"Tar Baby Option" Dept. of State
Tracking # |
21-02036 |
Submitted | May 31, 2020 |
Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Emily Crose
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
Documents associated with the "Tar Baby Option" as overseen by Secretary of State Kissinger between the years of 1965 and 1974.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Emily Crose
From: U.S. Department of State
**THIS EMAIL BOX IS NOT MONITORED, PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL.** Ms. Crose: This email responds to your May 31, 2020, Freedom ofInformation Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. § 552) request received by the U.S. Department of State, Office ofInformation Programs and Services on June 29, 2020, regarding documents associated with the "Tar Baby Option" as overseen by Secretary of State Kissinger between the years of 1965 and 1974 .he information requested falls underthe purview of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). T Therefore, this Office recommends filing yourrequest with NARA at the following address: Special Access/FOIA, NationalArchives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500, College Park, MD20740-6001. This action closes yourrequest in this Office. If you are not satisfied with thisOffice’s determination in response to your request, you may administrativelyappeal to: Appeals Officer, Appeals Review Panel, Office of InformationPrograms and Services, U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street, NW, Suite B266,Washington, D.C. 20520; or facsimile at 202-485-1718. Your appeal must be postmarked orelectronically transmitted within 90 days of the date of this email. If you have any questions regarding yourrequest, please contact our FOIA Requester Service Center or our FOIA PublicLiaison by email at FOIAstatus@state.gov or telephone at 202-261-8484. Additionally, you may contact the Office of GovernmentInformation Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administrationto inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is asfollows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives andRecords Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, Maryland20740-6001, email at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at 202-741-5770; toll free at1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769. Sincerely, /s/ R. Yousef, for Nicholas J. Cormier Chief, Requester Communications Branch Office of Information Programs and Services **THIS EMAIL BOX IS NOT MONITORED, PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL.**
From: Emily Crose
Do you happen to have any additional information about the files that were transferred to NARA, such as tracking numbers, or possibly a record of box numbers at NARA where they may reside?
From: Emily Crose
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
Documents associated with the "Tar Baby Option" as overseen by Secretary of State Kissinger between the years of 1965 and 1974.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Emily Crose
From: National Archives and Records Administration
Dear Ms. Crose:
This is in response to your September 30, 2020, Freedom of Information Act
request (#21-02036) about the “Tar Baby option” as overseen by Secretary of
State Henry Kissinger between the years of 1965 and 1974. We received your
request on October 19, 1010.
Henry Kissinger was Secretary of State from 1973 to 1977. Nevertheless,
this response covers records dating back to 1965. Our understanding is
that the so-called “Tar Baby Option” related to U.S. policy towards Angola,
Rhodesia, Mozambique, and South Africa.
The primary source for documentation on U.S. foreign policy and events in
various countries is the Department of State central files, part of RG 59:
General Records of the Department of State. More detail is at:
https://www.archives.gov/research/foreign-policy/state-dept/rg-59-central-files.
From 1963 to 1973, the Department’s central file is arranged according to a
pre-determined subject-numeric filing scheme and is known as the
Subject-Numeric File. The central file for the 1963-1973 period is broken
into the following blocks: February – December 1963, 1964-1966, 1967-1969,
and 1970-1973. The records are arranged in seven broad subject classes:
♦Administration
♦Consular
♦Culture & Information
♦Economic
♦Political & Defense
♦Science
♦Social
Each of these subject classes is further divided into several primary
subjects, which are further broken down by country, region, or
organization. There are about 55 different primary subjects. For example,
the Political & Defense subject is divided into Communism (CSM), Defense
(DEF), Intelligence (INT), and Political Affairs & Relations (POL), and
thereunder by country, region, or organization. You will be most
interested in the defense and political files for Angola, Rhodesia,
Mozambique, and South Africa. The country designators for those countries
are, respectively, ANG, RHOD, MOZ, and S AFR.
To locate the files relating to a specific country, you will have to search
each of the file categories under that country. So, for example, if you
are interested in South Africa economic affairs (general) and political
affairs, you would search the following file categories: “E ** S AFR” and
“POL ** S AFR” (replacing the ** with the specific subject number).
On July 1, 1973, the Department began phasing in a new filing system
referred to as the Central Foreign Policy File. In the new system, records
were no longer arranged by subject in paper files. Documents were indexed
using an automated tool with most telegrams being stored electronically and
hard-copy documents (beginning January 1, 1974) being stored on microfilm.
