Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, General: Economic and Political Matters, Volume I, Part 1

Eisenhower Library, Eisenhower papers, Whitman file

The President to President-elect Eisenhower¹

top secret

Washington, November 6, 1952.

Dear General: Following up my telegram of yesterday afternoon,² I had a consultation with State, Treasury, Defense and Budget.

There are some really fundamental things pending before the United Nations that must be met in a positive manner. I wish you would suggest somebody, in addition to the person who is to talk to the Budget Director,³ to discuss these matters authoritatively with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of Defense.⁴

There is a resolution pending on Korea in the United Nations.

The Iran problem⁵ is an extremely delicate one and affects our relations with Great Britain.

The Tunisian problem⁶ is also in that same class and affects our relationship with France and South Africa.

There is a National Security Council problem pending regarding the allocation of resources. A preliminary report is due November 15th.

All these things are vital policy matters which can only be decided by the President of the United States but I would prefer not to make firm decisions on these matters without your concurrence, although the decisions will have to be made. These things affect the whole American policy with regard to the free world.

If you could designate someone to act authoritatively for you, or come yourself to sit in on these meetings, it would be the proper solution to the problem.

Sincerely yours,

Harry Truman

1. This letter is addressed to the President-elect in care of the Augusta National Golf Course and bears the typed notation “To be delivered to Addressee only.”
2. See footnote 4, supra.
3. Frederick J. Lawton.
4. Dean Acheson, John W. Snyder, and Robert A. Lovett, respectively.
5. Reference is to the nationalization of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company by the Government of Iran. For documentation on this issue, see volume x.
6. Reference is to the Tunisian effort to obtain independence from France which was taken to the United Nations. For documentation on this matter, see volume xi, Part 1, pp. 665 ff.