Office of the Historian

352. Letter From Secretary of State Dulles to Prime Minister Balafrej1

Washington, September 20, 1958.

Dear Mr. Prime Minister: Ambassador Yost has of course kept the President and me closely informed of his conversations with you in recent weeks on various ways in which U.S.-Moroccan relations could be consolidated and bring to realization the bright promise which was evident during the visit of His Majesty and yourself to Washington last November. I assure you that this remains a central objective of the U.S. Government, as illustrated by the U.S. offer for a provisional base agreement, pending withdrawal of U.S. forces, which Ambassador Yost presented to you recently. This offer represents of course a strenuous effort on the part of the U.S. to meet the desires of the Moroccan Government.

I know that your Government is anxious to approach this matter in a similar spirit of comprehension and flexibility. I therefore wish to take this opportunity to explain frankly to you certain problems regarding the functions of the bases which bear on your current discussions with Ambassador Yost. In this connection I was disturbed to learn that you are considering new conditions regarding the use of the bases during the interim period of the agreement. I profoundly hope that this matter will receive your most serious attention. The U.S. operated bases in Morocco play a vital role in the preservation of peace through deterrence of aggression.

Quite aside from the serious threat to the peace that could result from nullification of the bases in Morocco, I am sure that you realize the grave repercussions this would have on [the attitude of the U.S. Congress, as well as]2 public opinion in the U.S. and other areas of the free world.

I am of course fully aware of the justified preoccupation of the Moroccan Government that its territory never be used for aggressive purposes, and I solemnly assure you that the U.S. will not utilize its facilities in Morocco for aggression against any state. Naturally, reciprocal confidence and conviction of good faith on the part of friendly [Page 772] neighbors is a key to effective relationships and cooperation, and I believe that the peaceful reputation and record of the United States justify such confidence on the part of Morocco.

Accordingly, I trust that these assurances will meet the reservations which you have expressed to Amb Yost about the use of these bases during the period of the interim agreement. He is of course ready to consult with you to arrive at a suitable expression of those assurances which may meet most effectively the desires of the Moroccan Government.3

Sincerely yours4

  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 711.56371/9–1758. Secret. Sent Niact to Rabat in telegram 320. Yost had suggested Dulles send Balafrej a personal message reiterating the U.S. position on Moroccan bases in order to emphasize the seriousness with which the United States viewed the negotiations. (Telegram 426 from Rabat, September 17; ibid.)↩
  2. Brackets in the source text. Telegram 320 instructed Yost to decide whether to retain this phrase in the letter.↩
  3. Yost gave the letter to Balafrej on September 23. The Prime Minister said he doubted agreement could be reached along the lines Dulles outlined, but promised to discuss the message with King Mohamed and the Cabinet. Yost did not indicate in his report to the Department of State whether he retained the bracketed phrase in the text he gave to Balafrej. (Telegram 470; Department of State, Central Files, 711.56371/9–2358)↩
  4. Printed from an unsigned copy.↩