242. Letter From the Representative at the United Nations (Lodge) to the Deputy Under Secretary of State (Murphy)1
Dear Bob: I was very sorry that I had to disturb you last Wednesday with the question of Outer Mongolia in the Security Council, but I had no choice because of the last minute word I received to change the United States position, when I left my arduous negotiations on the “condemnation” resolution to rush out to the Security Council for the election of Japan.
I find that on November 21, we wired the State Department (Delga 1502) saying that Japan expected to ask for a Security Council action in early December. Even before that, on October 19th, I raised with Kase the question of how Outer Mongolia was to be handled and reported this to the Department in USUN telegram 378.3 On December 8th, we notified the Department that the Russians had put in a separate item on Outer Mongolia. The Position Paper on the Admission of New Members (US/A / 3766), November 26, 1956, contains this sentence: “Forthright opposition to Outer Mongolia at this Assembly is consistent with the position we have taken in other organizations and with our well-known views on this subject, and does not require us to shift from an abstention in the Security Council consistent with the Vandenberg Resolution.”
I understand that the Department had been considering a change in this position for some time before last Wednesday, but that for reasons on which I am not informed, it proved impossible to get instructions to us until we were called on the phone on the morning of the 12th. No one would have been happier than I to vote against Outer Mongolia, but in the absence of instructions to the contrary, everyone here assumed that we would follow the same tactics that we followed last year. Had a firm decision been taken to vote “no” on Outer Mongolia, it would have been necessary for us to explain to the other members why we were making the change. We could have easily done this if we had been given a day or two advance notice.
You are always so good natured that I am sorry when anything arises which creates difficulty for you. I am sure, however, that if I had made a last-minute change of tactics on Outer Mongolia, it would not have been understood and would have caused a great deal [Page 486] of adverse comment here. As it is, we have done what was expected of us and nobody is under the impression that we are lukewarm or uncertain in our opposition to the Outer Mongolian application. And we can still change our position to a “no” if that is what the Department decides it wants to do.
With warm regards,
Sincerely yours,