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CONFIDENTIAL
DSR 11C
3. Recently much has been made by the media of divisions within the Administration on the handling of fokreign affairs and there have been suggestions that the
President's National Security Adviser, Joe Clark, may be
seeking to oust Mr Shultz. Although Clark is concerned
to see action taken in Central America and elsewhere that
will help the President domestically, Mr Shultz remains an influential figure with the support of the White
House. Apart from that, the Reagan Administration is, if anything, rather less prone to in-fighting than some of its recent predecessors.
Objectives
4.
Mr Reagan will no doubt see the Prime Minister's
visit as an opportunity to underline the closeness of the
bilateral relationship as well as his own high regard for the Prime Minister. Although he will expect the Prime Minister to raise privately a number of concerns,
including the US budget deficit and its effect on
interest rates, he will hope that in public the visit
will illustrate the closeness of view between the two
governments on economic strategy and reaffirm that
recovery is underway. He will also be looking for
support for his approach to the handling of relations
Jof
with the Soviet Union, and for the Administration's
policies in Central America both of which are issues of
some importance domestically.
CONFIDENTIAL