out to be so big that the arrival of troops some 8 hours or so later would be able to do the job. The time to have the troops on hand is right after trouble starts. We have not given out the number of troops moved. The President hopes that their presence in Chicago will act as a deterrent.
e. Congressional Briefing
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2. Military Situation in Southeast Asia
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3. Czechoslovakia
Mr. Clifford asked General Wheeler to take a few minutes and give his observation and reactions on the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and its effect on the European situation. General Wheeler said that over the weekend the Soviets had increased the number of their forces in Prague from about 30,000 to 50,000. The Soviets are starting now to rotate some Soviet units which came from East Germany. The French in a NATO Council meeting called attention to the fact that East German troops deployed into the area of the Sudentenland,1 which the Germans have historically claimed; the Polish forces deployed into the areas claimed historically by Poland; and the Hungarian troops into the areas historically claimed by Hungary. The French raised the question as to whether this presages the partition of Czechoslovakia. Dr. Brown said this deployment could be explained geographically since these areas are adjacent to these countries.
General Wheeler said that there has been more trouble between the population and the occupation troops. There have been several incidents where the Soviets opened fire against demonstrators. Our embassy in Prague reports their people have suffered a series of incidents: their vehicles have been searched; the Soviets fired guns over a military attaché’s car as he drove through Prague. Soviet soldiers broke into the apartment of an American and took a shot gun; and the Soviets intruded on the embassy grounds. Mr. Clifford said he read a cable in which the embassy reported it was surrounded. General Wheeler said yes, this was at the same time two or three Soviet soldiers broke into the grounds.
General Wheeler said that there is no confirmation that the Soviets plan to move into Rumania although they have the capability to do so. The Yugoslavs are getting somewhat upset. A meeting of the Yugoslav Communist party called for an end to the confrontation. They issued a warning that they would maintain Yugoslav sovereignty. They have cancelled military leaves and kept on duty those individuals who were scheduled to return to civilian life shortly.
Mr. Clifford asked how many foreign troops are in Czechoslovakia. General Wheeler said around 200,000. These consist of twelve to fifteen Soviet divisions, elements of four East German and four Polish divisions, and small detachments of Hungarian and Bulgarian forces. The Hungarians are stationed on the outskirts of Czechoslovakia. Tactical aircraft have been deployed to twelve Czechoslovakian airfields from the Western Soviet Union. The invasion forces have grown from 150,000 to 200,000 or more. Mr. Clifford asked how many of the 200,000 there are non-Soviet forces. General Wheeler said he would guess around 30 percent. Mr. Clifford said that this was higher than he would have thought.
Mr. Clifford asked Mr. Warnke for his comments. Mr. Warnke said it is difficult to sort out the various impacts. He would hope that the worst impact would be on the Soviet Union. Militarily it was a fine operation but politically a debacle that has stirred up adverse opinion around the world. In spite of our efforts at a détente the Soviets have made this move. The impact in Europe appears extreme. There will be a loss of influence of various communist parties. He feels that the French and Italian communist parties will be negligible factors. As a result, the Rumanians and Yugoslavs are restless. The Soviet efforts have increased their diplomatic deficit. Both the Yugoslavs, the arch-heretics, and Communist China, the true believers, have criticized the Soviets.
Mr. Warnke said these events show the need for a significant American presence in Europe. The Soviets have not been transformed. It shows that we still cannot forecast whether the Soviets might take action against NATO. The invasion should put an end to the Symington amendment. We should maintain a strong defensive posture rather than credit the Soviets with becoming magnanimous.
Mr. Clifford said he feels these events point up the basic soundness of the DoD position taken on the Hill. It is better to negotiate with the Soviets from a position of strength. The Soviet actions have added to the efficacy of this argument. He recalled the effort required to sustain our position on the Hill on the SENTINEL ABM program. Opponents argued that the Soviets and communism had changed. We successfully debated this move. The opposition group should have substantially less support in the future. As General Wheeler said the whole area of support for NATO had a serious problem on hand. In Senator Mansfield’s report to the President upon his recent return from Europe he was sanguine and optimistic about US/USSR relations. The ink had hardly dried on this report when the Soviets invaded. Unfortunately, however, the Soviet invasion will have an adverse effect on various important efforts we were making. The non-proliferation treaty is still hanging in the balance. The West Germans have not yet signed, the Israelis have not yet chosen to sign it, and many other nations haven’t signed. The Soviet actions may have an adverse effect. Further, steps were fast approaching a climax to start the talks with the Soviets on the limitation of strategic weapons. He hoped as time moves on that we can select the right time and get started on these talks. In some respects the climate might even be better for these talks as a result of their moves. There will be more realistic feeling about the Soviet Union’s attitudes.