Office of the Historian

800.24/6–343

Admiral William D. Leahy, Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, to the Secretary of State

Washington, June 3, 1943.

My Dear Mr. Secretary: The Joint Chiefs of Staff are in accord in principle with your proposal, as stated in your letter of 25 May, 1943, with reference to an assignments procedure involving certain countries of the Near East.

It is noted that the Department of State will take immediate steps to make known to the appropriate agencies of the U. S. Government,8 the British Government,9 and of the governments of independent Near [Page 4] Eastern countries10 (except Turkey for which country a special exception has been made) that it is the policy of the U. S. Government to welcome direct inquiries from officials of those governments regarding the availability of American military supplies to meet their needs, and that such supplies will be furnished to them if it is feasible to do so.

The assignments of finished munitions, according to established procedure, are made by the Munitions Assignments Board on which there is British representation.

Sincerely yours,

For the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
William D. Leahy
  1. The Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy were so informed on June 7.↩
  2. See infra.↩
  3. Appropriate instructions were sent on June 7 to the Missions at Jidda, Cairo, Baghdad, and Tehran; see telegram No. 22, June 7, 5 p.m., to the Appointed Minister Resident in Saudi Arabia (Moose), p. 871, and telegram No. 746, June 7, 5 p.m., to the Minister in Egypt, p. 71; instructions to Baghdad and Tehran not printed.↩