Office of the Historian

280. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Morocco1

268930.
Washington, August 18, 1988, 0201Z

SUBJECT

  • Message to King Hassan.

1. S—Entire text.

2. Please deliver the following Presidential message to King Hassan in response to the oral message from the King to the President which General Achahbar delivered to General Powell and Secretary Carlucci.2 There will be no signed original.

3. Begin text. Your Majesty:

I received with great satisfaction your message as conveyed by General Achahbar. I welcome the reaffirmation of your intention to acquire F–163 aircraft. I am pleased to confirm to you in turn that the United States also remains fully committed to this proposal.

Your Majesty, my government’s interest in expanding military cooperation with Morocco is based on the common defense perceptions our nations share. As Morocco and the U.S. stood together during World War II, so Morocco remains a pillar of security in the Western Mediterranean region today. The fifteen-year program of expanded cooperation which was briefed to your government in March of this year reflects the close nature of our bilateral relations.

I am asking my representatives to the next Joint Military Commission meeting to pursue these complex matters in greater detail, including the potential benefits of expanded military cooperation—benefits which could help facilitate our common goal of enhancing the readiness of our two countries’ armed forces. I am also asking our Department of Defense to remain in close contact with your government to review these and other issues.

Your Majesty, in closing, permit me to extend to you my sincerest best wishes for your well being and for the continued progress of Morocco under your wise leadership. Yours sincerely, Ronald Reagan. End text.

3. This message has been coordinated with DOD.

Whitehead
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, Electronic Telegrams, D880724–0452. Secret; Immediate; Exdis. Drafted by Ralph Winstanley (NEA/AFN); cleared by Casey, Eastham, Leonard Csensny (PM/ISP), Palevitz (DOD/ISA), Philip Zelikow (S/S), Negroponte, Perito, James Collins (S/S), and James Carragher (S/S–O); approved by Burleigh.↩
  2. No record of the Powell-Achabar conversation has been found.↩
  3. See Document 279.↩