U.S. FOOD GIFT OFFERS TO PEOPLE OF CAPTIVE EUROPE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-01065A000600080003-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 8, 1999
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: May 13, 1953
• Content Type: MF

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SECRET
PSYCHOLOGICAL STRATEGY BOARD
Washington 25, D. C.
ixiay 13, 1953
ENIORANDUIi FOR TILE PSYCHOLOGICAL STRATEGY BOARD
SUBJECT: U.S. Food Gift Offers to People of Captive Europe
A. Purtiose,
If situations of famine or widespread hunger resulting from inade-
quate food stocks develop in captive Europe, important psychological ad-
vantages could be gained through offers by the United States to give food
to the hungry people of captive Europe. It is most unlikely that the
Soviet masters would permit such United States food offers to be accepted.
But in the event of acceptance, important advantages would accrue because
Americans observing the distribution of the food would gain direct con-
tact with the captive peoples and word of the humanitarian action of
the United States would spread throughout the Orbit. If the Soviet
leaders forced the rejection of a U.S. food gift, the propaganda advan-
tages to the free world would be very significant.
B. Policy Criteria
1. The offer should not be made unless severe food shortages
exist of famine or near famine proportions resulting in wide-
spread hunger.
2. Adequate food assistance to any nations in the free world
affected by famine or drought and desiring aid from the U.S.
must be assured before any offer is made to give away food to
people behind the Iron Curtain.
3. The offer should be absolutely sincere, preceded by careful
administrative arrangements to insure rapid delivery if the
offer is accepted,
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4. The offer should be made purely on humanitarian grounds.
Publicity should stress that the offer is for the benefit of
the ep orals of captive Europe,
5. To emphasize the sincerity of the offer, no political
strings should be attached. If accepted, American volun-
tary agencies, rather than U.S. Government officials, should
observe the distribution of the food.
C. Administrative Aranements
1, The intelligence agencies of the government should be re-
quested to watch food conditions in captive Europe very closely
in order to provide sufficient advance notice of any severe hunger
conditions emerging in captive Europe. It is estimated that a
minimum of one month will be necessary to carry out the adminis-
trative arrangements required in advance of a food offer.
2. If intelligence indicates a serious prospective food short-
age, an interagency ad hoc committee should be established to
carry out the operational planning and the administrative arrange-
ments for a food offer,
3, The ad hoc committee should meet immediately with the accredi-
ted voluntary agencies in order to obtain their cooperation. In
this connection, special consideration must be given to arranging
for passports, since present U.S. Government policy does not per-
mit private American citizens to travel to curtain Orbit countries,
4. Adequate stocks of food, at below market price, are currently
available for purchase from the Commodity Credit Corporation.
Also under Section 416 of the Agriculture Act of 1949, the Depart-
ment of Agriculture has authority to give away to U.S. voluntary
agencies any surplus foods in storage which may be in danger of
spoilage. This means particularly dairy products, which are
commodities known to be in short supply in captive Europe.
5. Legislative authority for financing an emergency food offer
exists under Section lOl(a)(1) (Kersten Amendment) of the Mutual
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Security Act, which provides permissive authority for the President
to spend up to Q100 million for, among other things, projects that
he certifies are in the interest of U.S. security for people re-
siding in the countries of captive Europe.
6. The Mutual Security Act also provides legislative authority
which would permit the financing of the shipping costs of emer-
gency food relief projects, even though the destination is not
a nation or nations participating in the Mutual Security Program.
7. Sufficiently in advance of the intended date for the food
offer, appropriate top government officials should brief, in exec-
utive session, the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee in order to obtain their backing for
the project.
8. The food offer could be made public in several ways, including
a formal press release from the White House, a statement at the
President's press conference, or the letters from the President
to the Congressional committees certifying that the program is in
the interest of U.S.. security. Simultaneously with the public re-
lease of the offer, U.S. mission chiefs in captive Europe should
formally present the offer to the governments to whose people
the food is to be distributed.
9. An overt and covert program should be prepared to exploit
fully either of the two alternatives--acceptance or rejection
of the food offer.
That the Board adopt this paper as a guidance to the member agen-
cies in the event that any time in the future the Board should de-
termine that a food gift offer should be made to the people of one
or more of the countries of captive Europe.
Acting Director
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ROUTING AND RECORD SHEET
INSTRUCTIONS: Officer designations should be used in the "TO" column. Under each comment a line should be drawn across sheet
and each comment numbered to correspond with the number in the "TO" column. Each officer should initial (check mark insufficient)
before further routing. This Routing and Record Sheet should be returned to Registry.
P"ahological Stteor BoaW (via PP/PP/ pt,)
P'/PP/PL
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FORM NcP**{Oov@ For a ease 2uUUMW
FEB 1950
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