845.24/2–1148
Memorandum by the Director of the Office of Near Eastern and African Affairs (Satterthwaite) to the Acting Secretary, of State
Subject: Request for Approval of Policy Arms Committee’s Interpretation of President’s Memorandum of March 12, 19181
Discussion
Reference is made to NEA’s memorandum of February 11 to the Secretary, subject: “Suspension of Export of Arms, Ammunition and Other Military Material to India and Pakistan” (Tab “A”),2 the letter of the Secretary dated February 25 to the Secretary of National Defense3 and the reply of the latter dated February 27 (Tab “B”),4 and the subsequent memorandum from the Secretary to the President dated March 11, 1948 (Tab “C”).
The Governments of Pakistan and India have requested the approval of export licenses covering spare parts for existing military equipment of American origin. Since our policy was designed to prevent any increase in the military potential of either country, NEA and the [Page 520] Policy Committee on Arms and Armaments feel that spare equipment parts to maintain existing equipment of American origin clearly could be supplied within the intent of this policy. The Policy Arms Committee and NEA recommend that the policy of temporarily restricting the export of military materials to India and Pakistan in accordance with the memorandum approved by the President on March 12, 1948 be interpreted as not precluding the export to those countries of replacement parts or other items required to maintain their existing defense establishments.
Recommendation
It is recommended that you approve the foregoing interpretation.5
- The memorandum referred to here is presumably the President’s handwritten notation of March 12, 1948 in the margin of the Secretary’s memorandum of March 11, p. 496.↩
- Memorandum by Loy Henderson, not printed.↩
- Letter transmitting to Forrestal a copy of Henderson’s February 11 memorandum to Secretary Marshall, not printed.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Mr. Lovett initialed this memorandum, presumably approving it.↩