U.S. Involvement in the Suez Committee; the Anderson Mission to Saudi Arabia; the Menzies Mission to Egypt, August 24–September 9


129. Memorandum of a Conversation Between Secretary of State Dulles and Prime Minister Eden, 10 Downing Street, August 24, 1956, 11 a.m.

Source: Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, Misc. Papers—U.K. (Suez Crisis). Top Secret. Drafted by Dulles.


130. Memorandum of a Conversation, Riyadh, August 24, 1956

Source: Department of State, NEA Files: Lot 59 D 518, Report of Special Mission to Saudi Arabia August 20–27, 1956. Top Secret. The source text does not indicate a drafting officer.


131. Message From King Saud to President Eisenhower

Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, International File. During the farewell visit between King Saud and Robert Anderson on August 24, with other members of the U.S. official party present, Saud gave Anderson this message written in reply to Eisenhower’s letter of August 20; see Document 122. A memorandum of the farewell conversation, by Newsom, and a copy of Saud’s message are in Department of State, NEA Files: Lot 59 D 518, Report of Special Mission to Saudi Arabia August 20–27, 1956.


132. Telegram From the Embassy in Saudi Arabia to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 974.7301/8–2456. Top Secret; Niact. Received at 9:40 p.m. Repeated Niact to London and Priority to Cairo.


133. Telegram From the Embassy in the United Kingdom to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 974.7301/8–2556. Secret; Priority. Received at 9:36 a.m.


134. Telegram From the Embassy in Saudi Arabia to the Embassy in Egypt

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 974.7301/8–2856. Top Secret; Niact. Repeated Priority to London and to the Department of State, where it was received at 4:29 a.m. The source text is the copy sent to Washington.


135. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the United Kingdom

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 974.7301/8–2556. Secret; Priority. Drafted and approved by Armstrong; cleared by Roberts (NE), Mathews (S/P), Nehmer (IRD), Carre (FN), Beckner (FSD), and Maurer (L/E); and signed by Armstrong for Dulles.


137. Message From Prime Minister Eden to President Eisenhower

Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, International File. Top Secret. Delivered to the White House on August 27 under cover of a note from the Minister of the British Embassy, J. E. Coulson, which reads: “I have been asked by the Prime Minister to convey to you the enclosed message about the Suez Canal.”


139. Telegram From the Embassy in the United Kingdom to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 974.7301/8–2856. Secret; Priority; Limit Distribution. Received at 12:10 p.m.


140. Memorandum From the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Murphy) to the Secretary of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 740.5/8–2856. Confidential. A handwritten marginal notation by Murphy on the source text reads: “8/28 Sec saw. & Geo Perkins read this. Agreed to early meeting & report by UK reps of London Conferences results. Sec believed premature discuss work of committee of five. Saw no objection attendance of Iceland & Greece under these [?] circumstances. RM. Mr. Coulson informed 1830–8/28. RM.”


141. Telegram From the Embassy in Egypt to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 974.7301/8–2856. Top Secret; Priority. Received at 7:12 p.m. Repeated Priority to London and Cairo.


142. Telegram From the Embassy in the United Kingdom to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 974.7301/8–2856. Secret; Limit Distribution. Received at 9:53 p.m.


143. Memorandum from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Radford) to the Secretary of Defense (Wilson)

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 784A.5/9–656. Top Secret. A copy was forwarded to the Department of State under cover of a letter, dated September 6, from Gordon Gray to Hoover.


144. Memorandum of a Conversation Between the President and the Secretary of State, White House, Washington, August 29, 1956, 9:30 a.m.

Source: Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, Meetings with the President. Secret; Personal and Private. Drafted by Dulles. Following the Republican Convention, President Eisenhower remained in California for several days. He returned to Washington at 8:30 p.m. on August 28. (Record of the President’s Daily Appointments; Eisenhower Library)


145. Telegram From the Embassy in the United Kingdom to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 974.7301/8–2956. Secret; Niact. Received at 11:02 a.m.


146. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the United Kingdom

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 974.7301/8–2856. Secret; Priority; Limit Distribution—Suez. Drafted by Rountree; cleared, approved, and signed by Dulles.


