Office of the Historian

237. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, November 28, 19561

Washington, November 28, 1956

SUBJECT

  • Middle East Crisis and Oil Situation

PARTICIPANTS

  • Mr. Liam Cosgrave, Irish Foreign Minister
  • The Acting Secretary
  • Ambassador Hearne
  • C. Burke Elbrick, EUR

In the course of his call upon the Acting Secretary this morning Minister Cosgrave raised the question of the Middle East crisis. Mr. Hoover said that we were passing through difficult times and that [Page 643] while we regret that we have had to differ with our traditional allies on this matter, we have every reason to believe that once certain steps have been taken to proceed to a solution of the problem that our alliance will grow even stronger. In this matter we have acted according to our conscience. The British and French action in Egypt has had the unfortunate effect which we had earlier predicted, namely, it invites Soviet penetration of the area and serves to build up Nasser’s prestige. We have no great fondness for Nasser nor his actions with respect to the Suez Canal and we believe that the other Arab countries feel the same way. Unfortunately, the British and French action only served to unify the Arabs.

Minister Cosgrave said that the Irish Government was in complete agreement with the United States on this issue and felt that the British and French action had been most unwise. He referred then to the growing seriousness of the oil situation in Europe and said that rationing of oil in Ireland will begin in January. Mr. Hoover then recited some of the background of the oil question, pointing out that the problem is one of transportation and not a shortage of oil. With the Suez Canal closed and all but one pipeline out of action, Europe will be faced with an oil problem for some time to come. The Tapline from Saudi Arabia is mined for much of its length and could be sabotaged at any time. This Tapline supplies about 300 thousand barrels a day and if the line were to be put out of commission it would require an additional 170 tankers to carry that amount of oil around Africa to Europe. The Minister would understand the delicacy of this situation. Once the situation is stabilized in Egypt work can be commenced on the clearing of the Canal. The British informed us that it should be possible to clear a 25-foot channel in the Canal in a matter of 30 days or so, although our own Navy is inclined to think it might take longer. To clear the Canal to its normal operating depth would require possibly several months. In any event, a clearing to a 25-foot depth would permit approximately 70 per cent of the Canal traffic to resume transit through the Canal. This question of oil supply is of course of vital importance to Europe but it will also affect the entire world in one way or another. Due to the delicate situation in the Arab countries, particularly in connection with the Tapline, we have not been able to move to aid the United Kingdom and France until they comply with the United Nations resolutions on the Suez crisis. If they will announce publicly their plans to withdraw and these plans are acceptable to the Secretary General of the United Nations, we will be able to move forward rapidly.

The Acting Secretary said that the United States has felt all along in this crisis that it is not right for members of the United Nations to take the law into their own hands. This would only [Page 644] encourage others to do likewise. He remarked that the British-French action has, unfortunately, given the Soviet Union an “out” in connection with its recent actions in Hungary and has served to distract attention from that tragic situation.

  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 684A.86/11–2856. Confidential. Drafted by Elbrick and initialed by Hoover.↩