197. Message From Prime Minister Eden to President Eisenhower 1
Dear Friend: I send you herewith a most secret note of Egyptian intentions of whose authenticity we are entirely confident. I thought you should see it even though it adds nothing startlingly new to what we both suspected. It does, however, confirm the wide range of Egyptian ambitions against the Saudis, as well as Iraq and Jordan. May I ask you to treat it as highly confidential? Of course I would expect Foster to see it.2
Yours ever,
- Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, International File. Ambassador Makins forwarded Prime Minister Eden’s message to the President, but, according to a cross reference sheet in the lot file containing Presidential Correspondence, this message was filed in the White House. Neither Makins nor Eisenhower sent a copy to Hoover. (Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204, Eden to Eisenhower Correspondence, 1955–1956. Vol. I)↩
- Hoover forwarded the report to Secretary Dulles on March 21 attached to a memorandum. (Ibid., Central Files, 786.00/3–2156) Also enclosed for Dulles’ information was a copy of the President’s response to Eden; see footnote 4 below.↩
- Top Secret.↩
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Eisenhower’s response
of March 20 to Eden reads:
“The enclosure you sent me with your letter of March fifteenth is a most interesting report on the intentions of the Egyptian Government. Assuming that the information therein contained is completely authentic, it seems to me to give a clue of how we—your Government and ours—might operate with the greatest chance of frustrating Soviet designs in the region.
“Foster will return in a couple of days, and he and I will then go over this document and a good deal of other information which we have on this subject. In the meantime, thank you very much for sending it to me.” (Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204, Eisenhower to Eden Correspondence, 1955–1956. Vol. I)
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