(2013-0948-F) Arms Control and Regional Security

76 folders, approximately 7,521 pages

This collection consists of records related to the establishment of a multilateral working group on Arms Control and Regional Security (ACRS) in the Middle East. Thirteen Arab States, Israel, a Palestinian delegation, and a number of extra-regional nations participated in numerous plenary and intercessional meetings of the ACRS working group between 1992 and 1995. The files contain memoranda and emails between National Security Council (NSC) staffers concerning the establishment of the ACRS Working Group and NSC cables concerning the administrative details of the Working Group meetings, negotiations and discussions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) with various nations, and reports from ACRS meetings and intercessional events.

The materials in FOIA 2013-0948-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related material. In September and October of 1991, the United States and the Soviet Union co-sponsored the Madrid Peace Conference to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. One of the results of that conference was the establishment of a multilateral working group on arms control and regional security (ACRS). This ACRS working group, along with four other multilateral working groups, was created to foster engagement and dialogue on many issues facing Israel and its immediate neighbors. Thirteen Arab States, Israel, a Palestinian delegation, and a number of extra-regional nations participated in numerous plenary and intercessional meetings of the ACRS working group between 1992 and 1995. The primary focus of the ACRS working group was the introduction of the regional parties to arms control procedures and verification methods. Expert-level meetings during the intercessional events focused on what were called “confidence-building measures (CBM).” These CBM’s included agreements relating to maritime issues (e.g., conducting search and rescue and incidents at sea exercises), pre-notification of military exercises and the creation of a regional communications network. In 1994, ACRS meetings moved from venues outside the region to locations within it; several regional parties like Bahrain, Qatar and Tunisia hosted plenary meetings. By the end of 1995, due to multiple complications in the Mid-East Peace Process, the ACRS multilateral talks were put on hold indefinitely. Some of these complications included the ongoing disagreement between Israel and Egypt over the implementation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). The last formal ACRS meeting was held in September of 1995. A key topic of discussion in some of the last ACRS meetings was the establishment of a Middle East Nuclear Weapons Free Zone (MENWFZ). The proposal for a MENWFZ was originally introduced through a United Nations General Assembly resolution in 1974. The resolution asserts that States in the region declare solemnly that they will refrain from producing, acquiring, or in any other way possessing nuclear weapons. They also agree to place all their nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. Discussion of this UN resolution in the ACRS Working Group meetings was complicated by Israel’s policy known as "nuclear ambiguity" in that they will neither admit nor deny if they are, or are not, a nuclear state. Records responsive to this FOIA collection include memoranda and emails between National Security Council (NSC) staffers concerning the establishment of the ACRS Working Group and NSC cables concerning the administrative details of the Working Group meetings, negotiations and discussions of the NPT with various nations, and reports from ACRS meetings and intercessional events. The majority of the records related to this FOIA case are closed for national security reasons.

Textual

Records that are responsive to this FOIA request were found in these collection areas— Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files, and Clinton Presidential Records: NSC Cable, Email, and Records Management Systems. Staff and Office files were maintained at the folder level by staff members within their individual offices and document all levels of administration activity.

Collection is open to all researchers. Access to Clinton Presidential Records is governed by the Presidential Records Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. Chapter 22, as amended) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552, as amended) and therefore records may be restricted in whole or in part in accordance with legal exemptions.

Documents in this collection that were prepared by officials of the United States government as part of their official duties are in the public domain. Researchers are advised to consult the copyright law of the United States (17 U.S.C. Chapter 1) which governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.

Official records of William Jefferson Clinton’s presidency are housed at the Clinton Presidential Library and administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) under the provisions of the Presidential Records Act (PRA).

Staff Archivist, 2017. Previously restricted materials are added as they are released.

