Office of the Historian

501.BB Palestine/8–349

Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State

confidential
[Washington,] August 3, 1949.

Authorization of Action on Bunche Resolution

I discussed the attached memorandum of August 31 and the two telegrams from Ross of August 12 with the President. I also told him that a telephone message from Ross this morning stated that Eban did not intend to propose amendments to the Bunche Resolution. Finally, I said that the latest information indicated that the debate on the resolution might be very short indeed and that, unless we raised objection, it would probably be passed tomorrow.

The President was clear that we should support the Bunche resolution. He has great confidence in Dr. Bundle’s recommendations and is convinced that his standing in the country is such that his recommendations would not be misinterpreted. The President thought that if any action later on is necessary in regard to arms it can be dealt with as a separate matter. I suggested that, if Eban raised the matter of reassurance that there should not be an arms race, I thought that we might join with others in expressing the same desire and thereafter take such diplomatic steps as were available to prevent this from occurring. The President thought that this was a sound view.

You3 may, therefore, proceed along the above lines.

  1. Supra.↩
  2. Presumably Nos. 875 and 878; the former is not printed, but see footnote 1, p. 1254.↩
  3. Copies of this memorandum were sent to Messrs. Rusk (for action), McGhee, and Sandifer.↩