740.0011 Pacific War/3154½
Memorandum by Mr. Max W. Bishop of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs29
It is believed that, toward bringing about closer cooperation in the gathering, exchange, evaluation, and dissemination of intelligence data with respect to the Pacific area, and toward developing and putting into operation an adequately coordinated program of psychological warfare against Japan, and toward cultivation of mutual confidence among those of the Allied nations that have particular interest and concern in and regarding the Far East, substantial advantage might be derived from the establishing of a board or committee in the membership of which there would be included representatives as follows: United States, New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, China (and perhaps Great Britain, India, the Philippines, and France).
Arguments might be advanced to the effect that an organization of this nature would be undesirable for the reasons that such a board might tend to color intelligence information because of the bias and special interests of the various groups involved, that efforts might be made by some of the representatives to press strongly for overemphasis on freedom and independence for non-self-governing peoples in the Pacific area, including areas under the sovereignty of one or more of [Page 25] the United Nations, and that it would be most difficult, if not impossible, to harmonize all the views held by the various representatives as a result of their individual interests. It is submitted, nevertheless, that the establishment of an organization of this sort would have important psychological advantages such as (1) abatement of the present feeling which many of these peoples hold strongly of being “left out of” the planning and execution of war activities; (2) stimulation of a sense of participation and responsibility on the part of the various peoples represented; (3) enhancement of the cause of the United Nations in the eyes of the peoples in the Pacific area. In addition, the establishment of such an organization might produce practical results of material benefit to the war effort. The various nations concerned will undoubtedly continue their present intelligence and psychological activities. These activities could, it is believed, be more readily tempered, coordinated and integrated, thus achieving maximum advantage, through a board of this sort than could be accomplished through the present somewhat uncoordinated and individual programs.
The creation of a board of this sort might bring together and possibly merge many of the activities of the various organizations now functioning under each of the governments involved in connection with the war against Japan.
We believe that the establishment of such a board would be helpful toward achieving broad-gauge political objectives of associating the countries primarily interested in the Pacific more closely in the common war effort, of off-setting racial animosities in the Pacific, and of developing conditions conducive to long-term stability and orderly evolution in the Pacific area. We believe also that a step of this nature would contribute measurably to the war effort.
- Approved by the Chief of the Division (Hamilton).↩