Editorial Note
Following the visit of the Secretary of State and the Director of Mutual Security to the Middle East in May 1953, the focus of United States efforts regarding the defense of the Middle East changed from the concept of a Middle East Defense Organization to the idea of concentrating on the defense of the northern tier of the Middle East. For documentation on the northern tier concept, see volume IX.
In the fall of 1953, Pakistan made some informal and unofficial requests for military aid from the United States. The Department of State considered Pakistan part of the northern tier and began to discuss the idea of providing some military aid to Pakistan as one aspect of the defense of the Middle East. There was some discussion, however, [Page 1830] about the reaction of India if the United States should provide arms to Pakistan. For documentation on this topic, see pages 1633 ff.; on Kashmir, see pages 1162 ff.; on Pushtunistan, see pages 1365 ff.; and on Middle East security, see volume IX. Additional documentation is in Department of State files 890D.5 MSP and 780.5.