Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, The Geneva Conference, Volume XVI

396.1 GE/2–2354

Memorandum by the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Murphy) to the Secretary of State¹

[Washington,] February 23, 1954.

Subject:

• Preparations for Geneva Political Conference

Discussion:

To plan efficiently for the Geneva Conference, I suggest that you designate an officer of the Department to coordinate all preparations. Perhaps Douglas MacArthur would be the appropriate man.

I would also recommend that two small task forces be set up for substantive preparations. One, on Korea, might be steered by UNP, with NA, CA and EE participating. The other, on Indo-China, could be steered by PSA, with CA, WE, EE and UNP participating.

The Division of International Conferences will provide the usual administrative support.

Recommendation:

That you approve the foregoing designations.²

1. Drafted by Popper of UNP.
2. Approved by the Secretary. Handwritten notation on source text indicated that Secretary Dulles wanted Kenneth T. Young of NA for Korea and for MacArthur to pick someone for Indochina with Robertson’s approval. Philip W. Bonsal of PSA was designated for Indochina (see the memorandum, p. 425).