359. Letter from Clough to Forman1
I would have written sooner after I returned, but I have been confronted with so many not-too-familiar problems since returning to CA that I have had my hands full. Part of the time, of course, I have devoted to working from this end on the task you face in dealing with the wily Wang, but there is just not the same amount of time here for thoughtful [Typeset Page 497] meditation that there was in Geneva. Dave Osborn has been on leave the last two weeks, which has also complicated things somewhat.
You have a direct personal interest in Dave’s leave, since we suggested he take it now with the thought in mind that he might be sent to replace you around December 1. Final decision on that will have to be up to Alex, of course, and I want to set down our thinking on this so that you can discuss it with him.
As you know, Walter and I both feel that officers in CA profit considerably from this rare experience of first-hand contact with the Chinese Communists, and we would like Dave to have that experience. He has been informed on the talks from the beginning and we would see that he is brought closely into the planning from now until he leaves. This experience at the Departmental end of the wire should be helpful to Alex. As you know, Dave is a highly competent officer and has had [Facsimile Page 2] much longer service in the Department than either you or I. Walter places great confidence in him and I am sure Alex would find him a worthy replacement for you. His only disadvantage is his limited knowledge of Chinese. Whether that disadvantage would be serious enough to rule him out would be up to Alex to decide. If he believes it essential to have at least one of his advisers fully qualified in Chinese, we would send Steve Comiskey in Dave’s place. Steve is also a very reliable and capable officer, although he is somewhat younger and less experienced than Dave. We would like to have Alex’s reaction to this proposal as soon as possible so we would know which man to bring into the planning for the talks. Walter will probably mention this also in his next letter.
We had quite a hassle last week with Defense over Bob Ekvall. After Bern turned us down on the proposal to make him Assistant Military Attache, Defense was practically ready to recall him and we were considering sending Al Harding or John Stanley from DRF to replace him. However, we knew Alex would be very reluctant to change interpreters and Mr. Robertson finally had a talk with Godell, in which the latter indicated it would be possible to assign Bob somewhere else in Europe and detail him to Geneva. This would enable him to bring his family over and remain in Geneva as long as the talks lasted. Mr. Robertson sent a letter to General Erskine formally requesting that this be done, but we have not yet had a reply. Tell Bob not to think he is the forgotten man, because at least 20 people in Washington have been involved in some aspect of the discussions concerning him during the past week.
We have a staff meeting coming up and I want to get this into today’s pouch, so I will stop here. Best regards and keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
- Source: Department of State, Geneva Talks Files, Lot 72D415. Official Use Only; Official–Informal.↩