Enclosure
Memorandum by the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Views of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Over-all Examination of United States Requirements for Military Bases and Base Rights
The Joint Chiefs of Staff have reviewed their memorandum to the State–War–Navy Coordinating Committee dated 8 September 1947 (SM–8899)2 and the Enclosure thereto. That memorandum was designed to supplement and revise the contents of their memorandum of 4 June 1946 (SWNCC 38/35)3 relative to military rights desired in the territory of foreign nations.
It is considered that:
a. In the main, the provisions of the memorandum to the State–War–Navy Coordinating Committee still obtain.
b. The present international situation stresses the importance of insuring that the United States military forces be capable of operating on those bases listed therein as “required” with the exception of the Republic of Panama.4 The situation also emphasizes the necessity for the early acquisition of long-term rights with respect to Iceland,5 Greenland6 and the Azores,7 and the desirability of early acquisition of such rights with respect to those remaining bases listed as “required”. Negotiations for base rights in Iceland, Greenland and the Azores, however, should not be pressed to the extent of jeopardizing our capability of operating under temporary rights.
c. Present planning indicates the desirability of obtaining rights for operational use, in the event of emergency, of the bases listed below on a “joint” or “participating” basis rather than “transit” as requested in SWNCC 38/35.
[Page 604]| Base | Sovereignty | Reference SWNCC Paper |
| Monrovia | Liberia | (38/34)8 |
| Casablanca | French | (38/43)8 |
| Algiers | French | (38/30)9 |
| Tripoli | Ex-Italian | (38/30) |
| Cairo–Suez area | British-Egyptian | |
| Dhahran | Saudi Arabia | (38/30) |
| Karachi | Pakistan | (38/30) |
The facilities required at Casablanca, the Cairo–Suez area and Karachi far exceed those envisaged in SWNCC 38/35.
d. In addition to the bases listed in SWNCC 38/35, present planning requires “joint” or “participating” rights in the event of emergency at the following bases and base areas:
| Oran, Algeria | Oman |
| Tunis–Bizerte, Tunisia | Trucial Oman |
| Massaua, Eritrea | Socotra Island |
| Bahrein Island | Foggia, Italy10 |
| Aden | Kunming, China |
| Hadhramaut |
e. Present planning requires “joint” or “participating” rights which will permit continued operation of facilities now existing at Asmara, Eritrea.
f. Although long-term rights for the bases listed below are still desirable, there is no need for pressing at the present time for:
| Base | Sovereignty | Reference SWNCC Paper |
| Republic of Panama | Panamanian | (38/35) |
| Viti-Levu | British | (38/39)8 |
| Tontouta | French | (38/36)8 |
g. As indicated in memorandum of the Secretary of Defense dated 24 April 1948,8 there is also the requirement for obtaining “joint” or “participating” rights in the event of emergency in Curacao, Aruba, and Venezuela.
h. The requirement for “participating” rights in Talara, Peru, as established in SWNCC 38/35 can now be reduced to air transit rights.
It may be necessary in the near future to make further revision of these requirements resulting from future developments in the political-military situation.
- For text of SWNCC 38/46, September 9, 1947, a memorandum by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the State–War–Navy Coordinating Committee on over-all United States requirements for military bases and base rights, see Foreign Relations, 1947, vol. i, p. 766.↩
- For text, see ibid., 1946, vol. i, p. 1174.↩
- For documentation on United States relations with Panama and on the bases question, see vol. ix, pp. 647 ff. and pp. 664 ff.↩
- For documentation on United States policy with respect to Iceland, see vol. iii, pp. 720 ff.↩
- For documentation on United States interest in Greenland, see ibid., pp. 584 ff.↩
- For documentation on United States relations with Portugal, including material on the matter of the Azores, see ibid., pp. 995 ff.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Not printed.↩
- For text, see Foreign Relations, 1946, vol. i, p. 1142.↩
- For documentation on United States military relations with Italy, see vol. iii, pp. 724 ff.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Not printed.↩