026 China/7–2049
Memorandum by the Ambassador at Large (Jessup) to the Secretary of State
Mr. Halaby, who has been our contact with the National Military Establishment and with Secretary Johnson35 personally in regard to the White Paper, summarized over the phone the NME position.
There are two major points. The first is the security angle which they consider an extremely serious substantive matter. This is being taken up by Mr. Park Armstrong,36 who is our member of the USCIB.37 The second major point is that Secretary Johnson believes that as a Cabinet member and not merely as the Military Adviser of the President, he is bound to raise with you and perhaps with the President himself the basic policy question of the publication of the Paper. He raises the fundamental point that by the publication, exposing the only group in China which we could assist, we are destroying that group. Secretary Johnson has been informed by Halaby that this fundamental question was thoroughly canvassed and weighed by you and by the President but he still feels a responsibility to bring it up again. He will presumably do this directly with you.
On the time schedule, Mr. Halaby informs me the Joint Chiefs will have their final meeting tomorrow morning and that you may expect to receive Secretary Johnson’s letter by noon tomorrow.
In the light of the above and of our conversation this morning, we have decided to defer our publication date. We are meeting this afternoon with the interested officers of the Department to fix a revised schedule.