851R.00/117a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Consul General at Algiers (Cole)
490. For Murphy. Your 1580, December 9.3 We assume this message was sent either prior to the receipt of General Marshall’s and my message to you and General Eisenhower4 as regards Admiral Darlan’s position or before you had a chance to consult with him in regard thereto. We naturally regard the whole North African situation from a military point of view and therefore subordinate to that all civil questions except as they contribute to the military effectiveness. We must consider Darlan’s request for Peyrouton in this light and if General Eisenhower considers that failure to agree would result in friction or in any way impair the chances of our greatest military success then the State Department is prepared for the moment to place no obstacles in the way of Darlan’s request for Peyrouton. Should General Eisenhower recommend we will be prepared even to facilitate Peyrouton’s trip to North Africa.
We feel, however, that in reaching any final judgment on this matter the political connotations involved in Peyrouton’s arrival in North Africa should be evaluated particularly in view of his former position as Minister of the Interior in the Vichy Government.