890D.20 Mission/8–945
The Syrian Minister ( Koudsi ) to the Secretary of State
Sir: In your absence in Europe,18 I had the honor of calling on the Honorable Joseph C. Grew, the Acting Secretary, and of presenting to him the enclosed memorandum19 relating to the request of the Syrian Government to the United States Government for her assistance in sending an American Military Mission to organize and train the army that has been transferred to Syrian command from the French authorities, and for the supplying of this army with modern military equipment.
Mr. Grew gave this request his sympathetic attention and assured me he would submit it to your consideration after your return from Europe. My Government is deeply appreciative of this attention which conforms to the traditional favorable attitude which the United States Government has always taken toward Syrian independence and progress.
I understood from Mr. Grew, however, that this request—in particular that part of it which concerns the supplying of the Syrian army with modern military equipment—raises a number of legal and other questions which have to be considered before an appropriate answer can be given by the American Government.
In view of the vital importance of this matter for Syrian independence and security, my Government wishes now to emphasize the first part of her request—the sending of a Military Mission to study the ways of organizing the Syrian army and to help in training it. [Page 1201] In the meantime, the second part of the request—the supplying of this army with modern military equipment—could be studied at lengthy and the various questions involved given their due consideration.
I cannot, Mr. Secretary, overemphasize the extreme urgency of this matter for the newly developing State of Syria, and its bearing on the establishment of peace and security in its strategically located region. I am confident that it will receive from the United States Government the same generous response which this Government has always given to Syria’s request and aspirations.
Please accept [etc.]
- Mr. Byrnes had been participating in the Tripartite Conference which met at Berlin from July 17 to August 2, 1945. For documentation on this Conference, see Foreign Relations, The Conference of Berlin (The Potsdam Conference), 1945, 2 vols.↩
- Dated August 3; not found in Department files.↩