811.22/342
The Minister in Iran (Dreyfus) to the
Secretary of State
No. 612
Tehran, July 12,
1943.
[Received August 2.]
Sir: I have the honor, with reference to my
despatch no. 592 of June 26, 1943, to enclose a copy of General
Connolly’s reply of July 5 to my letter of June 26, 1943, concerning the
conduct of American forces in Iran. There is also enclosed a copy of my
final letter of July 12 to General Connolly.
I was pleased with the friendly and cooperative spirit with which General
Connolly accepted the criticism and suggestions made in my letter of
June 26. His reply showed a good grasp of the importance of the problem
and an evident desire to bring about improvement in the conduct of
American forces in Iran. He outlined, furthermore, some concrete steps
which are being taken to accomplish this aim. Notwithstanding these
favorable words on the part of General Connolly, there is as yet no
visible improvement in the conduct of our forces in Iran. There have
been, in fact, several additional cases of bad conduct in the last few
days.
It is sincerely to be hoped that General Connolly’s efforts will
eventually bear fruit. I shall follow the situation closely and keep the
Department informed of developments.
Respectfully yours,
[Enclosure 1]
The Commanding General, Persian Gulf Service
Command (Connolly) to the Minister
in Iran (Dreyfus)
In the Field, July 5,
1943.
My Dear Mr. Minister: I am replying to
your very welcome letter of June 26, 1943, in which you ask for a
free and frank expression on the conduct of American troops in Iran
as they affect American-Iranian relations. Let me state at the
outset that friendly relations with the Iranian populace is not only
our desire, but of paramount importance to the success of our
mission.
As you have stated, our primary mission is an ever-increasing flow of
supplies to our allies, Russia. This mission would be extremely
difficult, if not impossible of accomplishment, without friendly
relations [Page 504] with our allies
and the Iranian peoples and government. Therefore, it is obvious
that you can expect and will receive my wholehearted support and
cooperation in correcting any evil, real or fancied, that might
adversely affect the attainment of our mission.
At the outset, allow me to remind you that our force, officers and
enlisted men, have been drawn from every profession, trade and
environment of American life. It is a truly composite picture of
average American manhood. We have the good and the bad, the
sensitive and the calloused, and the meek and the brash. Our army is
a civilian army, as yet not completely trained and disciplined. A
solution might be to confine all military personnel to the areas of
their quarters and work. This is hardly a sensible solution. We
would be thus penalizing indiscriminately the good and the bad and
probably would create ill will on the part of some of our command
toward Iranians. It must be realized that a complete regimentation
is not conducive to good discipline and morale, which is based upon
rewards and punishments. We do not give blanket permission for all
men to roam the streets at will, but allow those who earned the
privilege a pass during certain hours to visit certain localities.
It is inconceivable that we could start from the first day and never
give a bad pass. When it is discovered that they have abused the
pass privilege, they are punished accordingly, and it is not within
my knowledge that any have escaped.
I have caused a study to be made of all reported alleged malfactions
and find that of 43 reported cases 21 were proved unfounded and, of
the remaining 22, 5 were established violations of conduct. In each
case the offender was punished to a degree commensurate with his
offense. This seems truly remarkable in view of the fact that the
percentage of malfactions is much lower than that to be encountered
in a unit of similar size and experience in the United States. I do
not cite this as an excuse or a justification of our conduct, and we
will not be satisfied with anything less than one hundred per cent
perfection. I do cite it as an evidence of unfounded complaints and,
in some instances, idle rumor. We have proven on investigation that
in many instances American troops were blamed for infractions
perpetrated by other nationals. Whether these cases were the result
of honest mistakes or hope of greater reward from the United States
Government is not known. In comparing the number of infractions of
rules, regulations and laws by American troops with those of other
nationals, let me remind you that there are many more American
troops in Iran than the combined totals of all other nationals.
At present we are holding school for all troops on the subject of
behavior, Iranian customs and traditions and proper conduct of the
[Page 505] individual toward the
Iranian people. I do not expect this in itself to solve all
problems. Concurrently, our young officers and less experienced
older officers are constantly undergoing instruction in leadership
and responsibilities.
You can expect an ever-increasing understanding and appreciation of
Iranian people from our forces and the whole-hearted cooperation of
myself and my command in abolishing all abuses and infractions of
law and order to effect happy and harmonious relations with the
Iranians.
Very truly yours,
[Enclosure 2]
The Minister in Iran (Dreyfus) to the Commanding General, Persian Gulf Service
Command (Connolly)
My Dear General Connolly: In acknowledging
the receipt of your letter of July 5, 1943, on the subject of the
conduct of American forces in Iran, I should like to express my
appreciation of your understanding and helpful attitude. I was
pleased to note that you are fully alive to the importance of the
problem and that you and your Command are working actively toward
ever increasing understanding with the Iranians and abolition of
abuses and infractions of law. You are assured of the wholehearted
support of this Legation in your endeavors to accomplish these
aims.
Sincerely yours,
