STATE DEPARTMENT'S MINERALS ATTACHES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80M01133A000600110016-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 13, 2004
• Sequence Number: 16
• Publication Date: September 11, 1975
• Content Type: MF

Approved For Release 2004/03/11 : CIA-RDP80M01133A000600110016-4
22 September 1975
MEMORANDUM FOR: Mr. Willis T. Gehrke,'IC/CPAD
SUBJECT State Department's Minerals Attaches
1. This responds to your request of 19 .September for
information on the genesis and present status of the subject
program., The following is based on telecons with Allan Wendt,
Director of State/EB's Office of International.Commodities,
and James Barie, OMB's Budget Examiner for the Department,
both of whom I have known for several years. Additionally,
Wendt put me in touch with Ms. Dell Palazzolo, his Staff
.Assistant.
? 2. Some 18 months ago, OMB set up a meeting with
repres.entatives. of In.terior'.s Bureau of Mines and State.! s, EB
Bureau aid budget people to discuss heightened Congressional
interest in American access to strategic resources. Ad-
ditionally, it will be noted, Secretary Morton h.d written
.Dr.... Kissi.nger..requesting-.that a Miner..als.-Attach6s Carps. be..
established. Interior most likely would' have pre-ferred to
have its own people serve overseas; instead, State decided
that it would staff the positions. (Interior employees may
well fill some of these slots overseas, but they will first
receive a commission from State.)
3. The first three regional positions were approved
for FY 1975 for attaches based in Johannesburg, Rio de
Janeiro, and New Delhi. Three additional slots were then
authorized for the current fiscal year: Canberra, La Paz,
and Kinshasa.(La Paz was selected because it was judged
politically infeasible to select either Santiago or Lima at
this time. And an attache will not be posted to Kinshasa
until next calendar year in light of Ambassador Hinton's
recent expulsion.) Wendt's office is now proposing to the
Department's Program Policy Group (PPG) that eight further
MODE positions be authorized in FY 1977: Tokyo, Bangkok,
Caracas, Brussels, Rabat, Warsaw, Accra and Jakarta.
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(Interior chose neither Mexico City nor Ottawa.) Note, for
the first time, that policy-oriented locations--Tokyo and
Brussels--are being sought. Not only would EB have the
officer assigned to Tokyo keep abreast of Japanese import
plans, but also he would report on industrial developments,
e.g., new technology employed by the Japanese steel industry.
4. I emphasize that the PPG has yet to rule on the
request for the FY 1977 positions. At present, Mr. Eagleburger
has suggested that the minerals and petroleum attache
positions be merged as "resources" attaches. Thus far EB is
resisting the suggestion; should it prevail Caracas would
then, for example, have both.
5. Apparently your interest in this program is keyed
to the fate of the geographic attaches. There may be,
however, only.an indirect relationship between the two
programs. On the one hand, the Department of State is
responding to pressures from the Hill and a Cabinet member,
and on-the other hand, 0MB is making available no new slots
for the program.. Indeed, I am told that Mr. Eagleburger
received some 600 requests for new slots worldwide in FY
1977, 400 of.which he has deemed to be. valid. They will be
obtained by internal reshuffling. Conce?ivab.ly, then,, the
Beirut geographic attache has been identified as one of the.
400 slots to be "reprogrammed."
6. By way of footnote, three minerals attaches-
designate are en route from Washington to their posts next
week, having just completed an eight-week Bureau of Mines
:.cours.e.; ' I ,lave notified ?the .:appropriate OER:branch, chief of
their.- availability, should he wish to ' contact them prior to
their departure.
25X1
?IC/PRD lah
Distribution:
C/PRD--PRD Chrono
egistry
AS Chrono
AS Subj.
2
Approved For Release 2004/03/11: CIA-RDP80MOl133A000600110016-4