167. Letter From the Acting Secretary of State to the Secretary of Defense (Wilson)1
Dear Mr. Secretary: The Egyptian Government officially requested on June 30 permission to purchase in the United States the items of military equipment on the attached list.2 It is our belief, concurred in by our Ambassador in Cairo, that a substantial portion of these items are needed to enable Egypt to meet legitimate national defense requirements.
The matter was discussed with the President on July 11 at a meeting attended by Secretary Anderson, Admiral Radford, Mr.Dillon Anderson and myself.3 The President attached importance to improving our relations with Egyptian Prime Minister Gamal Abdel Nasser and indicated that he saw no objection to meeting the Egyptian request in whole or in part unless such action would cause undue complications with Israel.
We believe, on political grounds, that it is desirable for the United States to offer to provide at least some portion of the equipment requested. Objections from Israel must be anticipated, but [Page 308] we think the sale will not have undue effects upon our relations with that country since Israel is entitled to purchase in the United States on the same basis as Egypt. As a practical matter, actual deliveries of many of the items could be spread over a period of time so that no sudden increase of Egyptian military capabilities would be effected. Also, we understand the latest estimate by G–2 indicates that Israel has a decisive military superiority over the Arab states combined. The United States should be prepared, however, to meet in part certain of Israel’s outstanding requests to purchase equipment in this country.
Our Ambassador in Cairo reports that in the absence of a favorable response, Egypt may accept the arms offer recently made by the USSR. The Ambassador’s assessment is supported by intelligence reports. Should an Egyptian-Soviet arms sale materialize, it would have adverse repercussions on our position in the Middle East. Another important reason for the sale is to arrest the conviction growing in Egypt that the United States alone is endeavoring to prevent her from purchasing arms.
The equipment would be made available under the reimbursable aid agreement between the United States and Egypt signed on December 10, 1952 and in accordance with the terms of Section 106 of the Mutual Security Act of 1954. We believe it important to inform the Egyptians promptly that we are prepared to consider supplying a portion of the equipment requested, and we would appreciate having your concurrence in a Governmental position of this nature. Members of my staff already have requested from your Department price and availability data on the equipment involved and we would appreciate any steps you may take to expedite the study.
Sincerely yours,
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 774.5–MSP/7–2155. Drafted by Burdett.↩
- Not printed.↩
- See footnote 4, Document 144.↩
- Printed from a copy that bears this stamped signature.↩