774.5 MSP/12–352
No. 1048
The Secretary of
State to the Secretary of Defense (Lovett)
My Dear Mr. Secretary: I refer to Mr. Matthews’ letter of November 21, 1952, and to Mr. Foster’s reply of December 3, 1952,1 concerning a possible program of military assistance to Egypt and the list of military equipment desired by the Egyptian Government. It is noted that the Departments of the Army and Air Force have been asked to select from the list items valued at approximately $10,000,000 which might be available for shipment by March 1, 1953, or 90 days after appropriate arrangements have been made with the Egyptian Government.
This Department believes that the furnishing of military assistance to Egypt is an essential element in negotiations for the settlement of the Anglo-Egyptian dispute on the Canal Zone Base and Egypt’s adherence to and participation in the proposed Middle East Defense Organization. It is the view of this Department that [Page 1911] Egypt’s participation in MEDO would open the way for more general participation by the other Arab states and would greatly assist the United States in achieving its goal of increasing stability in the Near East area as a whole. It will be recalled that in his message of November 10, 1952, General Naguib indicated that upon conclusion of the agreement with the United Kingdom on the disposition of British forces in the Canal Zone he would be prepared to give assurances that “one of the ultimate objectives of its (Egypt’s) policy is participation with the United States, the United Kingdom and other free world powers in planning for the common defense of the area within the framework of the Charter of the United Nations”.
It is the belief of this Department that a program of military assistance for Egypt should be a combination of both cash reimbursable and grant assistance. With respect to cash reimbursable assistance the United States Ambassador in Egypt has been authorized to exchange notes with the Government of Egypt to complete the formalities for such assistance under Section 408(e) of the Mutual Defense Assistance Act of 1949, as amended.
With respect to grant assistance, this Department considers that Egypt fully meets the criteria for such assistance under the terms of Section 202 of the Mutual Security Act of 1951, as amended, namely, (1) the strategic location of the country makes it of direct importance to the defense of the Near East area, (2) such assistance is of critical importance to the defense of free nations, and (3) the immediate increased ability of the recipient country to defend itself is important to the preservation of the peace and security of the area and to the security of the United States.
This Department considers that if Egypt is found eligible for grant aid at this time, such aid should be furnished in accordance with normal procedures and after receipt of the 511(a) assurances. However, this Department also believes that the achievement of an understanding between Egypt and the West is so important that should the provisions of 511(a) prove onerous to the point that agreement cannot be reached, the use of Section 513 of the Mutual Security Act, as amended, might be warranted.
This Department envisages that a grant military aid program for Egypt for fiscal year 1953 would be within the range of $5 to $10 million. Such grant assistance would supplement a cash reimbursable program under the terms of Section 408(e) of the Mutual Defense Assistance Act of 1949, as amended, and would be limited to items required in the Egyptian communication of November 10 unless a determination to the contrary is made. This Department would wish to consult with the Department of Defense and the Director [Page 1912] for Mutual Security on the scope of a grant military aid program for Egypt for fiscal year 1954.
It would be greatly appreciated if the Department of Defense would consider the above question as a matter of urgency in order that an appropriate recommendation may be made to the President that he find Egypt eligible for assistance under Section 202 of the above-cited act.
I am forwarding a copy of this letter to the Director for Mutual Security.
Sincerely yours,
- Deputy Secretary of Defense Foster, in his letter of Dec. 3, not printed, requested that “the Department of State furnish us with a recommendation from the political point of view as to whether Egypt should now be made eligible for grant military aid”. Foster added that if the Department of State recommended extending grant aid to Egypt at that time, the Department of Defense would also want to know if the Department of State desired to furnish such aid in accordance with normal procedures and after receipt of the Section 511(a) assurances required by the Mutual Security Act of 1951, as amended (66 Stat. 141), or whether the situation warranted the use of Section 513 of the Mutual Security Act, as amended. (774.5 MSP/12–352)↩