147. Note From the British Minister (Coulson) to the Secretary of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 974.7301/8–3056. Top Secret. Attached to the source text is a memorandum from Howe to Rountree, dated August 30, which among other points noted that although further information was expected from the British, Wilcox in coordination with Rountree would prepare a preliminary draft reply for Dulles recognizing that Dulles “may wish himself to draft or to hold up any reply until further word from the British.” Howe also noted that the attached message from Lloyd “must be handled with the greatest care.

Dulles directed that copies of Coulson’s note and Lloyd’s message be forwarded to the White House for the information of President Eisenhower. The copies are in the Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, International File. A marginal notation by Eisenhower on the first page of Lloyd’s message reads: “Secret Files/D.E.”


148. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, August 29, 1956, 5:30 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 974.7301/8–2956. Secret. Drafted by Rountree. The time of the meeting is from Dulles’ Appointment Book. (Princeton University Library, Dulles Papers)


149. Memorandum of Discussion at the 295th Meeting of the National Security Council, Washington, August 30, 1956, 9 a.m.

Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, NSC Records. Top Secret. Prepared by Gleason on August 31. The time of the meeting is from the record of the President’s Daily Appointments. (Ibid.)


150. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, August 30, 1956, 2:35 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 64 D 199. Confidential. Drafted by Rountree. The time of the meeting is from Dulles’ Appointment Book. (Princeton University Library, Dulles Papers)


151. Memorandum of a Conversation Between the President and the Secretary of State, White House, Washington, August 30, 1956, 4:30 p.m.

Source: Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, Meetings with the President. Secret; Personal and Private. Drafted by Dulles.


152. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, August 30, 1956, 5:35 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 974.7301/8–3056. Drafted by Wilkins. The time of the meeting is from Dulles’ Appointment Book. (Princeton University Library, Dulles Papers)


153. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the United Kingdom

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 974.7301/8–2956. Secret; Priority. Drafted by Wilkins and Rice; cleared by Ludlow, Armstrong, and Raymond; approved by Rountree who signed for Dulles.


154. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the United Kingdom

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 974.7301/8–3056. Secret; Priority; Limit Distribution—Suez Canal. Drafted by Timmons and Wolf (EUR/RA); cleared by Beam (EUR), Lister (BNA), and Ambassador Perkins; and approved by Rountree who signed for Dulles. Repeated Priority to Paris.


155. Memorandum of Telephone Conversations Between the President and the Secretary of State, Washington, August 31, 1956

Source: Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, White House Telephone Memoranda. Transcribed by Asbjornson. Between 8:15 and 8:59 a.m. on August 31, Robert Anderson met with President Eisenhower at the White House. (Ibid., President’s Daily Appointments) No memorandum of this conversation has been found in the Eisenhower Library. A memorandum of August 31 by Newsom who was not present at the meeting, indicates that on August 31 Anderson reported to Eisenhower on the substance of his conversations with Saudi officials. Anderson later reported that the President expressed his satisfaction with the mission and urged that it be followed up as necessary and that particularly sensitive details be closely held. (Department of State, NEA Files: Lot 59 D 518, Report of Special Mission to Saudi Arabia August 20–27, 1956)

During the meeting between Eisenhower and Anderson, the two telephone conversations recorded here occurred. Less detailed accounts of the conversations, transcribed by Whitman at the White House are in the Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Eisenhower Diaries.


156. Memorandum of Discussion at a Department of State–Joint Chiefs of Staff Meeting, Pentagon, Washington, August 31, 1956, 11:30 a.m.

Source: Department of State, State–JCS Meetings: Lot 61 D 417. Top Secret. Drafted by W. Tapley Bennett. An note on the title page reads: “State Draft. Not cleared by any of the participants.”


157. Telegram From the Department of State to Certain Diplomatic Missions

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 740.5/8–3156. Secret; Limited Distribution—Suez. Drafted by Timmons, cleared by Rountree, and approved by Beam. Sent Priority to Ankara, Athens, Bonn, Brussels, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Luxembourg, Oslo, Ottawa, Paris, Rome, and The Hague. Repeated to London and Reykjavik.