611.90/7–1350: Telegram
The Ambassador in India (Henderson) to the Secretary of State
priority
[Received July 13—4:36 p. m.]
78. 1. I am grateful to Department for its thoughtfulness in making available to me information contained in top secret telegrams NR 40 of July 10. These telegrams1 represent, in my opinion, one of greatest and most inspiring documents which I have seen during my years of service.
2. In view of faltering way in which GOI is following up its decision to support basic SC resolutions on Korea, of tendency of Nehru and his foreign advisers to seek for means of liquidating the struggle which has opened in Korea through mediation even though such mediation might involve appeasement, and of confused state of mind of formulators of GOI policies, I believe it would be helpful for President or Secretary of State to send personal message to Nehru, setting forth in considerable detail our policies and explaining reasons for them and for actions taken in pursuance of them. I would hope that in tone and content this message would resemble document under reference wording and stress would, of course however, be altered in places in order to make stronger appeal to Nehru. Such message could be drafted in Department and submitted to us for comment and suggested deletions or additions before presentation to President or Secretary [Page 377] in final form, or if preferred by Department, could be prepared here in draft form and sent to Washington for completion.
3. Such message in our opinion should set forth in considerable detail our attitude here Formosa and also Indochina and reason therefor. We believe preferable message should not request Prime Minister’s support or approval. It should merely aim to clarify your policy, set forth reasons for our actions, and contain our views re present international situation.
4. Message this kind might disturb Nehru because he would learn from it that some of his ideas about mediation are not likely bear fruit. On other hand, it seems to us that he is entitled to learn from highest quarter more about our position and what our intentions are than he apparently knows at present. Message if sent should, of course, be top secret since leak could be disastrous. To attain maximum effect it should be as soon as possible, since Prime Minister is constantly meeting in Congress Party and elsewhere critics of his line of action and he should not have any misconceptions during his various conferences as to where we stand.
Department pass London and Moscow, repeated information London 2, Moscow 2.
- A note in the source text indicated that the plural “telegrams” was in the wording of this message as received, although only telegram 40 is specifically referred to; the language of the remainder of this message appears to indicate that only telegram 40 is under reference. Telegram 40 to New Delhi, July 10, repeated the text of telegram 132 to London, July 10, 5 p. m., p. 347.↩