501.BB Palestine/8–648: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Embassy in the United Kingdom
niact
3302. Ref. para. 8 urtel 3567, Aug. 6, you should reply to Bevin along following lines:
The US offers no objection to measures which the UK considers it must take to protect its own military forces and installations in the [Page 1329] Middle East, as a consequence of its estimate of possible internal disorders or Soviet activity in that area. At the same time, we must assume that the UK will act in accordance with relevant SC resolutions on Palestine and that Count Bernadotte will be informed.
For your confidential information, we do not desire to put the British in position to claim US support if they decide to turn arms and ammunition over to Arab forces despite SC resolutions. We believe they must accept full responsibility for distinguishing between protection of British forces and installations and military assistance to parties in Palestine in violation of truce arrangements as well as responsibility for any determination which they might make that circumstances in Palestine might require action contrary to resolutions of the SC.1
- Ambassador Douglas replied on August 21 as follows: “When I conveyed to Bevin yesterday substance Deptel 3302, August 19, he expressed appreciation for the understanding attitude which Department has shown in this instance. He said that he had intended all along to inform Mediator before taking any such action and that in order to minimize criticism he intended to ask Bernadotte to arrange to observe any such arms movements. It has been made quite clear to Foreign Office that HMG must accept full responsibility for distinguishing between protection of British forces and installations and military assistance to parties in Palestine.” (Telegram 3802 from London, 501.BB Palestine/8–2148)↩