The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR ROBERT B. OAKLEY Interviewed by: Charles Stuart Kennedy and Thomas Stern Initial interview date: July 7, 1992 Copyri ht 1999 ADST TABLE OF CONTENTS Background Born in Dallas, Te as; raised in Louisiana Princeton University; Tulane University U.S. Navy Entered Foreign Service - 195, State Department - Foreign Service Institute - French Language Training 195,-195. /hartoum, Sudan - Political01eneral Services Officer 195.-1920 Environment Ambassador 5ames 6oose Relations 8ith Sudanese USAID 1eneral Abboud9s coup d9:tat al 6ahdi family CIA Sadiq al 6ahdi ousted State Department - International Organizations - UN Political Affairs 1920-1923 U.S. government-UN relationship U.S. tactics in UN1A ?Institutional memory“ problem 5oe Sisco Harland Cleveland Congo issue Tshombe Frank Carlucci USUN staff Abidjan, Ivory Coast - Economic Officer0Political Counselor 1923-1925 Ambassador 5ames Aine 1 Coffee quota issue President Houphouet-Boigny Ivory Coast Development Bank French presence Prime 6inister Tshombe U.S. interests 1overnment CIA Chinese and Soviet influence Saigon, Bietnam - Political Officer 1925-192, Phil Habib9s ?boys“ Environment Bietnamese army9s political role 6ontagnards Political intrigues Draft constitution U.S. political role in Bietnam 1eneral Aestmoreland9s policies U.S. military role CIA Presidential elections ?E it Strategy“ CORDS policy Saigon9s self-help programs Pentagon-CINCPAC report Corruption Buddhists Over-optimism Paris, France - Political Officer 192,-1929 African and 6iddle East reporting Ambassador Sargent Shriver9s operational style African leaders French vie8s on 6iddle East and Africa Ambassador 5arring9s peace efforts President Ni on9s visit Student riots Communist party 1overnment reaction to riots Embassy ?Couth Committee“ Bietnam negotiations President Pompidou USUN - Ne8 Cork - 6ideast Affairs 19,0-19,1 Ambassador Charles Cost 2 Four Po8er 6ideast talks UN Resolution 2E2 T8o Po8er talks - 19,0 Pakistan ?tilt“ 5oe Sisco 6ideast issues Beirut, Lebanon - Political Counselor 19,1-19,E Ambassador Ailliam Buffum Internal tensions Environment Political groups Palestine Liberation Organization Sabra-Shatila raid President Franjieh UNRAA Terrorism Israeli raid Advice to Lebanese State Department - 6ideast Policy Planning Staff 19,E-19,, U.S.-USSR 1eneva talks Cyprus Ambassador Tasca F1reece) 1reece-Turkey 8as threat 1reek 5unta Sisco Cyprus mission Brent Sco8croft Palestine Liberation Organization opens0closes office in Aashington Contacts 8ith Palestine Liberation Organization /issinger - 6ideast peace negotiations Sinai II agreement Sinai Support 6ission UN and Sinai II /issinger9s ?shuttle“ diplomacy /ing Hussein9s role Sadat9s role Syrian role U.S. military assistance to 6ideast 19,5 /issinger and Israel Sisco9s ?6emorandum of Understanding“ Rabin and Sadat relationship /issinger9s 6ideast ?Pen Pals“ National Security Council-State Department relations U.S. press corps in 6ideast Syria9s Assad 3 Soviet 6ideast issue Afghanistan issues Pakistan-India relations Lebanon9s civil 8ar State Department - East Asian Affairs FSoutheast Asia and Pacific) 19,,-19,9 Assistant Secretary Richard Holbrooke ASEAN rejuvenation Tariff issues U.S. participation in ASEAN Indian Ocean issues Refugees FBietnamese, etc.) Human rights in U.S. policy Patt Derian Indochina policy Bietnam negotiations - post8ar U.S.-China negotiations Bietnam and Cambodia U.S.-Bietnam relations ANHUS relations U.S.-Philippine negotiations President 6arcos Economic Policy Council South /orea troop FU.S.) 8ithdra8al issue President Carter9s intermediaries to North /orea Holbrooke9s congressional relations Haire - Ambassador 19,9-19.2 Staffing President 6obutu Economy Infrastructure Corruption Contacts 8ith officials CIA Human rights USAID programs U.S. commercial interests President Reagan9s letter to 6obutu Dick Aalters9 visits Peace Corps 6issionaries Congressional interest in Haire Israeli relations French and Belgian presence Church9s influence 4 Somalia - Ambassador 19.2-19.E U.S. bases Soviet influence in area Horn of Africa Sidi Barre, dictator Ethiopia relations U.S. assistance CENTCO6 activities Human rights State Department - Coordinator for Counterterrorism 19.E-19.2 European approach International banking element 6ughniyah, terrorist Beirut 6arine barracks attack French counterterrorism Terrorist groups Intelligence and la8 enforcement tools International cooperation Lebanese counterterrorism Claire 1eorge, CIA Communist involvement in terrorism Cugoslav terrorists Abu Nidal activities Terrorists9 motivations State Department9s anti-terrorist organization Oliver North, activist Iran-Contra support operation Poinde ter British attitude Secretary of State Shultz North-Iran FLondon) Deception and cover-up Arms to Iran National Security Council cuts out State Department and Defense Department 6cNeill-Lehrer TB appearance Senator Nunn meeting To8er Commission Israeli participation National Security Council - 6ideast and South Asia 19.,-19.. Frank Carlucci Reorganization Colin Po8ell Staffing 5 6ilitary assistance issues Persian 1ulf states Iraq-Iran 8ar U.S. supports Iraq Iraq9s chemical 8arfare capability U.S. do8ns Iran Airbus 1CC Persian 1ulf shipping protection Soviet Afghanistan invasion Afghan-Pakistan relations Lebanon Arab-Israel peace process Secretary of State Baker9s activities Intifada U.S.