TAKING CHARGE THE RISING POWER OF NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER ROBERT MCFARLANE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000403960010-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 22, 2010
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: May 26, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/22 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000403960010-0
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NE!tiT YORK TIMES MAGAZINE
26 May 1985
. T YJNG C1 LARGE
A
The Rising Power Of National SecurityAd% iser
Robert McFarlane
By Leslie H. Gelb tween the State and Defense Departments made
"agile diplomacy" impossible. He also revealed
N THE BIG CORNER ROOM WHERE the White House diplomatic agenda, as the Presi-
Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski dent viewed it in 1983, as well as unknown details of
once held sway, a few doors down from how foreign-policy decisions are now shaped in this
the Oval Office, Robert C. McFarlane sits Administration. According to Whitt House aides,
on a couch talking about his rise to the that process includes a little-known band of top offi-
post of national security adviser. The 47- cials, called the "Family Group," that is dedicated
year-old former marine sits quietly, to smoothing over internal tensions.
hands in his lap, his speech slow and The evidence of McFarlane's new clout is every-
deliberate. Back in October 1983, McFarlane says, where:
he was the "compromise choice." No one saw him ^According to White House officials, when he feels
"as a threat." he knows the President's mind on an issue, he often
Most Presidents have chosen strong-willed, inde- signs decision memorandums "Robert C. McFar-
pendent-minded outsiders for the job. When Ronald lane for the President" without even showing the
Reagan picked McFarlane, it seemed this would be memos to the President. Recently, the State De-
an exception. McFarlane was an insider to the partment wanted to allow Guatemala $75 million in
core: loyal, efficient, knowledgeable, discreet. The commodity credits, but the Treasury Department
Secretaries of State and Defense could rest easy opposed the move unless Guatemala first put its fi-
with this perennial No. 2 man. - nances in order. McFarlane issued a decision
But it hasn't turned out that way. Within the last memo, on his own, providing a total of $50 million in
few months, McFarlane has suddenly emerged as a credits in two installments. "This happens often,"
powerhouse in the formulation of Administration says an aide. "That's real power."
foreign and defense policy, sometimes rivaling and ^ In March, before the American delegation left for
,sometimes overruling Secretary of State George P. the arms-control talks in Geneva, McFarlane
.Shultz and Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinber- called a meeting of the National Security Council.
,ger. And his influence is growing - inside and out- Officials say the meeting ran for about an hour, and
side the Administration. that McFarlane took up most of that time showing
One sign of that dramatic change came in March charts and outlining six options for the United
when McFarlane was moved out of the basement States position at the talks. After the session, he
office occupied by his two immediate predecessors, and his aides drafted a 14-page decision memoran-
Richard V. Allen and William P. Clark, and moved dum, and President Reagan signed it without
into the large office close by the President. The change.
message of his being newly anointed was further ^ Earlier this year, McFarlane knocked heads with
spread within the Administration when he and his Shultz and Weinberger when they pushed hard for
wife, Jonda, were invited to private dinners with immediate and massive arms sales to Saudi Arabia
the President and Nancy Reagan in the White and Jordan. According to an aide, McFarlane told
House dining room. them: "We've got lots of fights on the Hill first -
inside power feeds outside power, and vice versa. the MX missile, aid to the contras, arms control,
in recent months, Robert (Bud) McFarlane has the defense budget - and the Middle East is fifth."
ended his careerlong isolation from the public. McFarlane proposed instead a general review of
Where once he talked with the press anonymously, Middle East policy as a cover for the delay, and the
identified simply as "a senior Adminstration offi- two Secretaries agreed. The aide says McFarlane
cial," today he briefs reporters in full view of the told them: "If the Arabs complain, lay it off on me,
television cameras. He has begun making the say the White House wants the review."
rounds of the Sunday television talk shows. McFarlane's ascendance comes at a time when,
McFarlane's willingness to be interviewed on the according to the. national security adviser and
record for this article is itself an unprecedented move other Administration officials, President Reagan
that reflects his new power. As a longtime McFarlane now believes that his military buildup and the eco-
friend puts it: "Bud would never dream of doing this nomic recovery, coupled with a rash of Soviet polit-
without the complete backing of the President." And ical and economic problems, have provided an op-
the national security adviser's candor during the in- portunity for some diplomatic initiatives - with
terview was also extraordinary. the Soviet Union and around the world. "We have
He spoke, for example, of the failure of American been building the leverage," McFarlane says, "and
policy in Lebanon last year and how one possible now is the time to build more and use it."
approach - linking military force and diplomacy The national security adviser brings years of for-
. --- .I,- -1-t.i,,- ?, hp- eivn-nnlicv experience to the task: he is far more
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/22 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000403960010-0