711.3227/40: Telegram
The Ambassador in Brazil (Caffery) to the Secretary of State
[Received 8:17 p.m.]
1341. Having in mind my telegrams 1313, April 9, noon, 1314, April 10, noon and 1315, April 10, 1 p.m.,43 Salgado yesterday afternoon stated emphatically that he was compelled to include in the agreement a statement making clear that the agreement implied no right to establish permanent armed forces of the United States on the [Page 559] air bases (he did not mean to include in this, of course, our personnel for the maintenance and upkeep of airports and aircraft); and he insisted President Vargas would take the same stand. He made it clear that he did not wish to keep us from locating air combat crews and military aircraft on the airports on what he called a temporary basis and emphasized that “temporary” was an elastic word; further he said, from a practical standpoint, a provision of the type he suggested would not prevent our making use of the airports in any and all ways we are presently contemplating. (It is clear that news of these negotiations has reached several additional officers of the Air Ministry and it is apparent that their apprehensions and their definite opposition to anything approaching a miltary occupancy has caused Salgado to take this stand. In fact, in my opinion it is almost certain that by including a provision of this kind the Government will avoid efforts on the part of officials in the Air Ministry and elsewhere to sabotage the agreement). With some effort Salgado was persuaded not to include anything of the sort in the body of the agreement and was persuaded to tack on, at the end of the fifth whereas after the semicolon, a provision reading as follows:
“Without in any manner implying the permanency of the armed forces of the United States of America on the bases in question which are enumerated in exhibit no. 1 to this document”.
In view of similar apprehensions Salgado desired to make other changes but was persuaded to drop them.
In view of the possibility of other changes being suggested in view of the circumstances described above, I respectfully request early authorization for the inclusion of this additional phrase.
Salgado accepts the name of Brazil–United States Technical Airport Commission.
- None printed.↩