Office of the Historian

173. Letter From the Under Secretary of State (Ball) to Secretary of the Treasury Dillon0

Washington, August 23, 1963.

Dear Doug: In connection with your letter of July 24,1 I believe you will find the Department’s reply to Secretary McNamara’s letter of July 9,2 which is attached for your information, useful in explaining our views on the promotion of military sales.

To ensure that the objectives desired by the President are fully understood by posts abroad where this policy is to be applied, we are in the process of coordinating with AID and Defense a circular instruction to [Page 390] the field. I will be pleased to forward a copy of it to you when it is ready for transmittal.3

With warm personal regards,

Sincerely,

George4
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, DEF 19-3. Confidential. Forwarded to Under Secretary Ball for his signature under cover of an August 5 memorandum from U. Alexis Johnson to Ball. The August 23 date was later stamped on the source text when it was sent to Secretary Dillon.↩
  2. In this letter to Secretary Rusk, also attached to the source text and Johnson’s memorandum, Dillon advised that the Department should send a circular containing the key paragraphs of NSAM No. 242 to the attention of some Country Teams abroad (including some MAAGs) because these teams could provide the “most direct help, both to the governments to which they are accredited and to U.S. defense industry representatives, in promoting sales opportunities.”↩
  3. Documents 170 and 171. A copy of the Secretary’s July 26 letter to McNamara is also attached to the source text.↩
  4. Text in CA-2258, August 26; see the Supplement.↩
  5. Printed from a copy that indicates Ball signed the original.↩