Conference files, lot 59 D 95, CF 135
Memorandum by the Director of the Executive Secretariat (McWilliams)
Report by Mr. Dulles1 on Churchill Talks
Participants:
- Mr. Dulles
- Mr. Bonbright
- Mr. Riddleberger
- Mr. MacArthur
- Mr. McWilliams
- Mr. Bruce
- Mr. Allison
- Mr. Jernegan
Mr. Dulles requested that the above named officers assemble in Mr. Bruce’s office in order that he might give an account of the conferences held with Prime Minister Churchill at the Eisenhower Headquarters in New York. Mr. Dulles reported on these conversations, as follows:
General
At the initial meeting between General Eisenhower and Mr. Churchill,2 Mr. Churchill made it plain that he would like to reestablish with General Eisenhower the sort of relationship which existed between President Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill. He indicated that he would like to settle major questions arising by sitting around a table with General Eisenhower. Mr. Dulles reported that General Eisenhower had replied by saying that, of course, he wished to have the closest possible relationship with Mr. Churchill but that the making of decisions must go through regular channels.
The other primary item which Mr. Churchill discussed at this conference with General Eisenhower was the ANZUS Treaty. Mr. Churchill made it very plain that he was much put out by the exclusion of Great Britain from the ANZUS Council and went through the familiar arguments as to why Great Britain should be included. General Eisenhower was apparently non-committal and after the conference Mr. Churchill gave a memorandum3 to General Eisenhower regarding this subject. (Mr. Dulles reported that he did not yet have this memorandum but he expected that it would be forwarded to him).
[Page 259]Far East and ANZUS Treaty
Mr. Dulles reported that he had had two meetings with Mr. Churchill. The first4 was held with Ambassador Designate Aldrich5 present. Mr. Dulles reported that the main issue discussed at the first meeting was China. He said he would not go into the details of the conversation at this time but would inform Mr. Allison in more detail on this subject at a later time. He did say that he had talked to Mr. Churchill along the line that the problems of Korea, China and Indo-China should be viewed as one problem and considered as a whole. He had pointed out to Mr. Churchill that he thought that these problems were so inter-twined that they could not be dealt with separately. He reported that Mr. Churchill agreed with him and said he is much in favor of proceeding on this basis.
Mr. Dulles said he had had a second meeting with Mr. Churchill yesterday evening following dinner. Governor Dewey was present during this meeting. He said the bulk of this meeting was taken up by a discussion of the British position regarding membership in the ANZUS Council. He said Mr. Churchill was very definite in his demand for either full membership or as a minimum a position as observer on the Council. Mr. Dulles said he had informed Mr. Churchill that this matter had been discussed with Foreign Minister Morrison6 at the time of its formation and that Mr. Morrison had never asked that the British be included. Mr. Churchill replied by saying Mr. Morrison said that the contrary was true. Mr. Dulles said this was not so.7 Mr. Churchill said that irrespective of that he now wanted some status for granting the British in ANZUS—preferably as a full member. Mr. Dulles pointed out to him the additional commitments that it would place upon the United States since British territories in the Far East—such as Malaya and Hong Kong—would then come under the guarantees of the ANZUS Agreement. Mr. Dulles said that he at this moment did not know how the United States Military would view such additional commitments. He also pointed out that the French would then want to be included as would Formosa, Japan and the Philippines. He went [Page 260] into the history of the development of the ANZUS and explained to Mr. Churchill how it was necessary at that time to drop Japan and the Philippines from consideration in the formation of the Pact.
[Here follows discussion of other matters.]
John Foster Dulles became Secretary of State on Jan. 21.
Participants listed below not previously identified are John D. Jernegan, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern, South Asian and African Affairs; James C. H. Bonbright, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs; James W. Riddleberger, Director of the Bureau of German Affairs; Douglas MacArthur II, assigned to the Bureau of European Affairs. On Mar. 30, MacArthur became Counselor of the Department.
↩- Held Jan. 5.↩
- Supra.↩
- On Jan. 6.↩
- Winthrop W. Aldrich presented his credentials as Ambassador to Great Britain on Feb. 20.↩
- Herbert Morrison, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the preceding (Clement Attlee) Ministry.↩
Record of a direct request by Morrison personally that the United Kingdom be included in the ANZUS Security Treaty has not been found in Department of State files. For extensive documentation on the interest of the United Kingdom in the ANZUS Treaty and alternative Pacific security arrangements in the period of the Treaty’s negotiation, see Foreign Relations, 1951, vol. vi, Part 1, pp. 132 ff.
↩