Office of the Historian

List of Sources

Unpublished Sources

  • Department of State
    1.

    Indexed Central Files. The main source of documentation for this volume and for other volumes on the Middle East in the 1955–1957 triennium of Foreign Relations of the United States was the Department of State’s indexed central files. Documents in classes 200 (protection of interests), 400 (trade relations), 500 (cultural relations), 600 (international relations), 700 (internal political and national defense affairs), 800 (internal economic and social affairs), and 900 (communication, transportation, science) were searched for decimal combinations involving all countries in the Middle East (country nos. 74, 80, and 83 through 88) and for the Middle Eastern relationships of the United States (no. 11), Western Europe (no. 40), the United Kingdom (no. 41), France (no. 51), and the Soviet Union (no. 61), and Turkey (no. 82).

    Other files and related subfiles searched for Middle East related materials include: 033 (official visits); 110.11–17 (Department of State senior officials files); 120.15 (special missions); 123 (Department of State personnel files); various files in class 300 (international organizations and conferences); and 601 (diplomatic representation). Other documents were located through pursuing cross-references and referenced telegrams.

    More than 100 separate decimal designations from the Department of State Central Files are cited in this volume. Documentation on the major and some of the minor themes covered in this volume are located in the following files:

    • 974.7301: Suez Canal question, main file
    • 674.84A: Egyptian-Israeli relations
    • 684A.86: Israeli-Arab relations, main file for Arab-Israeli war
    • 684A.85: Israeli-Jordanian relations
    • 103–XMB: U.S. Export-Import Bank, Israeli interest in loan
    • 110.11–DU: Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, correspondence, travel, conversations
    • 110.13–HE: Deputy Under Secretary of State Loy Henderson, involvement in Suez Committee
    • 274.1122 and 280.1122: U.S. evacuation plans for the Middle East
    • 280.4122 and 285.41: British evacuation plans for the Middle East
    • 320: U.N. General Assembly, consideration of Middle East hostilities
    • 320.5770 and 320.5780: U.N. Emergency Force and related U.N. peace efforts
    • 330: U.N. Security Council, consideration of Suez question and Middle East hostilities
    • 396.1–LO: Various Suez conferences at London
    • 611.41, 611.51, 611.74, 611.80, 611.84A and subfiles: U.S. relations with the United Kingdom, France, Egypt, the Middle East, and Israel, respectively
    • 641.74 and subfiles: Anglo-Egyptian relations; 641.74231 for blocked accounts
    • 651.74: Franco-Egyptian relations
    • 674.00: General Egyptian international relations
    • 711.11–EI: President Dwight D. Eisenhower
    • 711.56382: U.S. military bases in Turkey
    • 740.5 and subfiles: North Atlantic Treaty Organization, interest in Suez Crisis and Middle East hostilities
    • 741.5 and subfiles: United Kingdom national defense and military activity
    • 751.5 and subfiles: French national defense and military activity
    • 774.00: General internal political and military situation in Egypt
    • 774.11: President Gamal Abdul Nasser
    • 774.5, 774.5–MSP, 774.56: Egyptian national defense, military assistance and equipment
    • 784A.00: General Israeli political situation
    • 784A.5 through 784A.5622: Israeli National Defense, military assistance and supply; 784A.5622 for fighter aircraft
    • 840.04 and 840.2553: Western Europe’s interest in fuel and petroleum, respectively
    • 841.10: United Kingdom financial matters
    • 841.2553: United Kingdom interest in petroleum
    • 884A.10: Israeli financial matters, especially interest in Export-Import Bank loan

