Falklands: Rentschler telegram to McFarlane (negotiations) [declassified 2000]
| Document type: | thatcher record |
|---|---|
| Document kind: | Archive |
| Venue: | En route London to Buenos Aires |
| Source: | Reagan Library: Executive Secretariat, NSC: Records, Country File (Falklands War) (Box 91365) |
| Journalist: | - |
| Editorial comments: | Despatched from the US Secretary of State's aircraft at 1000 GMT. |
| Importance ranking: | Major |
| Word count: | 260 words |
| Themes: | Defence (Falklands War 1982), Foreign policy (Americas excluding USA), Foreign policy (USA) |
By dIb NARA, Date 5/9/00
Top Secret
WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM
WPC HAS SEEN
PAGE 01 OF 02 SECSTATE/USDEL AIRC
DTG: 091000Z APR 82
PSN: 032009
TOR: 099/1325Z
SIT920
DISTRIBUTION: WPC MCF WHLR JP VP SIT /011
WHSR COMMENT: PLEASE ADVISE ON FURTHER DISTRIBUTION
OP IMMED
DE WTE34 #0001 0991000
0 91000Z APR 82
FM SECSTATE/USDEL AIRCRAFT (86972)
TO THE WHITE HOUSE IMMEDIATE
INFO SECSTATE WASH DC IMMEDIATE
TOP SECRET/NODIS/SECTO 5017
FOR BUD MCFARLANE
NODIS
E.O. 12065: RDS-3 4/8/02
TUGS: OVIP (HAIG, ALEXANDER M.)
SUBJECT: TALKS WITH THATCHER ON FALKLANDS
[Text following originally in upper case.]
1. I assume that you and the Judge [ William Clark ] will have seen the Secretary’s [ Alexander Haig ] unvarnished report to the President [ Ronald Reagan ] on his protracted discussions with Mrs. Thatcher and her colleagues [ Francis Pym ] [ John Nott ] last evening (SECHM 5010). You should know that his views very accurately summarize the mood and mind-set of HMG [Her Majesty’s Government] at this critical point in the South Atlantic caper and delineate our rather limited room for maneuver on the Buenos Aires lsg [?leg] (whither we are now bound). I believe the substance of that report should be shared with Roger Fontaine and Dennis Blair , since it will undoubtedly condition our next immediate [fo 1] steps. However the present situation turns out, it will clearly be a “close-run thing” – in fact Mrs. Thatcher herself may have recognized when she pointedly showed us portraits in Number 10 not only of Nelson but also Wellington . [sic]
Regards
Jim Rentschler