No. 1516
Editorial Note
A letter from King Ibn Saud to President Eisenhower, dated May 19, was delivered to the President by the Secretary of State, after he returned from the Middle East on May 29. The letter said the King regarded Dulles’ visit as a clear sign of the mutual friendship between Saudi Arabia and the United States, and he sent wishes for the President’s happiness.
A memorandum by the President to the Secretary of State, dated June 2, asked the Secretary’s thoughts on a draft letter to the King. The draft letter was a personal greeting to the King. It also gave him the President’s personal assurance that “several matters which have been a source of concern” to him would be taken care of as soon as possible. A memorandum by the Secretary of State to the President, dated June 8, informed the President that the Secretary considered the serious charges of King Saud to the effect that the United States had not lived up to its obligations in supporting Saudi Arabia over the matter of Buraimi required a different approach from the one in the draft letter.
A letter to King Saud was prepared in the Department of State and a draft was transmitted in telegram 671, June 8, to the Embassy in Saudi Arabia, urgently requesting the Ambassador to comment on it. Telegram 913 from Jidda, June 10, informed the Department that the Ambassador considered the basic concept of the letter sound, and suggested some changes in the wording.
A memorandum from Byroade to Dulles, dated June 11, informed him that the proposed message from the President to King Ibn Saud had been revised in light of Ambassador Hare’s comments. A memorandum by the Secretary of State to the President, dated June 12, recommended that the President sign the revised letter prepared in the Department of State. The above documents, none printed, are in Department of State file 611.86A.