    2.
    Lot Files. Documents from the central files were supplemented by lot files of the Department, which are decentralized files created by operating areas. A list of the lot files used or consulted for this volume follows:
  • Conference Files: Lot 62 D 181
    • See entry under Washington National Records Center.
  • Current Economic Developments: Lot 70 D 467
    • See entry under Washington National Records Center.
  • Current Foreign Relations: Lot 64 D 189
    • Master set of the Department of State classified publication Current Foreign Relations for the years 1954–1962, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat of the Department of State.
  • Daily Press Conferences of the Department of State
    • See entry under National Archives and Records Administration.
  • Daily Summaries: Lot 60 D 530
    • Master set of the Department of State classified internal publication Daily Secret Summary and Daily Top Secret Summary for the years 1953–1958, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat of the Department of State.
  • INR–NIE Files
    • Files retained by the Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
  • INR Files: Lot 58 D 776
    • Miscellaneous files of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research for the years 1946–1957.
  • IO Files
    • Master files of the Reference and Documents Section of the Bureau of International Organization Affairs of the Department of State, comprising the official U.N. documentation and classified Department of State records on United States policy in the U.N. Security Council, Trusteeship Council, Economic and Social Council, and various special and ad hoc committees for the period from 1946 to currency.
  • IO Files: Lot 60 D 113
    • Consolidated files of the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations Affairs for the years 1955–1957.
  • IO Files: Lot 71 D 440
    • Master files of classified records and correspondence of United States delegations to sessions of the U.N. General Assembly for the years 1945–1965, as maintained by the Bureau of International Organization Affairs.
  • L/NEA Files: Lot 64 D 290
    • Miscellaneous country and subject files maintained by the Assistant Legal Adviser for Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs for the years 1948–1961.
  • London Embassy Files: Lot 61 F 14
    • Files maintained by the Embassy in the United Kingdom for the years 1956–1958.
  • Luce Files: Lot 64 F 26
    • Records of Clare Boothe Luce as Ambassador to Italy, 1953–1956.
  • NEA Files: Lot 58 D 545
    • Contains country files for Egypt, Nepal, Libya, Pakistan, The Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Cyprus, Turkey, and Yemen, and subject files for United Nations, Personnel, and the Baghdad Pact for the year 1956, as maintained by the Bureau of Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs.
  • NEA Files: Lot 58 D 722
    • Files maintained by the Office of Near Eastern Affairs for the years 1954–1956, relating to the Middle East Watch.
  • NEA Files: Lot 59 D 518
    • Top Secret records pertaining to the Near East, and in particular to Project Alpha and the Anderson Mission, for the years 1954–1957, as maintained by the Office of Near Eastern Affairs of the Bureau of Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs.
  • NEA Files: Lot 59 D 582
    • Files on Lebanon and Israel for the years 1953–1958, including reports, memoranda, and correspondence, as maintained by the Office of Near Eastern Affairs of the Bureau of Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs.
  • NEA/IAI Files: Lot 70 D 229
    • Political and refugee files on the Middle East for the years 1950–1964, as maintained by the Office of Israel and Arab-Israel Affairs of the Bureau of Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs.
  • NEA/IAI Files: Lot 72 D 438
    • Miscellaneous Top Secret records concerning the Middle East for the years 1955–1964, as maintained by the Office of Israel and Arab-Israel Affairs.
  • NEA/NE Files: Lot 58 D 398
    • Files on Israel and Lebanon for the years 1954–1956, as maintained by the Office of Near Eastern Affairs of the Bureau of Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs.
  • NEA/NE Files: Lot 59 D 38
    • Files maintained by the Office of Near Eastern Affairs for the years 1956–1957, including documentation on Syria, Egypt, and the Sudan.
  • NEA/NE Files: Lot 60 D 48
    • Multi-topic subject files for Sudan, Syria, and Egypt for the years 1954–1957.
  • NEA/NE Files: Lot 61 D 59
    • Miscellaneous files maintained by the Office of Near Eastern Affairs for the years 1953–1960, including documentation on Syria, Egypt, and the United Arab Republic.
  • Phleger Files: Lot 58 D 517
    • Miscellaneous files of Herman Phleger, Legal Adviser of the Department of State, concerning the Middle East, Latin America, and the Far East for the years 1953–1957.
  • Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204
    • Exchanges of correspondence between the President and heads of foreign governments for the years 1953–1964, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat of the Department of State.
  • Presidential Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 66 D 149
    • Chronological record of memoranda of conversation with foreign visitors for the years 1956–1964, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat.
  • PPS Files: Lot 66 D 487
