Editorial Note

On January 5, 1949, a secret circular instruction was sent to 66 missions around the world regarding the course of action agreed upon with the United Kingdom to implement United States civil aviation policy toward the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe as set forth in document NSC 15/1, July 12, 1948. Enclosure A to the circular instruction was the text of an agreed American-British instruction, dated December 7, 1948, to American and British diplomatic missions which outlined the mode of approach to be made to other governments whose cooperation was sought in putting into effect the joint United States-United Kingdom policy. The precise terms of the joint United States-United Kingdom civil aviation policy toward the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe were defined in an American-British memorandum of December 6, 1948, included as Enclosure B to the circular instruction of January 5. Enclosure C to the circular instruction listed those missions: to which the agreed joint instructions and agreed joint memorandum were being transmitted for action or information. American and British missions were to act jointly in seeking the cooperation of the governments of Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Egypt, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey. The United Kingdom was responsible for seeking the cooperation of the governments of the Commonwealth. For texts of the circular instruction of January 5, 1949 and enclosures A, and B, thereto, and of document NSC 15/1, July 12, 1948, see Foreign Relations, 1948, volume IV, pages 481 and 451, respectively.