891.00/2087
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State (Berle) to the Under Secretary of State (Stettinius)
Mr. Stettinius: The attached memorandum,25 and particularly the last page of it, I think offers some possibilities.
The War Department has from time to time assigned officers to the State Department for special missions and I see no reason why we could not ask the President to have the War Department assign General Hurley to us.
I am perfectly clear that the Iranian situation is a terrible mess and that only a two-fisted hard-hitting man is likely to clear [it] up. Unhappily, our own reports bear out Pat’s statement as to the results of the British-Russian policy in Iran. In the last war, 25 percent of the entire population of that unhappy country starved to death as a result of the German activity there. This time, it looks as though the Allied occupation might produce about the same results. This result ought to be avoided if there is any human possibility of doing so. I think Pat’s assignment to the problem might be a good place to begin.26
- Filed separately under 123 Hurley, Patrick J./109½. This memorandum by Mr. Berle reported a conversation in which Gen. Patrick Hurley gave a summary of conditions in Iran and suggested that he be assigned to the Department of State and sent to Iran.↩
- Notation by the Under Secretary: “Discussed with Mr. Berle in person. E. R. S., Jr. 10/11/43.”↩