823.20 Missions/1–2346: Airgram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Peru (Pawley)
A–65. As soon as final details have been worked out, Embassy will be informed and Peruvian representatives will be notified that the United States is ready to make available, in addition to the aircraft mentioned in the Department’s recent telegram number 26 of January 11, equipment for 1 regiment of infantry and 1 battalion of field artillery. It is believed that this equipment will furnish desirable support for the United States military missions, which was the concern [Page 1209] of General Arnold and the head of the mission, as reported in your telegram number 89 of January 23.10
The Department regards the staff conversations as having been purely preliminary and exploratory, a fact which was stated to the Peruvian Government in the note, proposing the conversations, which was attached to the Department’s circular instruction of August 1, 1944.11 The proposed allocation of ground equipment and aircraft should serve to liquidate any implied commitment on our part which may exist in the minds of the Peruvian authorities by reason of having participated in the conversations. As was pointed out in your recent conversation with Mr. Braden, it is with great hesitancy that the Department approaches the question of further, fuller implementation of the staff conversations and proposes to do so only after it has, with the War and Navy Departments, reexamined the entire program of military collaboration to formulate basic policies in the light of present conditions.
- Not printed.↩
- For text, see Foreign Relations, 1944, vol. vii, p. 105.↩