Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Arab-Israeli Dispute, 1955, Volume XIV

5. Memorandum From the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs (Jernegan) to the Under Secretary of State (Hoover)¹

Washington, January 14, 1955.

SUBJECT

• Military Aid to Egypt in Relationship to Alpha

Attached (Tab A) is the message to Nasser on military assistance approved by the Secretary which stated “Grant military assistance now depends on new Congressional appropriations which in turn will be influenced strongly by public and Congressional attitudes towards current Egyptian policies.”² that a paper be prepared for discussion with the that a paper be prepared for discussion with the Secretary on January 17 regarding the relationship of arms aid to Egypt upon Alpha.³

Whether we should use Egypt as the main instrument in the Alpha operation is still unresolved and must await the discussions with Shuckburgh. If it is decided to do so, it may be necessary to provide Nasser with arms assistance under arrangements which he can accept. Nasser strongly desires arms aid; arms are necessary to bolster the position of the RCC, particularly with the key Army group; there is little else which we can offer now which would be sufficiently attractive. Although Nasser might proceed with the first meetings with an Israel representative, he is unlikely to adopt a position permitting progress without some material advantage to Egypt. A détente with Israel offers few advantages to Egypt and many dangers to her present leadership. If Alpha is to have reasonable prospects of success, we must provide positive balancing factors. Some form of arms aid may be indispensable to an answer to this question. Arms assistance would probably also affect the degree of cooperation which Egypt will extend on the Afro-Asian Conference.

We suggest the following procedures:

(1) In return for Nasser’s taking effective initiative in working toward settlement with Israel, offer to extend to Egypt credit (up to $20 million) under Section 106(b) of the MSA⁴ for a term of 3 years to purchase military equipment; (2) If negotiations on the Israel question proceed favorably, offer Nasser a standard MDAP agreement and funds at least sufficient to cover the credit previously extended.

One objection to the course suggested is the reaction of Israel and her supporters in this country to what could be labeled a stratagem to avoid a standard MDAP agreement. The objection could be met by the answer that we have in effect, through our economic and other aid programs to Israel, extended credit to her to enable her to purchase military equipment; and that the action is being taken specifically as part of a program that contemplates an end to a state of war between Israel and Egypt. (The Israel Government has always taken the position that peace between the Arab countries and Israel should precede arms to the Arabs.)

The Department of Defense has asked our consent to the release of the $20 million in military assistance funds tentatively allocated to Egypt to meet needs in Pakistan and Iran. We propose to agree to the release but also to warn Defense that political developments in the area may make it necessary to obtain funds for grant military assistance to Egypt before FY 1956 appropriations become available.

1. Source: Department of State, S/S–NEA Files: Lot 61 D 417, Alpha Volume 1. Top Secret; Alpha; Limited Distribution.
2. Tab A, attached to the source text but not printed, was a draft message from Secretary Dulles to Prime Minister Nasser. John D. Jernegan initially sent a draft of this message to Dulles under cover of a memorandum dated December 31, 1954. In his memorandum, Jernegan recommended that Dulles approve this message for transmission to Prime Minister Nasser. For text of the memorandum, see Foreign Relations, 1952–1954, vol. IX, Part 1, p. 2322. Although Dulles authorized this course of action, no documentation has been found in Department of State files to indicate if the message was transmitted to Nasser.

3. Presumably the memorandum printed here, together with the recommendations in Attachment B to the memorandum, infra, fulfilled Under Secretary Hoover’s request.

   Regarding the January 17 meeting, see footnotes 7 and 8, infra.

4. Section 106 of the Mutual Security Act of 1954, which became Public Law 665 on August 26, dealt with the sale of military equipment, materials, and services. For text of the act, see 68 Stat. (pt. 1) 832.