890D.01/8–3045
Memorandum by the Assistant Chief of the Division of Western European Affairs ( Bonbright ) to the Director of the Office of Near Eastern and African Affairs ( Henderson )
Mr. Henderson: Mr. Lacoste, of the French Embassy, was in to see me this afternoon on a couple of other matters and, as he was very much pressed for time, he asked me to convey to you the following message:
Lacoste stated that at the present time, both in Beirut and London, the French and British are engaged in confidential conversations with regard to the joint withdrawal of French and British troops from the Levant States. He said that this was an extremely delicate negotiation because of the Franco-British relationship in the area and needed to be handled with the greatest care in view not only of those relations but the possible effect of the troop withdrawal on third parties, notably the Christian population in Lebanon. With this as a preface, Lacoste expressed the hope that the American representative in Beirut will be cautioned against discussing the question of troop withdrawals with the Syrian government. He hastened to add that they would have made this request regardless of who our representative was in Beirut, and that it was by no means to be regarded as a reflection on Mr. Wadsworth. On the contrary, he said that as far as he was aware, and in spite of some earlier difficulties, Mr. Wadsworth had conducted himself with great tact and understanding through the recent crisis. I made no comment whatever other than to assure him that I would pass on the message to you.63
- In telegram 265, September 11, 1945, 8 p.m., the Acting Secretary of State instructed the Minister to Syria and Lebanon as follows: “For your info French and British are presently engaged in confidential conversations with regard to joint withdrawal of their troops from Levant States. In view of delicate character of these negotiations it would be helpful if you could avoid being drawn into discussions on this subject while they are in progress.” (890E.01/9–1145) In telegram 283, September 14, 1945, 4 p.m., Mr. Wadsworth stated that he would have no difficulty avoiding such discussions (890E.01/9–1445).↩