May 17, 1984
Dear Don:
I want you to know my personal appreciation for your enormous efforts and good work during the time you were able to serve as my Special Representative for the Middle East. It is unquestionably one of the most difficult of assignments and your ability, insight and contributions were invaluable during a critical period.
I very much appreciated your willingness to rearrange your many responsibilities to take this assignment and I am particularly grateful to the Board of Directors of G. D. Searle for making it possible for you to undertake this task.
I am pleased that you will be able to continue as a consultant and be available to me and to Secretary Shultz for advice and counsel in the period ahead, consistent with your other responsibilities.
Sincerely,
Ronald Reagan
[The Honorable Donald Rumsfeld, President & Chief Executive Officer, G.D. Searle & Co., P.O. Box 1045, Skokie, Illinois 60076]
- - - May 15, 1984
Dear Mr. President:
As we agreed when I undertook the assignment as your Special Representative for the Middle East, my involvement could only be for a limited period. Secretary Shultz, you and I discussed what that period could be, given my continuing responsibilities as President and Chief Executive Officer of G. D. Searle. As you know, that point has approached and I must proceed on with my other responsibilities.
As we are all aware, the problems in the Middle East are at once both exceedingly difficult and terribly important. The conflicts in the area are deep seated. While a continuation of our steady efforts is vital, you have rightly identified the growth of state-sponsored terrorism and the use of surrogates to mask accountability as profound threats to hopes for progress in the area. A broad public understanding of the nature and magnitude of these threats is necessary. Your efforts to make the world aware of and to develop effective policies for deterring such activities are important steps forward.
I am deeply grateful for your confidence in asking me to undertake the responsibilities as your Special Representative and for the support you and Secretary Shultz have given me during this assignment.
Sincerely,
Donald Rumsfeld
[The President, The White House, Washington, D.C. 20500]
Note: The text of the letters was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on May 18.