Office of the Historian

148. Message From Prime Minister Macmillan to President Eisenhower1

Washington, July 19, 1957.

Dear Friend: [Here follows a paragraph of discussion concerning the West Indian Federation.]

You will have heard through Harold Caccia and by now read also in the press2 of the trouble which has blown up in Oman and [Page 227] will be familiar with events which lead up to the re-establishing of the Sultan’s authority in Oman two years ago. In this part of the world it is always difficult to know how to act for the best but we believe that the Sultan is a true friend to the West and is doing his best for his people. But his own forces are weak, partly because he and his predecessors have relied on us to protect him against outside aggression. There is, I believe, no doubt that the present insurrection has been organized and armed from outside. The Sultan has appealed to us to help him and the obligations of friendship seem to us to demand that we should not desert him in times of trouble. Moreover, there must be a risk that if the troubles in Muscat are not contained and disposed of as soon as possible, they may spread. I hope that it will be possible to restore the Sultan’s authority quickly, by dealing, with the help of limited air support from us, a speedy blow at the confidence and prestige of the rebel leaders. I will make sure that your people are kept in close touch with developments.

I am of course well aware that Nasser is encouraging this trouble and probably hopes to use this occasion to make difficulties for both of us. I am afraid there can also be no doubt that the Saudis are involved. As you know, we have recently put forward a plan for encouraging better relations between the Sultan and King Saud. This plan still seems to us to offer the best chance of improving the situation in that part of the world, but there is little chance of persuading the Sultan to adopt it while he feels that attempts are being made to detach part of his territory from him. We shall try to implicate the Saudis as little as possible in public discussion of these events, and to keep the door open for the realization of our plan for better relations.

I know that in all this I can count upon your sympathy.

All kind regards,

Yours ever,

Harold3
  1. Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, International File. Top Secret. According to a notation on a telegram forwarding the text of Macmillan’s letter to the Embassy in London, the message was received by the President on July 22. (Telegram 696 to London, July 23; Department of State, Central Files, 641.86e/7–2357)↩

  2. On July 23, in a memorandum to the President forwarding a report of British press coverage on the Oman situation, Dulles noted:

    “The fact that so many papers expressed themselves at about the same time in interpreting the Oman and Muscat trouble as being due to oil rivalries and US–UK competition, and particularly The Times statement, suggests that this point of view is not alien to some at least of those in the Foreign Office. I do not attribute it to Macmillan personally.” (Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Dulles–Herter Series)

    In a memorandum of a telephone conversation dated July 24, Dulles indicated that it appeared to the President that “the British press was just looking for a whipping boy—what irritates him is that they do not say what they want the President to do.” (Ibid.,Eisenhower Diaries, Phone Calls July–Dec. 1957)

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  3. Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.↩