84. Letter From Francis H. Russell to the Ambassador in Egypt (Byroade)1
Dear Hank: As you know, I have been in London the past week resuming the discussions on Alpha with Evelyn Shuckburgh and his colleagues at the Foreign Office.2 The enclosed copies of our agreed minutes will indicate to you the direction our talks have taken. The parts which will be of most interest to you are those dealing with the Negev and with the line to be taken when an opportunity offers to follow up the discussions which you and Stevenson had with Nasser before he left for Bandung. None of the specific suggestions, of course, have been reviewed or approved by the Secretary but it is my opinion that they are in accordance with the general views he has expressed. I will take them up with him when I return and give you any further thoughts that may result. In the meantime, I think that, if you concur and as you have the occasion, you would be safe in proceeding along the lines suggested in the enclosures.
I intend, when I get back to Washington, to suggest to the Secretary that the time will come within the next few weeks to broaden the base of Alpha within the American Government. The British are somewhat further advanced in this. They have referred the parts relating to a compensation scheme to their Treasury. A summary of Alpha has been circulated to the Cabinet members. In Washington, the Under Secretary and the Secretary have kept fully abreast of the discussions and developments and the Secretary informed the President in very general terms. We are, however, reaching a point where a delicate balance must be maintained between the considerations of secrecy, which you have well stressed, and the need of making sure that the Pentagon, the Bureau of the Budget and the National Security Council will give the various elements of Alpha their support. The best time for raising Alpha with them, I should think, would be after you obtain any hope of cooperation from Nasser and before we approach the Israelis.
I gather from the telegrams from Cairo that you and Stevenson have been working closely and that Nasser must have the impression [Page 167] that the US and the UK are coordinating their views. I assume therefore that it will be best to leave it to you and Stevenson to decide between you the role that each will play in getting our ideas across to Nasser.
We do not minimize the difficulty of your task but our hopes at the moment are slightly higher than they were a month ago.
With all best wishes,
Sincerely,
- Source: Department of State,NEA Files: Lot 59 D 518, Alpha—Memos, etc., beginning after 2d London Talks—April 26–June 30, ’55. Top Secret; Alpha.Russell sent a similar letter the same day to Ambassador Lawson in Tel Aviv; a copy isibid.↩
- Discussions among Russell, representatives of the U.S. Embassy, and officers of the Foreign Office were held April 25–29. British officials prepared summary minutes of these meetings; documents areibid., London Talks, late April 1955: Minutes of Meetings held A/25–4/29, incl.↩
- Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.↩