Word: haig
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Haig know that Reagan, who abhors conflict among his subordinates, had pretty much decided to accept his resignation. Until the European trip, Reagan had regarded Haig's volcanic behavior with a kind of uneasy tolerance. But shortly after the presidential party returned to the U.S., Reagan agreed with key aides that the frictions had become insupportable. White House aides insist that there was no plot to get Haig; in fact, they thought that it would be best if the Secretary of State stayed on until after the November congressional elections. So Reagan would not directly ask Haig to quit...
...last act of the drama began Wednesday evening, when Haig invited Clark to meet with him at the State Department. The Secretary ran through a long list of complaints, citing specifically the private meetings that the National Security Adviser had held with Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Washington. In Haig's view, those meetings constituted a White House attempt to conduct backchannel dealings and undercut him in foreign policy. He also complained that Vice President George Bush had been sent as head of the U.S. delegation to memorial services for the late King Khalid in Saudi Arabia...
Reagan was prepared to accept Haig's resignation on the spot, but did not get a chance. Apparently, Haig overnight once more had second thoughts. During his 20-min. meeting with the President, the Secretary ran through the same list of complaints he had presented...
Clark the night before and handed Reagan a four-or five-page letter spelling them out. He told Reagan that he had also drafted and had in hand a letter of resignation. To the President's surprise, however, he added, "but I don't want to resign." Haig said he would prefer to make a last try at working things out. Reagan, briefly taken aback, replied that in that case he did not want to see the letter of resignation but is would review the Secretary's protests...
...friend of Haig's, who talked with the Secretary by phone Thursday night, says that as late as 11 p.m. Haig still had not made up his mind whether to go through with the resignation. Overnight Thursday, however, Reagan evidently did come to a hard-and-fast decision: this time he would give Haig no chance to back out. Shortly after he met with Baker, Clark and Deaver midmorning Friday, Reagan had drafted and signed an acceptance of Haig's letter of resignation, which he had still not seen...