Office of the Historian

661. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Egypt1

Washington, December 20, 1956—1:35 p.m.

2046. Personal for Ambassador from Secretary. The President and I have read with great interest the full report embodied in your cable 1926 of your talk with President Nasser.2 You may in your discretion inform Nasser that Department takes satisfaction that he has spoken so fully and, we like to believe, so frankly with respect to the matter you raised with him.

You may also make the point that our objective must be to lift up the Middle East from the morass into which it has fallen as a result of the developments of the past year.

We believe that the bad turn of events can be dated from the active intervention of the Soviet Union in the area. We do not believe that there can be anything but increasing distress and misery unless this intervention is excluded for the future because the obvious purpose of the Soviet Union is to create trouble which will increase its opportunities to extend its influence in the area. If this were unopposed, the economies of Asia, the Middle East and Europe would be at the mercy of Soviet policies of aggrandizement.

It should be emphasized that when America through bilateral or multilateral arrangements provides help of any kind to another it does so without strings and seeking no special advantage or influence over others.

We hope that in your further talks with President Nasser he will indicate more concrete and positive contributions by Egypt to [Page 1325] the reestablishment of confidence in the peaceful and progressive future of the Middle East.

Dulles
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 674.00/12–1656. Secret. Priority. Drafted by Dulles; cleared by Rountree; approved by Rountree; and signed by Howe for Dulles.↩

  2. In a letter to Dulles of December 19, Eisenhower indicated that he had read telegram 1926 (Document 659) and noted: “I think we should give the Ambassador something that he could convey to Nasser, even if nothing more than an expression of our great satisfaction (yours and mine) that Nasser has spoken so frankly and fully of the matter with which he is now concerned. My point is that the more we can encourage bilateral confidence and confidences, the better informed we should be as to the problems in the whole region.” (Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Dulles–Herter series)

    Later on December 19, Dulles forwarded to Eisenhower the text of a draft telegram to Hare under cover of a note that reads: “I have attributed the views to the Department as I doubt it is wise at the present juncture to give Nasser the impression that he is in direct negotiation with you.” (Department of State, Central Files, 780.00/12–1956) Eisenhower subsequently added the penultimate paragraph in the text of telegram 2046. (Memorandum of conversation with the President by Dulles, December 20; Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, Meetings with the President)

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