Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Eastern Europe; Soviet Union; Eastern Mediterranean, Volume VIII

768.5/12–1852

No. 662
Memorandum by the Director of the Joint Staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Cabell) to the Secretary of Defense (Lovett)¹

top secret

Washington, 12 December 1952.

Subject:

• Report of Tripartite Exploratory Military Discussions with Yugoslavia

1. General Handy, Deputy United States Commander in Chief, Europe, acting as representative of Great Britain, France and the United States, recently conducted military discussions with the Yugoslav Government. . . . A report of General Handy’s discussions has been received and is now under study.

2. As one of his recommendations, General Handy has urged that the Tripartite Powers communicate in the near future to Yugoslavia:

a. Their gratification that the initial exploratory military conversations have taken place;

b. That Greneral Handy’s report of those conversations is under study; and

c. That from the report, they note that General Handy left with the Yugoslavs certain general suggestions as to how to proceed toward further planning and intimated that Yugoslav counter-suggestions on this point would be welcomed.

3. The Joint Chiefs of Staff consider this proposed action sound. Accordingly they recommend that you notify the Secretary of State of their views on this matter and that you recommend that the United States, in coordination with France and the United Kingdom, make the proposed approach to the Yugoslav Government at an early date.

For the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

C.P. Cabell
Lieut. General, USAF

1. Transmitted to the Secretary of State as an attachment to a letter of Dec. 18 from Acting Secretary of Defense William C. Foster, in which Foster noted that he concurred in the recommendation it contained.