Office of the Historian

890E.00/221: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)

Washington, November 20, 1943—midnight.

7373. It would appear from your 8050, November 18, 7 p.m. that in spite of the action of the British and American Governments in welcoming the recent establishment of an elected Government in the Lebanon, the Foreign Office is contemplating a solution of the Lebanese situation which does not call for the restoration of the duly elected Lebanese Government and Parliament.

This is directly contrary to the understanding of the British position we have received from the British Embassy here, which informs us that Macmillan was specifically instructed on November 13 that in demanding the release of the arrested Lebanese personalities, the British Government intended that they should be released not as private persons but as President and Ministers, whereupon they would automatically resume their official status.

Please clarify immediately.

Sent to London. Repeated to Cairo, Beirut and Algiers for Murphy.46

Hull
  1. As. telegrams Nos. 1790, 284, and 2223, respectively.↩