No. 304
Editorial Note

The question of where to send the United States troops that had been stationed in Trieste was considered further within the United States Government.

At the Four-Power, Nine-Power, and NATO Ministerial meetings which took place in Paris, October 20–23, Secretary Dulles and Foreign Secretary Eden discussed the possibility of the British redeploying some or all of their forces in Trieste to Austria, but Eden made it clear that the British Government was not prepared to do this. For documentation concerning the discussions of this question by Dulles and Eden at Paris, see volume V, Part 2, pp. 1409 ff.

At the 223d meeting of the National Security Council on November 9, it was decided that, in accordance with the President’s directive, (a) approximately 1,500 to 2,000 United States troops, with necessary arms and equipment, were to be redeployed to the American Zone in Austria, the exact number to be dependent upon the availability of existing housing without additional construction, and (b) the 351st Regiment plus such short-term personnel as might be available from other commands, was to be redeployed to the United States. (Eisenhower Library, Eisenhower papers, Whitman file)