Office of the Historian

Hopkins Papers

The Assistant Secretary of War (Mccloy) to the Presidents Special Assistant (Hopkins)

[Cairo,] 4 December 1943.

Memorandum for Mr. Harry Hopkins:

There is an increasing indication that the British are not now inclined to go along with the arrangement I made with Eden.1 They are placing the blame on the War Cabinet.

It is important that the arrangement we agreed to stick, but it will not be done unless we take a strong position. Until they come through as originally outlined, I propose not to send from Washington any military men to operate either on the European Commission2 or any transferred Combined Civil Affairs Committee in London. I believe that Winant’s appointment should go through,3 but as soon as I indicated that we would strengthen the London Committee with a good staff, they reverted to their former position, and that position is basically wrong. The plan we should adhere to is attached.4

Sincerely,

John J. McCloy
  1. See McCloy’s memorandum of November 30, 1943, to Hopkins, ante, p. 447.↩
  2. European Advisory Commission.↩
  3. See Roosevelt’s telegram of December 3, 1943, to Hull, ante, p. 784.↩
  4. The attachment is a copy of the draft agreement printed ante, p. 446.↩