You may gain access to the declassified electronic telegrams, index
information about the microfilmed documents, and limited information about
still-restricted telegrams and index information in the Access to Archival
Databases (AAD) on the NARA website at <https://aad.archives.gov/aad/>
under “Diplomatic Records.” The National Archives has accessioned these
records through 1979. PLEASE BE SURE TO READ THE ASSOCIATED FAQs BEFORE
BEGINNING USE OF THESE RECORDS. They are found at:
https://www.archives.gov/files/research/foreign-policy/state-dept/rg-59-central-files/faqs.pdf.
Central file records dated 1980 and later remain in the custody of the
Department of State. You must file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
request directly with the Department to request access to records in their
custody.
Also in RG 59 are decentralized records of various high level, geographic,
and functional offices of the Department. Those files can be a valuable
supplement to the documentation found in the central files. For important
information about the decentralized files see:
https://www.archives.gov/research/foreign-policy/state-dept/rg-59-decentralized-files.
The following series of records, which have been declassified, may contain
documentation relating to your research:
●RG 59 Entry A1-5403: Records of Henry Kissinger, 1973-77
●RG 59 Entry A1-5177: Transcripts of the Secretary’s Staff Meetings,
1973-1977
●RG 59 Entry A1-5027: Director of Policy Planning Winston Lord, 1969-1977
Finding aids are available in the Archives II research room and in the
on-line catalog.
The records described above are already open for public viewing, with the
exception of those few documents requiring continued protection, in our
research room at the National Archives in College Park, MD, located at 8601
Adelphi Road, College Park, MD. We are staffed to assist researchers with
their work. Since there are no access restrictions on these documents,
there was no need to file a Freedom of Information Act request with the
National Archives.
*It is important to note that all NARA Research Rooms were closed effective
at the end of business on March 13, 2020 as a public health precaution due
to the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. Under standard circumstances,
we would welcome you to visit our research room so you or your
representative can examine and select documents relevant to your research.
You could also hire a researcher to conduct research on your behalf.
However, visiting is not an option at this time. For updates on the status
of Research Rooms, please visit https://www.archives.gov/coronavirus
<https://www.archives.gov/coronavirus>.*
This concludes the processing of your request.
If you have not already done so you should consult FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE
UNITED STATES (FRUS). This is a Department of State publication of selected
documents from the Department’s files and other sources. Besides providing
the text of the most important documents on U.S. foreign policy, FRUS also
provides a source citation (printed either as a header with the document or
as a footnote). Those references to file numbers or other records
identification are the keys to locating not only the printed documents but
other documents on the same subject not selected for publication. Cited
"Lot Files" may be difficult to identify among the records in the National
Archives using just the Lot number. If you are interested in using any of
those records, please contact the Archives II Reference Branch at least 3-4
weeks before a visit so that we may identify the records of interest and
determine if they have been declassified. You also should make early
contact if interested in the records of other agencies cited in FRUS. FRUS
is usually available at large university or public libraries, and at U.S.
Government Depository Libraries. Volumes are available online at
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments and
https://uwdc.library.wisc.edu/collections/FRUS/.
We do not consider this a denial of your FOIA request. However, if you are
not satisfied with our action on this request, your options for appeal and
dispute resolution are as follows:
You have the right to file an administrative appeal in writing via regular
U.S. mail or email. Your appeal should be received within ninety (90)
calendar days from the date of this letter and it should explain why you
believe this response does not meet the requirements of the Freedom of
Information Act. Please address it to the Deputy Archivist of the United
States (ND), National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi
Road, College Park, Maryland 20740. Both the letter and the envelope
should be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.” You may also
submit your appeal to FOIA@nara.gov also addressed to the Deputy Archivist.
All correspondence should reference your internal case tracking number
noted above.
In addition to your right to file an administrative appeal with the Deputy
Archivist, you may seek assistance from our acting FOIA Public Liaison
(FPL). Contact information for the FOIA Public Liaison at the National
Archives, Washington DC area is as follows:
FOIA requester Service Center telephone number: 301-837-3190
Acting FOIA Public Liaison: Lynn Goodsell
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Telephone number: 301-837-3190
E-mail address: DC.FOIA.LIAISON@NARA.GOV
Finally, the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) offers
mediation services to resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal
agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to administrative appeals. Using
OGIS services does not affect your right to pursue an administrative
appeal. The contact information for OGIS is as follows:
Office of Government Information Services
National Archives and Records Administration
Room 2510
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
E-mail: ogis@nara.gov
Telephone: 202-741-5770
Facsimile: 202-741-5769
Toll-free: 1-877-684-6448
Sincerely,
DAVID A. LANGBART
Archives II Reference, Research Rooms
and Augmented Processing Branch
National Archives at College Park, MD
david.langbart@nara.gov
www.archives.gov
RR2RR 21-02036
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