20. Memorandum to the File1

MEETING PARTICIPANTS

  • The President and Frank Carlucci

I called the President’s attention to the request in Suzanne Massie’s letter (attached) that she be assigned a specific task. I told the President I thought it was fine for him to be talking with Suzanne Massie but assigning her specific tasks was another matter. While she may be very sensible and clear-eyed about the Soviets, they are obviously aware of her direct channel to the President. They would unquestionably try to use her in some way. Given her anxiousness to serve as an emissary (I reminded the President she had wanted to be Ambassador to the USSR), there was a clear potential for danger.

The President responded that he had not given her any tasks, but that she may be useful someday if he wanted to get a message across. I told him that if he planned to use her in any way to do one of two things: either someone like I should be present during the conversation or he should make a written record of what he told her. I repeated this suggestion somewhat later in our conversation.

The President indicated he was aware of the dangers and would heed my advice. Although, at the same time, he did not suggest that I be present. (Suzanne Massie is scheduled to meet with the President [Page 84] and Mrs. Reagan in the Oval Office on Wednesday, February 25, at 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.)2

Attachment

Letter From Suzanne Massie to President Reagan 3

Dear Mr. President,

I just arrived back at Harvard, and knowing that today is your birthday, hasten to add my wishes which, alas will reach you belatedly. But I have been thinking of you most especially today, and as the Russians say “Many years!” and may you have health, happiness and much fulfillment in this new year for you!

When I arrived I found your letter of January 13 waiting for me. How very thoughtful and sensitive it was of you to write. Thank you. I was deeply touched by your words and especially by your personal p.s. Of course I had not received it when I saw you on Tuesday, so missed the chance to thank you personally.

Yes, I did think I could do a special job in Moscow just now. I should probably have made that a little clearer to you before, but in our meetings I always hesitated to put myself forward and in retrospect perhaps that was a mistake. In any case, I do want you to know that it was not just my own plain nerve, but the flood of phone calls I received from senators, the military and many private citizens after the article appeared in the N.Y. Times on December 19 and the editorial on the 30th that prompted me to send it to you.

Of course I know Jack very well. During the past three years we have consulted frequently by phone and have had many meetings. He is indeed an experienced government servant. I was given a Soviet reaction to his appointment which I communicated to Secretary Shultz [Page 85] in our recent meeting, but which you should perhaps also know as it may affect responses to initiatives you might make.

There are certain problems I think you need to know, and which I hope Jack can solve. The situation in our Embassy in Moscow and Consulate in Leningrad is depressing. Morale is low. The staff are coping gallantly as best they can, but their activities are significantly hampered by the loss of Soviet personnel. It is my view that certain actions on our part which led to this result were, in sum, counter productive and not really helpful to our interests. For instance, I witnessed the spectacle of our leading specialist on the Plenum, on the day the Plenum opened, doing his duty cleaning the courtyard instead of being able to devote full attention to his speciality. There are certain Soviets who are simply delighted that they have succeeded in being able to cut us off completely from any contact with Soviet citizens—many of whom were very devoted and helpful—in the Embassy. I think the security problem is bound to be compounded by having inexperienced—and lonely—Americans running around Moscow. Forgive me, Mr. President, if I am out of bounds, but I am compelled to say that in my view, you were not well advised in this instance. Ideology, as the Soviets themselves are finding out these days, is no substitute for common sense.

It is a very exciting and interesting time there now. Mr. Gorbachev is moving fast and with determination, but the situation is complex and not without danger. I believe that we should use the new mood for openess to explore certain possibilities—one of these being media reciprocity, among many other things up and down the scale. On Tuesday,4 I had the chance to discuss my recent trip and conclusions with a group of senators and I hope I will have the chance to discuss these with you at some greater length, as I knew this would be impossible when I saw you this time.

I so much enjoyed seeing Mrs. Reagan both before I left and when I returned. I hope she will seriously consider coming to Leningrad for the opening of the Wyeth exhibition of which she is honorary chairman. I believe this could be a fine diplomatic opportunity in which you would have nothing to lose and a great deal to gain. It was also wonderful to see you looking so fit, and as always, handsome. What a constitution! It makes me wonder what you have for breakfast.

In closing may I say, that as you honor me by calling me a trusted advisor, then I will be bold enough to say that I think I could help you more if we were able to meet or talk a little more regularly than every six months or so. I like to be able to follow things through and I don’t [Page 86] feel I can do that now. I could also help more if you were to give me a specific task to accomplish—as you did when you sent me for the cultural exchange. I believe that Russians trust me and that I could make a contribution.

Right now, there are some perceptions about the changing USSR and the situation there which I would like to share with you before I go back again. I plan to be at Harvard until February 28, then I leave March 3 for a month in Leningrad and Moscow and will be back about April 1st. If you think it might be helpful to you, would your schedule permit us to meet informally, as we have on the past two occasions, on February 24 or 25? Or perhaps we could at least talk on the telephone? I may be reached here at Harvard at (617) 495 8703.

As always, I send my warm wishes to you and Mrs. Reagan, and again, many thanks for your wonderful letter.

Sincerely,

Suzanne Massie5
  1. Source: Reagan Library, Carlucci Files, The President (02/12/1987–04/28/1987). No classification marking. Drafted by Carlucci. The meeting took place in the Oval Office from 3 until 3:03 p.m. (Reagan Library, President’s Daily Dairy)
  2. According to the President’s Daily Diary, Reagan met with Massie in the Oval Office from 2:08 to 2:41 p.m. on February 25. (Reagan Library, President’s Daily Diary) No substantive record of the conversation was found. In his personal diary entry that evening, Reagan recalled “a fine meeting with Suzanne Massie. Very interesting—she suggested maybe I should go to Moscow instead of Gorbachev coming here. Then she dropped bomb. A top Soviet official told her Gorbachev might well be killed if he came here. There is so much opposition to what he’s trying to do in Russia—they could murder him here & then pin the whole thing on us. I don’t find the warning at all outlandish. The K.G.B. is capable of doing just that.” (Brinkley, ed., The Reagan Diaries, Vol. II, November 1985–January 1989, p. 693)
  3. No classification marking.
  4. February 3.
  5. Massie signed “Suzanne” above her typed signature.