Office of the Historian

318. Memorandum by Secretary of State Rogers1

Washington, June 25, 1971.

TO

  • The Secretary of the Treasury
  • The Secretary of Defense
  • The Attorney General
  • The Secretary of the Interior
  • The Secretary of Agriculture
  • The Secretary of Commerce
  • The Secretary of Labor
  • The Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare
  • The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
  • The Secretary of Transportation

SUBJECT

  • Official Visits to Greece2

I remain concerned at the failure of the Greek regime to carry out its commitment to move ahead toward a constitutional order, and as you know there is also Congressional concern over developments in Greece. Thus, in order to avoid misunderstanding or misinterpretation of our attitude in this matter, both within Greece and in the Congress, I consider it desirable to limit visits to Greece by senior U.S. Government officials to those cases where overriding need clearly exists.

I would therefore appreciate if we could be kept informed of proposed visits by any senior officials of your agency to Greece, and consulted before accepting invitations or scheduling such visits.

William P. Rogers
  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 594, Country Files—Middle East, Greece, Vol. II 1 Nov 1970–31 Dec 1971. Secret.↩
  2. In a November 18, 1969, letter for Nutter, Sisco had requested that the Department of Defense clear all official, including general officersʼ, visits with the Department of State. In a December 4 reply to Sisco, Nutter had agreed to clear all civilian visits but insisted that military officers would not be subjected to this clearance. (Both are in Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OASD/ISA Subject Files: FRC 330 72 A 6309, Greece, 121–333, 1969)↩