agents engaged on SNO are difficult to geton with as such, though they are not perhaps the most diplomatic American representatives, the point is rather that anyone not doing a real job but doing liaison" work for its own sake would be merely a parasite. Nor could such "liaison" work be justified in terms of the gesture made in the general con- text of Anglo-US relations, for we would surely not want HMG's involvement in SNO to be widely publicised.
6. It seems to me that if we do wish to make a gesture then it would be better made to Mann's crop substitution programme, for assistance to this could be well publicised. What Mann needs is firstly money, specifically to charter the Porter aircraft up here for 5/6 hours a month at 168 dollars US. an hour and to build schools in the key villages at between US dollars 500 and 1000 a school. He also needs experienced staff, preferably speaking Thai. For example he has asked the UN for a vet and he needs consultants on a short term basis on coffee, spices and medicinal plants. At the moment he has a young American doing basic research on prices and markets but he will be gone in 5/6 months and Mann might well then need more help in this field.
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CONFIDENTIAL
L B Smith
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