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Memorandum Prepared in the Department of State1

Statement Concerning Greek-Turkish Aid

Since liberation Greece has been almost wholly dependent upon foreign assistance to meet her import requirements for the civilian economy and to equip the armed forces needed to cope with guerrilla [Page 44] warfare. With the termination last year of UNRRA aid and assistance from Great Britain, Greece faced a critical situation which threatened collapse. It is certain that had it not been for the timely enactment by Congress of the American Aid Program there would have been a breakdown in the Greek economy and a collapse of the resistance by the Greek Army to the guerrilla bands, which would have resulted in domination of Greece by the Communists.

Even with American aid, however, the situation in Greece today remains critical. In planning our program of assistance it was hoped that the United Nations would be successful in cutting off foreign assistance to those forces in Greece attempting to overthrow the government by violence; however, such foreign assistance to the Greek guerrillas has, in spite of the United Nations’ efforts, continued and has made it possible for their forces to be substantially increased. In consequence of this intensified military activity, substantial sums originally earmarked for reconstruction and development programs have necessarily been diverted to military purposes. Continued insecurity has retarded Greek production and trade, and has led to a serious condition of inflation, aggravated by large internal military expenditures. These acute difficulties have yet to be overcome, but it is clear that without the American program conditions in Greece would be much worse than they are.

Thus it can be said that while the economic recovery of Greece has been delayed, the aid program has been successful in the maintenance of Greece as a free nation and her continued alignment with the Western democracies. With American assistance the size and strength of the Greek armed forces have been substantially augmented, and they are now equipped to cope successfully with the guerrilla problem provided, of course, that foreign aid to the guerrillas is not substantially increased. In the meantime reconstruction projects and economic programs most effective under the circumstances, including counter-inflationary reforms, are being actively prosecuted with the assistance of the American Mission and a basis for further recovery has been laid which can become operative once the guerrilla menace has been eliminated.

While the Turkish economy is better off than that of Greece, the cost of maintaining a military establishment of adequate size to assure Turkish security, and of modernizing the forces to improve their combat effectiveness, is greater than could be borne without foreign help. Turkey is being subjected to considerable pressures by the USSR and American support is deemed essential to bolster the confidence of the people and to discourage foreign aggression.

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In Turkey the determination to resist foreign aggression is directly in proportion to the ability the Turks feel they have to resist. While the Turks would fight desperately to maintain their independence and integrity they are aware that their armed forces, without assistance, are not sufficiently strong to defend Turkey for an appreciable time against an all-out invasion. Our program, which has been concrete evidence of the United States’ determination to assist Turkey in her efforts to resist Russian pressures, has been highly successful in bolstering the morale of the Turks, and appreciable progress will have been made by the time the present program is completed in equipping the Turkish army so that it will be better prepared to meet any eventuality. Our major success, therefore, is that the determination of Turkey to resist communist pressures is substantially greater than would have been possible without American aid.

  1. Sent to Francis O. Wilcox, Chief of Staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, by the Counselor (Bohlen) on February 9.