The following is a list of documents and folders processed in response to FOIA 2013-0948-F:
Box 1
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
National Security Council
Near East and South Asian Affairs
Hull, Edmund
MEPP [Middle East Peace Process] ACRS [Arms Control & Regional Security]
[OA/ID 75]
MEPP [Middle East Peace Process] ACRS [Arms Control & Regional Security]
#2 [OA/ID 75]
Nonproliferation and Export Controls
Poneman, Daniel / Samore, Gary
ACRS [Arms Control & Regional Security] [OA/ID 1429]
Clinton Presidential Records: NSC Cable, Email, and Records Management System
NSC Cables
Jan 1993-Dec 1994 [OA/ID 505000]
[Arms Control Middle East]
[01/04/1993 – 01/18/1993]
[01/18/1993 – 01/28/1993]
[01/28/1993 – 02/16/1993]
[02/17/1993 – 03/08/1993]
[03/09/1993 – 04/20/1993]
[04/20/1993 – 04/29/1993]
Box 2
[04/29/1993 – 05/06/1993]
[05/06/1993 – 05/18/1993]
[05/18/1993 – 05/28/1993]
[05/28/1993 – 06/07/1993]
[06/07/1993 – 06/25/1993]
[06/25/1993 – 07/08/1993]
[07/09/1993 – 07/15/1993]
[07/15/1993 – 07/21/1993]
[07/21/1993 – 07/30/1993]
Box 3
[07/31/1993 – 08/27/1993]
[08/27/1993 – 09/13/1993]
[09/14/1993 – 09/29/1993]
[09/30/1993 – 10/08/1993]
[10/09/1993 – 10/22/1993]
[10/22/1993 – 01/05/1994]
[01/06/1994 – 01/22/1994]
[01/22/1994 – 02/02/1994]
[02/02/1994 – 02/15/1994]
Box 4
[02/16/1994 – 03/04/1994]
[03/04/1994 – 03/14/1994]
[03/14/1994 – 03/22/1994]
[03/22/1994 – 04/01/1994]
[04/01/1994 – 04/15/1994]
[04/15/1994 – 04/28/1994]
[04/29/1994 – 05/11/1994]
[05/11/1994 – 05/20/1994]
[05/20/1994 – 05/27/1994]
Box 5
NSC Cables
Jan 1993-Dec 1994 [OA/ID 505000]
[Arms Control Middle East
[05/31/1994 – 06/05/1994]
[06/06/1994 – 06/11/1994]
[06/13/1994 – 07/15/1994]
[07/15/1994 – 08/06/1994]
[08/08/1994 – 09/08/1994]
[09/08/1994 – 09/21/1994]
[09/21/1994 – 10/05/1994]
[10/05/1994 – 10/13/1994]
[10/14/1994 – 10/20/1994]
Box 6
[10/21/1994 – 10/29/1994]
[10/29/1994 – 11/04/1994]
[11/04/1994 – 11/12/1994]
[11/15/1994 – 11/25/1994]
[11/26/1994 – 12/01/1994]
[12/01/1994 – 12/12/1994]
[12/14/1994 – 12/16/1994]
[12/20/1994 – 12/30/1994]
Jan 1995-Dec 1996 [OA/ID 510000]
[Arms Control Middle East]
[01/03/1995 – 01/11/1995]
Box 7
[01/14/1995 – 01/28/1995]
[01/29/1995 – 02/13/1995]
[02/14/1995 – 03/08/1995]
[03/08/1995 – 03/16/1995]
[03/16/1995 – 03/27/1995]
[03/28/1995 – 04/12/1995]
[04/13/1995 – 05/05/1995]
[05/07/1995 – 05/25/1995]
Box 8
[05/25/1995 – 06/06/1995]
[06/06/1995 – 06/28/1995]
[06/28/1995 – 07/13/1995]
[07/14/1995 – 07/27/1995]
[08/02/1995 – 08/31/1995]
[08/31/1995 – 09/21/1995]
NSC Cables
Jan 1995-Dec 1996 [OA/ID 510000]
[Arms Control Middle East]
[09/29/1995 – 10/03/1995]
[10/03/1995 – 10/19/1995]
[10/19/1995 – 11/13/1995]
Box 9
[11/17/1995 – 12/08/1995]
[12/12/1995 – 12/30/1995]
NSC Email
A1-Record (Jan 93–Sept 94) [OA/ID 510000]
[Arms Control Middle East]
[02/15/1993 – 08/31/1994]
NSC Records Management System
[Arms Control Middle East]
9303848 [OA/ID 150]
9508707 [OA/ID 617]