711.68/9–2546
The Acting Secretary of State to the Secretary of State, at Paris
personal
My Dear Mr. Secretary: On September 12 I wrote you a personal, top secret letter enclosing a Joint Chiefs of Staff memorandum on the Turkish situation.81 In that letter I suggested a partial reorientation of our thinking with regard to the Near and Middle East and, specifically, a change in our policy toward supplying arms to countries, such as Turkey, which are under Soviet pressure.
We have now had a further indication of War Department concern over the Greek as well as the Turkish situation and have come to the conclusion that it is desirable to draw up, in written form, new outlines of policy on Turkey, Greece and Iran, the three Near and Middle Eastern nations we consider most seriously affected by present developments.82 We propose to go beyond the field covered by the JCS memorandum on Turkey and to include political and economic considerations as well as those related primarily to military assistance.
I enclose, for your consideration, a draft outline of policy toward Greece.83 We believe the position of Greece closely parallels that of Turkey, and, as you will see, the enclosure follows out and develops the thoughts set forth in my letter of September 12. The draft has received the approval of the proper officers of the Department.
Similar papers on Turkey and Iran are in process of preparation.
[Page 226]If you approve the Greek outline, I propose to transmit it to the Secretaries of War and the Navy and, after obtaining their concurrence, to submit it to the President.
Sincerely yours,
- JCS 1704 dated August 23, p. 857.↩
- Possibly a reference to an undated memorandum entitled “U.S. Security Interests in Greece”. This paper was prepared on September 5 by Col. James McCormack, Jr., of the Plans and Operations Division of the War Department General Staff. The following day, Colonel McCormack sent the paper to Col. Alexander D. Reid of the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee with the requests that it be published as a draft memorandum to the Secretary of State and be considered by the SWNCC Subcommittee for the Near and Middle East. The paper concluded as follows: “It is in the interest of U.S. security that Greece be supported. The most important assistance which can be given immediately is active political support in the international field—in the United Nations, at the Paris Conference, and wherever else it can be useful. In addition to political support, there should be economic assistance in the form of liberal and unfettered credits, and direct relief to supplant UNRRA assistance. The United States should make it clear to the world that our desire to see Greece remain independent and in charge of her own affairs is no less firm than our position on Turkey. In Greece, as in Turkey, similar U.S. and British interests assure strong British support and assistance to such policy on the part of the U.S.” (Colonel McCormack’s memoranda, both dated September 6, to Colonel Bonesteel at Paris and to Colonel Reid, Lot M–88, Box 2099, Bonesteel Correspondence.)↩
- Entitled “Memorandum regarding Greece”, dated September 25, not printed; for revised version of October 21, see p. 240.↩