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TRANSCRIPT OF NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING AT THE WHITE HOUSE ON APRIL 14, 1982:
REAGAN: What's Dan Rather saying about us tonight?
REGAN: Good evening, Mr. President. Dan Rather hasn't gotten to us yet. But we just got in the results of a Harris poll that'll be released to the papers tomorrow.
REAGAN: And?
REGAN: I'm afraid that it isn't good. The question was whether the public approval of our handling of international affairs in general and whether we were acting tough enough with the Soviets in particular. On the first we have only a 42% approval rating, on the second a 38%. The opposition is divided between the people who feel we're being deliberately provocative and taking the world to the brink of an all-out war and those who feel we're simply being too soft.
REAGAN: Well, that's not so bad. That works out to as much of a plurality as we can hope for under the circumstances. I don't think we need to be too alarmist about the public on this, Donald.
COLIN POWELL: If only we didn't have the Greeks and the Turks at each other's throats. I hear now that they're firing at each other on Cyprus.
REGAN: I would discount that, Mr. President. We've been hearing rumors about Cyprus ever since the conflict began, and so far they've never turned out to be right. The CIA's assessment is that we shouldn't expect any real outbreak of fighting on Cyprus pending the outcome of the struggle now taking place in the area of Samos. And that may take a while. The afternoon reports say that while the Greeks have made certain inroads--particularly on Samos---they've yet to consolidate their gains.
REAGAN: You think the Russians have something to do with the Greek activity?
REGAN: On paper the Turks should be winning, given their superiority in terms of manpower and aircraft. But there's little doubt that the Soviets are in fact providing the Greeks with arms and intelligence, including satellite reconnaissance, which tends to balance out the disparity. The latest proof we have of the deepening involvement between Russia and Greece originates from the Neorion shipyards on the island of Syros. While Greece has serviced and repaired Soviet ships in those shipyards for years, we've never seen such large numbers of naval craft putting in there.
REAGAN: We cannot afford to lose Greece. We couldn't in '48, we're not about to now.
REGAN: What are you proposing, Mr. President?
REAGAN: So long as the current regime is in power in Athens we're going to have a problem. As a sign of our displeasure, I'm recalling our ambassador for consultations. But how much good is that going to do?
REGAN: Are you saying we should replace the regime?
POWELL: I don't know whether it's our task to replace anybody, not after our experience with the junta.*625Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhmAA5ZOi2Z
STEVENS: I think our solution, Mr. President is to convince the Greek populace that the Soviets pose a grave threat to them. Perhaps just as importantly, convince the junior officers of the Greek army---because I'm not sure we can depend on their superiors, who have a stake in defeating the Turks---that the real danger lies from the north, not from the east. If we could demonstrate to Greece, and to the world, that the Russians have territorial designs on Greece, then we may be in a much better position in the region.625Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRpNvxxj4Nq
REGAN: For all we know, that may actually be the truth.625Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlN62j9Dey4
STEVENS: Possibly, but I doubt that the threat right now is immediate enough to agitate the Greeks in the way we'd like them agitated. They'll be testing the waters and won't make moves on Greece for some time.625Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXbA0hotSw
*Colin Powell had been referring to America's collusion with the colonels who seized power in 1967 and held onto that power until a coup brought them down in 1974. It was clearly inadvisable for the U.S. to embark on a similar adventure now, though, on the other hand, it was not a stratagem that could be ruled out entirely.
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