Greece - US Department of State

324. Editorial Note
Greece 813
In a September 20, 1971, meeting in the White House, President
Richard Nixon made reference to aid to Greece in the context of a discussion
on aid to South Vietnam.
“Now on Vietnam we can well understand that they’ll say ‘That’s
different, there are Americans fighting there.’ With Greece it’s a straight
foreign aid proposition. And so they say we should cut off aid to Greece.
Why? Because Greece doesn’t have a leader democratically elected.
And, when I was checking into this, when I heard all this yacking about
[South Vietnamese President] Thieu, that he wasn’t going to be
elected—I just checked. In the ninety-one countries in which we provide
aid there are only thirty of them today that have leaders that are
there as the result of a contested, democratic election.” (National
Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Tapes, September
20, 1971, 3:01–4:40 p.m., Cabinet Room, Conversation No. 76–4;
transcript prepared by the editors specifically for this volume)
325. Telegram From the Vice President’s Party to the Department
of State 1
Athens, October 18, 1971, 2310Z.
Vipto 36/5590. Subject: Memorandum of Conversation Between
Vice President and Prime Minister Papadopoulos, October 16, 1971,
5:30 p.m. 2
Summary.
Warm but intense two hour meeting between Vice President and
Prime Minister Papadopoulos highlighted by discussion of link between
strength of NATO and Greek domestic politics. Emphasizing that he
came in true friendship without slightest intention to criticize or intervene,
Vice President asked Papadopoulos to explore with him means
of making domestic policies less vulnerable in effort to disarm critics
and strengthen Alliance. Vice President promised he would not reveal
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; Nodis.
2 At 10 a.m. that morning the Vice President had been Papadopoulos’ guest at a
briefing on NATO and defense issues at the Greek Pentagon Center. The meeting was
reported in telegram Vipto 38 from Athens, October 19. (Ibid.)