780.5/1–2954
No. 187
The Secretary of Defense (Wilson) to the
Under Secretary of State (Smith)
Dear Mr. Smith: Receipt of your letter of November 12, 1953,1 regarding the status of FY 1955 budget requests for certain Middle East countries is acknowledged, and your apprehension regarding the status of grant military aid programs to these countries is understood and appreciated. The Department of Defense agrees that the requirements of these Middle East countries for military equipment must be met on a timely basis, following the establishment of their eligibility for such aid and, of course, consistent with the rate and volume at which those countries can receive, maintain and effectively utilize the equipment to be provided.
From an overall standpoint, the justification of new obligational authority for MDAP in FY 1955 presents an exceedingly difficult problem, due to the fact that approximately $11.0 billion of matériel provided by FY 1954 and prior year MDAP funds is undelivered; and that approximately $10.4 billion of FY 1954 and prior year funds are unexpended. In light of the disappointing progress in MDAP deliveries and expenditures against prior year appropriations, it appears certain that the FY 1955 MDAP requirements will rightfully be subjected to the closest scrutiny by the Congress, and only those funds which are irrefutably required to carry forward the highest priority and absolutely essential MDAP activities during FY 1955 will be authorized and appropriated.
Since the receipt of your letter of November 12, the Joint Chiefs of Staff have made specific recommendations with regards to the Middle East which were provided the Secretary of State by letter dated January 4, 1954,2 signed by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.
The views of the Joint Chiefs of Staff represent the desirable military point of view. However, for reasons as previously outlined by the Department of State, the Department of Defense recognizes that in addition to the $30 million presently available, a sum of approximately $50 million will be required to implement effectively the political aspects of the first phase military aid to the Middle East. This latter sum ($50 million) has been reserved by the Director, [Page 477] Foreign Operations Administration to be used as a contingency against possible Middle East military requirements, should such considerations be deemed paramount to the interests of the United States. At this time, no bilateral military aid agreements have been concluded with any of the Middle East countries other than Greece, Turkey, Ethiopia and Iran. Considerable time will inevitably elapse between the time bilateral agreements have been concluded and the time when a significant flow of shipments can be achieved. This time lapse is due to the fact that the detailed, specific requirements for material and training in each country must be determined by military survey teams; the resultant lists of equipment must then be priced and the availability and source of supply determined by the military departments; the matériel and training programs must then be submitted to the Director, Foreign Operations Administration, for approval and subsequent allocation of funds to the military departments; after which supply directives can be issued and shipments effected. Overall, these actions are estimated to require from four to six months from the time the bilateral agreements are concluded. Thus it appears that the available FY 1954 funds appropriated or earmarked for application against Middle East programs will assure an acceptable rate of delivery during FY 1955. In the event unforeseen and unanticipated requirements for additional equipment develop consideration could be given to intra-title or inter-title transfer.
Additionally, it is considered that extreme difficulty would be encountered in attempting to adequately and effectively present to the Congress at this time, a justification for additional funds for these Middle East countries in FY 1955, due to the almost complete lack of specific matériel and training requirements; and the fact that no authoritative evaluation can be made at this time regarding the rate and volume at which these countries will be able to receive and effectively utilize the matériel to be provided.
In summary, the Department of Defense is in agreement concerning a requirement for grant military aid, during FY 1955, to the Middle East countries under discussion, but feels that an adequate and acceptable rate of deliveries to these Middle East countries can be achieved without the necessity of requesting additional obligational authority for FY 1955.
Sincerely yours,
- Document 158.↩
- Not printed; it summarized the views of the Joint Chiefs of Staff concerning allocation of funds to various countries in the Middle East. (780.5/14–54)↩