-Soviet talks on Afghanistan ?Negative Symmetry“ formula U.S. arms deliveries to Afghanistan Afghan 6ujahideen Soviets leave Afghanistan Pakistan - Ambassador 19..-1991 Ambassador Arnold Raphel9s death Air crash investigation Staffing /ashmir issue India-Pakistan relations Economic development Prime 6inister Bhutto Peace Corps U.S. programs Pressler amendment issue Nuclear development issue President Bush9s 8arning to Pakistan on nuclear program India-Pakistan provocations Iran-Pakistan relations U.S. military cooperation U.S. Afghanistan policy CIA Under Secretary Robert /immitt Pakistan-China relations Pakistan as channel to Iran Senator Pell9s 8arning to 6rs. Bhutto Prime 6inister Bhutto ousted Retirement - Somalia 1991 Somalia Task Force 6 E ecutive Committee Comments on Foreign Service operation, etc. Personal danger in Somalia U.S. troops never under UN in Somalia U.S. media role Humanitarian assistance Over8helming force Coalition maintained Limited objectives Limits of po8er UN mandates too large UN-U.S. ?disconnect“ U.S. political ?disconnects“ Post-Cold Aar desires Humanitarian problems U.S. military and 8orld8ide involvement INTERVIEW Q: Bob, thanks very much for givin us your time to review your Forei n Service career. Let me start by askin you about your back round and your education. OA/LECI I 8as born in Dallas, Te as, but moved to Shreveport, Louisiana 8here I stayed until I attended South /ent School in Connecticut. I 8as there for three years and enjoyed it tremendously. By happenstance, 8ithout having much information, I decided to go to Princeton. The people at South /ent had enough credibility to get me into that University, despite my apparent indifference during the admissions intervie8. At Princeton, I majored in history and philosophy, but I had no idea 8hat career I 8anted to pursue. The /orean 8ar 8as ongoing at graduation time; I decided to volunteer for the officersJ training program being offered by the Navy rather than being drafted. So in 1952, I joined the Navy; it assigned me eventually to naval intelligence and sent me to 5apan, 8here I spent t8o and a half fascinating years in Cokosuka as a member of the staff of the Command of Far East forces. Ahile in 5apan, I decided that I 8as really interested in foreign affairs, although it 8as not clear to me ho8 I might pursue that interest. I did conclude that, in light of the people I 8as 8orking 8ith, the Navy 8as not up to my e pectations and I decided to get out of that service. I hoped that if I ever entered government service again, I 8ould try to avoid the kind of bureaucratic problems that I had encountered. I thought that the senior levels of the Navy paid too much attention to individual desires rather than basic policy issues. On the other hand, to8ards the end of my tour in 5apan, I 8orked for Captain Rufus Taylor, 8ho headed up the intelligence staff. He later became the chief of Defense Intelligence Agency FDIA) and later Deputy Director of CIA. I told him that had he been my boss si months earlier I probably 8ould have decided to stay in the Navy. Unfortunately, there 8ere not enough 7 Taylors in my e perience and that pushed me to leave the Navy. Not kno8ing 8hat I 8as going to do, I talked to a number of corporations, looking for a job in their government relations departments. I 8as told that the positions in those small departments 8ere primarily filled by e -government people that the corporations had hired a8ay from places like the State Department and CIA after they had been in those agencies for a dozen years or more. After that e perience, I decided to attend graduate school and selected Tulane University, and I also decided to take the Foreign Service entrance e amination 8hich I passed. After going through all the clearances, I 8as asked to report for duty in the Department in 5uly, 195,. That ended my efforts to get a masterJs degree. Ahen I started the A-100 course, it 8as at a time 8hen Aristonization 8as in full force. The Foreign Service grades 8ere being adjusted to cover eight grades from the si that had e isted before. That meant