Office of the Historian

795.00/12–851: Telegram

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Gifford) to the Secretary of State

top secret
flash
London, December 8, 1951—1 p. m.

2664. Deptel 2807, December 5,1 and Embtel 2636, December 6.2

1. During informal conversation with Scott Foreign Office yesterday he told Embassy officer proposed draft warning statement had been sent to Joint Chiefs and Foreign Secretary for comment. Statement will probably be reviewed by Eden today and by Joint Chiefs on tenth, and thereafter Prime Minister will doubtless wish consider it. Therefore, unless unforeseen emergency makes quick reply imperative, UKG comments will probably not be available before twelfth.

2. Scott’s personal and informal reaction is that text of statement on whole would be agreeable to UKG except for “sting in the tail” which threatens not only North Korea and China but also USSR and which tends to commit us in advance to a given course of action.

3. Scott’s own suggestion for a final paragraph which might be acceptable his government would be about as follows: Settlement of the Korean problem. We reaffirm our intention to resist aggression. Should there be a renewal of aggression in Korea, it would accordingly be resisted and it might then prove impossible to localize hostilities as heretofore.

4. I have appointment with Eden morning of eleventh when he will have had time receive views Joint Chiefs.

Gifford
  1. Ante, p. 1249.↩
  2. Not printed. It merely informed the Department that the draft statement contained in Department telegram 2807 had been given to the Foreign Office and that British comments would be forwarded as soon as received. (795.00/12–651)↩