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Jimmy Carter and the Anglo-American Special Relationship i Edinburgh Studies in Anglo-American Relations Series Editors: Steve Marsh and Alan P. Dobson Published and forthcoming titles The Anglo-American Relationship Steve Marsh and Alan P. Dobson The Arsenal of Democracy: Aircraft Supply and the Anglo-American Alliance, 1938–1942 Gavin J. Bailey Post-War Planning on the Periphery: Anglo-American Economic Diplomacy in South America, 1939–1945 Thomas C. Mills Best Friends, Former Enemies: The Anglo-American Special Relationship and German Reunification Luca Ratti Reagan and Thatcher’s Special Relationship: Latin America and Anglo-American Relations Sally-Ann Treharne Tacit Alliance: Franklin Roosevelt and the Anglo-American ‘Special Relationship’ before Churchill, 1933–1940 Tony McCulloch The Politics of Diplomacy: U.S. Presidents and the Northern Ireland Conflict, 1967–1998 2 James Cooper Jimmy Carter and the Anglo-American ‘Special Relationship’ Thomas K. Robb The Congo Crisis: Anglo-American Relations and the United Nations, 1960–1964 Alanna O’Malley euppublishing.com/series/esar 3 Jimmy Carter and the Anglo-American Special Relationship Thomas Robb EDINBURGH University Press 4 Edinburgh University Press is one of the leading university presses in the UK. We publish academic books and journals in our selected subject areas across the humanities and social sciences, combining cutting-edge scholarship with high editorial and production values to produce academic works of lasting importance. For more information visit our website: www.edinburghuniversitypress.com © Thomas Robb, 2016 Edinburgh University Press Ltd The Tun - Holyrood Road, 12(2f) Jackson’s Entry, Edinburgh EH8 8PJ Typeset in 10/12pt Times New Roman by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire, and printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon CR0 4YY A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 1 4744 0701 4 (hardback) ISBN 978 1 4744 0702 1 (webready PDF) ISBN 978 1 4744 0703 8 (epub) The right of Thomas Robb to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, and the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (SI No. 2498). 5 Contents Acknowledgements 00 Abbreviations 00 Abbreviations for the Notes and Select Bibliography 00 Introduction 00 1. The era of détente 000 2. Embracing the Special Relationship 000 3. Stresses and Strains 000 4. Thatcher comes to power 000 5. The end of détente 000 6. Conclusion 000 Notes 000 Select Bibliography 000 Index 000 6 Acknowledgements I would like to thank the numerous archivists that have assisted in locating material for the writing of this book. The assistance offered by the various staff at the British National Archives, Kew, the British Olympic Archive, University of East London, Churchill College, Cambridge University, the modern papers section at the Bodleian Library, Oxford University, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Ann Arbor, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, Atlanta, the U.S. National Archives II at College Park and the staff at the Sterling Library, Yale University, have all been courteous, professional and efficient. Without such dedicated staff then the process of writing history would be infinitely more difficult. Professor Alan Dobson first approached me about writing this book and it was with his encouragement that the final volume saw the light of day. I extent my gratitude to Professor Dobson and his co- editor of the series, Dr Steve Marsh, who have both professionally edited and guided this volume to its successful publication. The publication team at Edinburgh University Press have been the model of professionalism in ensuring the timely publication of the book. Colleagues and friends, such as Dr James Cooper, Dr Donal Lowry and Dr David Gill deserve a special mention for discussing this work over the past several years. Dr Lowry’s expert guidance on issues related to Rhodesia helped me to better appreciate the nuances that affected the course of events. Of course, any misunderstandings or errors of fact or interpretation are a reflection on me and not Dr Lowry. Dr Cooper has provided engaging conversation about the Carter presidency and Anglo-American relations more broadly. Dr Gill has read numerous drafts of this work at various stages of the writing process and his sharp insights and questions have resulted in a much stronger work than would have been otherwise. Of course, it is to my family and friends that I also offer my appreciation. It is to them that I dedicate this book. 7 Abbreviations The following abbreviations are used in the main text: BDOHP British Diplomatic Oral History Project CIA Central Intelligence Agency CND Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament