Department of Defense Files
The Secretary of Defense (Forrestal) to the Secretary of State
My Dear Mr. Secretary: In your letter of 19 November 19481 you pointed out that the agreement between this Government and the Saudi Arabian Government covering our rights at the Dhahran Air Base expires on 15 March 1949. At the same time, you posed certain questions of a military nature which would have an important bearing on the conduct of negotiations with King Ibn Saud for this extension of this agreement.
In accordance with your suggestion, and as I indicated in my letter of 20 November 1948,2 I asked the Joint Chiefs of Staff to give detailed consideration to the specific questions which you raised. Based upon their views, and after further study of the matter in my own office, the position of the National Military Establishment with reference to these questions may be stated as follows:
Question: “(1) Is the extension sufficiently important to justify the expenditure of additional sums by the Air Force on the development of this base, and if so, how much might those sums be?”
Answer: Yes, the Air Force will support action by which the Congress would be asked to appropriate sums permitting the expenditure of an initial development sum of $19 million on the Dhahran base, and thereafter at the rate of approximately $5 million a year for all expenses required to maintain the base in fully operable condition.
[Page 1580]Question: “(2) How long an extension would be required in order to justify such expenditure?”
Answer: Preferably 25 years with the option of renewal, subject to termination by either party on six months’ or one year’s notice, preferably the latter.
Question: “(3) Is the National Military Establishment prepared, provided the embargo against shipment of arms to the Near East is lifted, to supply the Government of Saudi Arabia with arms and other military equipment?”
Answer: In view of uncertainties as to the duration of the current embargo, any definitive answer to this question should be postponed until such embargo has been lifted. At that time, the National Military Establishment will be glad to re-examine the matter in the light of equipment and funds then available, and in the light of priorities which may be established by the Department of State for aid to nations of the Near and Middle East.
Question: “(4) How large an expansion of the Air Force Training Mission …3 might be undertaken at Dhahran?”
Answer: The Air Force considers that an expansion of its Training Mission would be warranted as part of an agreement to retain rights at Dhahran. However, the amount of expansion should not exceed double the strength of the present mission.
Question: “(5) Would the National Military Establishment be prepared to extend the scope of the training provided Saudi Arabia to include instruction in fields other than aviation?”
Answer: Yes, the Joint Chiefs of Staff will be prepared, subject to budgetary limitations, to expand the training mission to Saudi Arabia and its objective to include not only airport operation but also air base defense. The Joint Chiefs of Staff believe that this additional training will go far toward the attainment both of the United States strategic objective and of King Ibn Saud’s desire for trained military personnel as a stabilizing influence in his country.
Should further questions concerning this subject arise, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force or his designated representative will participate with the appropriate representatives of the Department of State in further planning in regard to the extension of the Dhahran Air Base.
Sincerely yours,
- For text, see Foreign Relations, 1948, vol. v, Part 1, p. 255.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Omission appears in the source text.↩