856A.20/80: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister to the Netherlands Government in Exile (Biddle), at London
Netherlands Series 44. Your 42, November 12, 5 p.m.18 Please see the Foreign Minister and say that we appreciate that he is doing everything possible to complete the arrangements for the entry of our troops into Surinam. The question has again become urgent from the standpoint of security. For example the Brazilian Foreign Office has already received reports from a Brazilian mission in another American country indicating that the fact that American troops are to move into Surinam is becoming known. It is obvious that the longer the troop movement is delayed the wider the circulation of such reports will become, thus endangering the lives of the troops when they do move and prejudicing the success of their mission. An additional consideration is the fact that the delay is tying up Army transports and naval escort vessels which are badly needed for important duty elsewhere.
- Not printed.↩