CDS Chief of Defence Staff FCO Foreign and Commonwealth Office FRG Federal Republic of Germany G6 Group of Six G7 Group of Seven GCHQ Government Communications Headquarters HWP Harold Wilson Papers ICBM Intercontinental Ballistic Missile IOC International Olympic Committee IMF International Monetary Fund JCP James Callaghan Papers JCS Joint Chiefs of Staff LDCs Low Developed Countries MOD Ministry of Defence MP Member of Parliament NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NSC National Security Council PLP Parliamentary Labour Party PRC People’s Republic of China RUC Royal Ulster Constabulary 8 SCC Special Coordination Committee TNF Theatre Nuclear Forces UDI Unilateral Declaration of Independence UK United Kingdom UN United Nations USA United States of America USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 9 Abbreviations in the Notes and Bibliography The following abbreviations are used in the Notes and Bibliography: CAB Cabinet papers DEFE Defence papers FO Foreign Office papers FCO Foreign and Commonwealth Office papers FRUS Foreign Relations of the United States GFL Gerald R Ford Presidential Library GRDS General Records of the Department of State HC House of Commons HL House of Lords JCL Jimmy Carter Presidential Library LHA Labour history archive NAII U.S. National Archives II PPP Public Papers of the President PREM Prime Minister’s Office papers T Treasury papers TNA National Archives (UK) 10 1 Introduction ―In Britain we know how much we owe to America. We understand how close our countries are. America’s cause is, and always will be, our cause.1 ― We share a lot in common. Although our cars, or our automobiles, may drive on opposite sides of the highway, our people generally move in the same direction. And we share, or at least attempt to share, a common language. Sometimes we don’t succeed. But in the most important things, we do see issues and ideas, challenges, hopes, and expectations in the same way.2 The above quotes mirror the romantic notions of the Anglo-American relationship which Margaret Thatcher has long propagated in her writings and public speeches. Thatcher’s rhetoric echoes the sentiments of another British prime minister, Winston S. Churchill (British prime minister 1940-45; 1951-55) who declared in 1946 that the English Speaking Peoples shared a common heritage which obligated both countries to work together to maintain international security in the post-war world.3 This book explores crucial aspects of the Anglo-American strategic and diplomatic relationship during the presidency of Jimmy Carter, 1977-81. Throughout this book a rather different impression of the Anglo-American relationship emerges than the one suggested by the opening quotations. Whilst the subsequent chapters reveal a relationship that was indeed characterised by strategic and diplomatic 11 cooperation, it was also a relationship afflicted by strategic, political and economic competition and rivalry. Several interconnected topics and questions are addressed throughout the work. Included is an analysis of both American and British policies towards Carter’s international human rights agenda and efforts to improve NATO’s defence posture. More specifically, the study sheds new light on Anglo-American cooperation and competition as it related to implementing a majority rule settlement in Rhodesia, the taking of American hostages in Iran and finding a joint response to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. The subsequent diplomacy pertaining to possible economic sanctions against the Soviet Union and the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games is also explored. The study is also concerned with what has hitherto been regarded as the most sacrosanct areas of the Anglo-American ‘special relationship,’ that being nuclear and intelligence cooperation between the two states. Special emphasis is afforded to the 1980 agreement whereby the Carter administration officially agreed to sell Trident C4 to the United Kingdom to replace its ageing Polaris force. The study of Anglo-American relations during the Cold War has been dominated by the idea that a special relationship exists between the two countries by virtue of the close and unique cooperation undertaken between London and Washington.4 Of course, reference to a special relationship immediately begs the questions, special in relation to what and special to whom? Commentators highlight the nuclear cooperation and intelligence sharing between America and Britain as clear examples of this special relationship in practice. No two other sovereign states cooperated to the extent that London and Washington did throughout the Second World War and subsequent Cold War in these highly sensitive areas of national security. It is these two areas that are often regarded as the