Office of the Historian

611.51/3–3053: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Embassy in France1

[Extracts]

2
secret
Washington, March 30, 1953—7:45 p.m.

5040. Paris pass Bruce.3 President presided over final meeting with Prime Minister Mayer and French delegation at White House March 28.

. . . . . . .

Reference to Indo-China, President said of course we were intent upon doing nothing which in any way might increase France’s difficulties there. Instead we wanted to help. As matter of fact, statement was now being prepared within US Government concerning Far East, and Indo-China and Korea would be linked therein.4 President added that US representatives had been somewhat disappointed in plan which had been outlined by Mr. Letourneau at Pentagon on March 27 a.m.,5 particularly by slowness of its timetable. He wanted to make clear, however, that while there was no US commitment to support this plan likewise there had been no US refusal to do so. Plan required [Page 436] more careful study and President noted that this should be possible as Mr. Letourneau was planning to stay until March 31 p.m.

Re Indo-China plan, Mayer said concerning slowness of its timetable that while raising forces takes time it might perhaps be possible to accelerate this even if human factors involved might lead to somewhat lower quality of forces. However perhaps more difficult is fact that there exists as yet no agreement concerning military requirements. Mayer suggested that elaboration of this plan could be completed in Saigon with participation of US officers which Pentagon might care to send there for this purpose and that this aspect of problem could thus be covered by further discussions between military technicians.

President said that US technicians will be glad to cooperate with French along above lines.

Dulles
  1. Drafted by Ridgway B. Knight, Deputy Director of the Office of Western European Affairs. Repeated for information to London as telegram 6492, to Saigon as telegram 1920, and to Bonn as telegram 4759.↩
  2. That portion of this telegram dealing with Indochina is printed here. The Saar, European defense, and the Final Communiqué were also discussed at the White House meeting of Mar. 28. For complete text, see volume vi.↩
  3. David K. E. Bruce, Special U.S. Observer at the Interim Committee of the European Defense Community; former Ambassador to France and Under Secretary of State.↩
  4. The reference is presumably to NSC 148, “United States Policies in the Far East,” Apr. 6, 1953, which contained a statement of policy on that subject. For text of NSC 148, see volume xii.↩
  5. See editorial note, supra.↩