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{Kissinger}
PRESIDENT OF THE NAVAL WAR COLLEGE Newport, Rhode Island 02840
Friday March 10th 1978
Dear Dr. Kissinger, I asked our most experienced professor, a skeptic who has been here for about ten years, for an overall evaluation of the Wednesday night affair. He said "I've attended a lot of 'em, and on the basis of overall impact and audience comments since the lecture, on a scale from 0 to 4.0, I rate it 4.1." That's the way we all felt, and I fully expect to look back on your visit as the highlight of my tour up here. I also particularly enjoyed your comments at breakfast - and I thank you for giving your time to those four teenagers at the table who will someday tell their children about it.
As soon as I got back from dropping you off at the airport I heard about that rude remark about a "Lich fee" that that guy Kock stuck in his Providence Journal article (Thurs AM edition). I was composing a short
press release to set the record straight when your office called suggesting same. Its contents got in the Providence Evening Bulletin Thursday (i.e. the Afternoon edition of the offending morning paper - same publishing co.), in the daily Newport paper (which goes out in mid-afternoon), and after a fashion, in the Friday AM Providence Journal. One never wins on these things, but the record is now straight. I know of no newspaper coverage outside these two papers, which were the only papers to have representatives in the audience. Koch was new to my public affairs officer. A substitute for the regular man who was ill - And I intend to tell his publisher, Mr. John C.A. Watkins, what I think of his reporting.
In hindsight, when a famous person speaks, I think it should either be closed to the press or given a lot of publicity. In this case, inviting a couple of supposedly discreet Journalists to come in black tie as normal guests, may have been the worst of all solutions.
Yesterday I found out that my crew made a video tape of the entire program; this was the first time it had ever been
done, and I'm told it is of good quality (in color). As I told you, it's common knowledge among the media that we normally made audio tapes. Although I suppose they'll find out by one means or another in due course, the media does not yet know about our video tape.
What's on this tape is certainly good for the Navy, and for the country - and perhaps good for you. Shall we exploit it? My people tell me that there are several levels at which we can expose it. The most conservative is to private, "war college family" audiences - e.g. to the trustees of the naval War College Foundation, to seminars enrolled in War College off-campus classes, etc. At the second level of exposure are such "internal Navy" audiences as ships' crews at sea, training establishments, groups of officers assembled in the Pentagon, etc. Finally there are external possibilities, ranging from Navy League meetings, to educational TV, to commercial TV. At the latter end of this spectrum we get into such considerations as royalties, etc.
What I am suggesting is that you might want to have one of your people look at the tape, and perhaps talk to our "Information" professionals in Washington. I talked to our Chief of Information, and he will gladly explain all the technical considerations. His name is Rear Admiral David M. Cooney, telephone 697-7391. I hope you will consent to some level of exposure, but I will await your determination.
Your visit really made the whole winter for Sybil. She is convinced that you must run for office and was on the verge of phoning your office for instructions as to how to proceed in campaigning for you. We are going to Illinois to dedicate a school this weekend, and she has just decided to "Let it be known" whenever she is being recorded that you are needed in our government and should be encouraged to run.
I will send you the Atlantic Monthly when it comes out in about two weeks.
I enclose, from top to bottom, the offending article, our rebuttal release, and the three subsequent articles that incorporate the latter. Sincerely Jim Stockdale