Office of the Historian

September–December 1960: Visits of President Sukarno and Army Chief of Staff Nasution to the United States; U.S. Reexamination of Policy Toward Indonesia and the West Irian-West New Guinea Dispute

275. Telegram From the Embassy in the Netherlands to the Department of State

The Hague, September 3, 1960, 6 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 790.5856/9–360. Secret; Niact. Repeated to Tokyo, Djakarta, and Paris.

276. Memorandum Prepared for President Eisenhower

Washington, September 9, 1960.

Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Dulles–Herter Series. Secret. Drafted by Underhill and Wenzel and cleared with Emmons, Parsons, Kohler (in draft), Wilcox, Hare, and Bromley Smith. Transmitted to the White House on September 9, under cover of a memorandum from Stoessel to Goodpaster. Stoessel’s covering memorandum reads as follows: “During Indonesian Ambassador Mukarto’s farewell call on the President August 24, the President said he would ask the Department for a briefing on U.S. policy regarding the West New Guinea dispute between the Netherlands and Indonesia. In transmitting the memorandum of that conversation for your approval on August 25, we indicated we would send you such a briefing. It is enclosed. It has been approved by the Secretary.”

277. Telegram From the Embassy in Indonesia to the Department of State

Djakarta, September 16, 1960, 4 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 798.11/9–1660. Secret; Priority.

278. Telegram From the Embassy in Indonesia to the Department of State

Djakarta, September 17, 1960, 6 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 798.11/9–1760. Secret; Priority. Transmitted in two sections. Also sent to USUN and CINCPAC for POLAD.

279. Memorandum of Conversation

New York, September 23, 1960, 4–4:45 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 64 D 199. Confidential. Approved by Herter on October 6. The meeting was held at the Waldorf Towers.

280. Telegram From the Embassy in Indonesia to the Department of State

Djakarta, September 26, 1960, 8 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 798.00/9–2660. Top Secret; Priority. Transmitted in two sections and also sent to CINCPAC.

281. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Parsons) to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Merchant)

Washington, September 27, 1960.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 798.00/9–2760. Secret. Drafted by Bell on September 26.

282. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Indonesia

Washington, September 30, 1960, 4:08 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 033.9811/9–3060. Secret; Priority; Limit Distribution. Drafted and approved by Parsons. Repeated to USUN and CINCPAC for POLAD.

283. Memorandum of Conversation

Washington, September 30, 1960.

Source: Department of State, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 64 D 199. Secret. Drafted by Parsons on October 1 and approved in S on October 5.

284. Memorandum of Conversation

New York, October 5, 1960, 9:30 a.m.

Source: Department of State, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 64 D 199. Confidential. Drafted by Bell on October 10 and approved by S the same day. The meeting was held at the Waldorf Astoria. Steeves briefed Herter for this meeting in a memorandum of October 1. (Ibid., FE Files: Lot 62 D 26, Indonesia 1960) See Supplement.

285. Memorandum From Acting Secretary of State Dillon to President Eisenhower

Washington, October 5, 1960.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 798.11/10–560. Secret. Drafted by Wenzel; cleared in draft with Blue of WE. A signed copy of this memorandum is in the Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Eisenhower Diaries; Eisenhower’s initials are on that copy, indicating that he read it.

286. Memorandum of Conversation

Washington, October 6, 1960, 10:30 a.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 798.11/10–660. Secret. Drafted by Steeves and approved in U on October 13 and by the White House on November 22. Another memorandum of this conversation, drafted by Goodpaster, October 12, is in Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Eisenhower Diaries. See Supplement. Jones summarized this meeting in Indonesia: The Possible Dream, pp. 183–184. Steeves commented on the Sukarno visit in a letter to Jones, October 10. (Department of State, FE Files: Lot 62 D 26, Indonesia)

287. Memorandum of Conversation

Washington, October 7, 1960, 11:25 a.m.–12:05 p.m.

Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Eisenhower Diaries. Secret; Limit Distribution. Drafted by Kohler and approved by the White House on October 12. Another copy of this memorandum of conversation is in Department of State, Central Files, 033.5611/10–760. Briefing papers for Luns’ visit are ibid., WE Files: Lot 63 D 221, Luns Visit 1960, and WE Files: Lot 63 D 136, Netherlands Miscellaneous.

288. Memorandum of Conversation

New York, October 12, 1960, 11:30 a.m.

Source: Department of State, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 64 D 199. Secret. Drafted by Sokolove of FE and approved by S on October 19. This conversation was held at the Waldorf Towers.

290. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Indonesia

Washington, November 5, 1960, 4:29 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 798.5–MSP/10–1160. Secret. Drafted by Wenzel, cleared with U/MSC and in substance with OSD/ISA/FE, and approved by Steeves. Repeated to CINCPAC.

291. Telegram From Embassy in Indonesia to the Department of State

Djakarta, December 3, 1960, noon.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 798.00/12–360. Secret; Priority.

292. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Indonesia

Washington, December 6, 1960, 8:03 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 656.9813/12–260. Secret; Limit Distribution. Drafted by Lindquist and approved by Parsons. Also sent to Kuala Lumpur and The Hague and repeated to Canberra and London.

293. National Security Council Report

Washington, December 19, 1960.

Source: Department of State, S/S–NSC Files: Lot 63 D 351, NSC 6023 Series. Secret. Transmitted to the NSC on January 21, 1961, under cover of a memorandum from the Executive Secretary of the NSC. Approved by the President on January 2.

294. Memorandum From Secretary of State Herter to President Eisenhower

Washington, December 21, 1960.

Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Dulles–Herter Series. Secret. Parsons transmitted a draft of this memorandum to Herter on December 10, under cover of a memorandum in which Parsons explained that Mrs. Allen Pope had sent a telegram to President Eisenhower on December 8, asking him to intercede with President Sukarno to spare her husband’s life. Herter approved the draft memorandum to the President without change. (Department of State, FE Files: Lot 62 D 26, Indonesia 1960) See Supplement. A note on the source text by Goodpaster indicates that this memorandum was “reported” to Eisenhower on December 22.

295. Telegram From the Embassy in Indonesia to the Department of State

Djakarta, December 27, 1960, 4 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 798.5–MSP/12–2760. Secret. Transmitted in two sections and also sent to CINCPAC.

296. Memorandum of Discussion at the 472d Meeting of the National Security Council

Washington, December 29, 1960.

Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, NSC Records. Top Secret. Prepared by Boggs.