501.BB Palestine/6–248: Telegram
The Chargé in Egypt (Patterson) to the Secretary of State
659. Data supplied by Department’s 680, May 31,1 were conveyed to Count Bernadotte in call which I paid him at his hotel this morning accompanied by Assistant Military Attaché, Colonel Wyman. Bernadotte, who had returned last evening from Amman, stated he had not received Department’s message at Haifa. He was much encouraged by its cooperative tenor while realizing that it represented merely tentative and preliminary thinking on part of Department. It was evident however that Bernadotte felt a larger number of officers than that suggested by Department would become necessary if truce observance were to be adequately enforced and that equipment would require ships as well as airplanes; moreover his own duties would not permit of his active supervision of observer teams so that a deputy would become necessary. He inquired if in my belief a Swede or Swedes would be acceptable for this purpose. I replied to effect my personal view was that since apparently Bernadotte himself a Swede had been unanimously accepted by the UN in capacity of mediator it would seem not unreasonable for him to be assisted by other Swedish men. Bernadotte then requested facilities of Embassy for sending a telegram to Truce Commission at Jerusalem to effect that if acceptance of truce proved correct (he had had no word from UN confirming reports in today’s Cairo press) his entire time would be taken up with implementing the truce so that it would be well if the Truce Commission could visit Cairo where facilities for communications with the UN were better than other cities such as Amman.
On my pointing out that the US Government believed that the military observers should be taken from nationals of those governments represented on the Truce Commission; namely, Belgium, France, and the US, Count Bernadotte stated that he would communicate with the Belgian Minister in Cairo on the subject. He was evidently inclined [Page 1091] to a belief that British advice would still be helpful in setting up teams of observers in view of British experience in Palestine and hoped that interested governments would give their assent to his obtaining aid from British as well as from Belgium, France and US even though observers might be limited to nationals of the three last named countries. Bunche2 as well as another member Bernadotte’s staff together with Harold Evans were present during our talk on conclusion of which Bernadotte requested Colonel Wyman remain for second meeting of Military Attachés. In view of receipt immediately before my departure for Bernadotte’s hotel of Department’s 682, May 313 and 690, June 1,4 I took texts along from 682. However I read solely the final sentence relating to Department’s belief that SC’s resolution of May 29 in effect was a standstill agreement.
On my reading to Bernadotte that portion of 690, paragraph 3, which begins with the word “however” and goes on to mention that the interpretation of the SC’s resolution might be left to Bernadotte, the latter gave a wry smile accompanied by an ejaculation.5
Sent Department 659, repeated London, Brussels, Paris, Jerusalem; sent Arab capitals by pouch.
- This was a repeat of telegram 90 to Haifa, p. 1079.↩
- Ralph J. Bunche, Personal Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations with Count Bernadotte.↩
- This was a repeat of telegram 2015 to London, p. 1082.↩
- This was a repeat of telegram 350 to New York, p. 1086.↩
- Count Bernadotte, on June 2,
sent a cable to Secretary-General Lie in which he proposed that he,
the Mediator, be authorized to fix the effective date of the
cease-fire and truce; for text, see SC, 3rd yr., No. 78, p. 16. In
the telephone conversation alluded to in footnote 2, p. 1087, Mr. Ross was informed that the
Department concurred with the Mediator’s proposal.
The President of the Security Council, at its meeting of June 2, announced that the Council agreed to the Mediator’s proposal. The Soviet and the Ukrainian Representatives, however, specifically abstained from approval (SC, 3rd yr., No. 78, pp. 23, 24).
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