Office of the Historian

244. Letter From the Deputy Under Secretary of State (Murphy) to the Representative at the United Nations (Lodge)1

Washington, December 20, 1956.

Dear Cabot: I fully share your regret at the confusion that ensued over the Outer Mongolia vote last Wednesday. We were, of course, aware that this item was on the agenda, but assumed until Monday morning that no further guidance to you was necessary. This assumption was based on the belief that the Secretary’s decision of last year with respect to this matter still held, since no change in policy was suggested when the position paper you refer to in your letter was cleared with all the interested areas in the Department. A change in position was not suggested until Monday morning at the Secretary’s staff meeting, and no Departmental position could be reached on this suggestion until Wednesday morning.2 You were informed immediately thereafter.

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I can appreciate your concern over our “last minute change of tactics” and the repercussions it might have had. We will do our best to avoid similar situations in the future.

Sincerely yours,

Bob
  1. Source: USUN Files,IO, Membership.↩

  2. At the Secretary’s Staff Meeting on December 13, it was reported that Outer Mongolia’s application for membership had not been accepted by the Security Council because of five abstentions including that of the United States. “Mr. Murphy said the Department’s opinion yesterday was that we should vote against Outer Mongolia, but, after communicating with Ambassador Lodge, it was found that he had promised other Delegations that the U.S. would abstain and could not at that late hour withdraw from that commitment. Ambassador Lodge explained he was following the policy set forth in the Vandenberg resolution that we should avoid wherever possible using the veto on a membership application.” (Department of State, Secretary’s Staff Meetings: Lot 63 D 75, SM N–493)

    For documentation on the Senate Resolution of Senator Arthur Vandenberg (R-Mich.) approved by President Truman on May 7, 1948, see Foreign Relations, 1948, vol. III, pp. 1–351, passim. The text of the resolution concerning international peace and security matters is ibid., p. 118.

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