7. Memorandum of a Conversation With the President, White House, Washington, January 17, 19551
OTHERS PRESENT
- Mr. Eric Johnston, Colonel Goodpaster
Mr. Johnston indicated he was soon taking a group to the Near East in a further attempt to reach agreement on the Jordan Valley Project.2 He expects to be gone until the end of February.3 The three chief problems on which agreement has yet to be attained: the division of the water among the four states (Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan); Israel’s proposal to divert its water out of the basin and into the Negev coastal plain; determination of the auspices under which the authority should function (U.S. preference is the U.N., World Bank, U.S. in that order, but Israel and the Arabs object to the U.N.).
He indicated that Syria gets relatively less out of the project than do the others, and special considerations may be required.
He indicated that he regards the chances of getting agreement as fairly good, and that if agreement is achieved, other advances, such as opening of borders to tourists and to trade may be anticipated.
Mr. Johnston indicated the possible desirability of providing atomic power plants for Syria and Israel.
[Here follow Ambassador Johnston’s analysis of the New Orleans Conference on private investment for Latin America and his report concerning the construction of atomic power plants overseas.]
The President asked Mr. Johnston to convey his personal greetings to the top officials of the Near Eastern states during his coming visit there.
- Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Ann Whitman (ACW) Diaries. Drafted by Goodpaster.↩
- Ambassador Johnston and his party departed for the Near East on January 23 to resume negotiations between the Arab States and Israel for development of the Jordan River Valley.↩
- Ambassador Johnston returned on February 25.↩