36. Editorial Note
On December 19, Prime Minister Nehru met with President Eisenhower in Washington and discussed the Kashmir dispute. Immediately following their talk, the President telephoned Secretary Dulles. The following portion of the memorandum of that telephone conversation by Phyllis D. Bernau, Dulles’ secretary, summarizes the discussion relating to Kashmir:
“He [Nehru] said the Pakistan newspapers have one slogan—fight India. The Pres. said if any nation to whom we give arms uses them aggressively we would oppose them—not go to war but exert other pressures. N. said he knows it but they have only one cry. Our newspapers are filled with the five-year plan and they have come to accept the existence of Pakistan and difficulties and they have four problems which he described and they think they can be solved. He asked us to get them to stop the propaganda and threats. The Pres. said we are against it but don’t know how we do it. Nehru said the papers frighten the people. The Pres. said something (I’m not sure of) re maybe their purposes are pure but do the people believe what you say.” (Memorandum of telephone conversation, December 19; Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, White House Telephone Conversations)