    • Subject files, country files, chronological files, documents, drafts, and related correspondence of the Policy Planning Staff for the year 1956.
  • Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 64 D 199
    • Chronological collection of the Secretary of State’s memoranda of conversation for the years 1953–1960, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat.
  • Secretary’s Staff Meetings: Lot 63 D 75
    • Chronological collection of the minutes of the Secretary of State’s Staff Meetings during the years 1952–1960, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat.
  • S/P Files: Lot 66 D 487
    • See PPS Files.
  • S/P–NSC Files: 61 D 167
    • Serial file of memoranda relating to National Security Council questions for the years 1950–1961, as maintained by the Policy Planning Staff.
  • S/S–NEA Files: Lot 61 D 417
    • See State–JCS Meetings.
  • S/S–NSC (Miscellaneous) Files: Lot 66 D 95
    • Administrative and miscellaneous National Security Council documentation, including NSC Records of Action, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat for the years 1947–1963.
  • S/S–NSC Files: Lot 66 D 148
    • Miscellaneous files concerning subjects considered by the National Security Council during the years 1949–1962, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat.
  • State–JCS Meetings: Lot 61 D 417
    • Top Secret records of meetings between the Joint Chiefs of Staff and representatives of the Department of State for the years 1951–1959 and selected problem files on the Middle East for the years 1954–1956, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat.
  • UNP Files: Lot 58 D 224
    • Miscellaneous country and subject files relating to political issues before the United Nations for the years 1943–1956, including the Collective Measures Committee, Palestine, and Suez, as retired by the Office of United Nations Political and Security Affairs.
  • United States Mission to the United Nations, New York
  • USUN Files
    • Files of the United States Mission to the United Nations, 1950 to date.
  • Central Intelligence Agency
  • CIA Files
    • Documents received by the Office of the Historian from the Central Intelligence Agency by request.
  • Department of Agriculture
    • See entry under National Archives and Records Administration.
  • Department of Defense
  • Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • JCS Files
    • Documents received upon request by the Office of the Historian from the Historical Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
    • See also JCS Records under National Archives and Records Administration.
  • International Cooperation Administration
    • See entry under Washington National Records Center.
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower Library, Abilene, Kansas
  • Dulles Papers
    • Records of John Foster Dulles, 1952–1959, including General Memoranda of Conversation, Meetings with the President, General Telephone Conversations, White House Telephone Conversations, and files “Suez Problem “Miscellaneous Papers–U.K.(Suez Crisis)”, and “Israel Relations 1951–1957”.
  • President’s Daily Appointments Record
    • Records of Dwight D. Eisenhower as President, Daily Appointments, 1953–1961.
  • Staff Secretary Records
    • Records of the Office of the White House Staff Secretary, 1952–1961, including records of Paul T. Carroll, Andrew J. Goodpaster, L. Arthur Minnich, Jr., and Christopher H. Russell.
  • White House Central Files
    • Records of Dwight D. Eisenhower as President, 1953–1961. Documents cited in this volume are from the confidential file, “Suez Canal Crisis.”
  • Whitman File
    • Papers of Dwight D. Eisenhower as President of the United States, 1953–1961, maintained by his personal secretary, Ann C. Whitman. The Whitman File includes the following elements: the Name Series, the Dulles–Herter Series, Eisenhower (DDE) Diaries, Ann Whitman (ACW) Diaries, National Security Council Records, Miscellaneous Records, Cabinet Papers, Legislative Meetings, International Meetings, the Administration Series, and the International File.
  • National Archives and Records Administration
  • Daily Press Conferences of the Department of State
    • National Archives Record Group 59, Transcripts of daily news conferences of the Department of State, January 1946–December 1975.
  • JCS Records
    • National Archives Record Group 218, Records of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
  • Office of the Secretary of Agriculture Records
    • National Archives Record Group 16, Records of the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture. Subject files of the Secretary of Agriculture for the years 1879–1972, containing reports, letters, memoranda, and other records arranged under topical headings.
  • Princeton University Library, Princeton, New Jersey
  • Dulles Papers, Dulles Daily Appointment Book
    • Daily log of the meetings and appointments of Secretary of State John Foster Dulles for the years 1953–1959.
  • Washington National Records Center
  • Conference Files: FRC 59–83–0066
    • Lot 62 D 181: Collection of documentation on official visits by heads of government and foreign ministers to the United States and on major international conferences attended by the Secretary of State for the years 1956–1958, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat.
  • Current Economic Developments: FRC 72 A 6248
    • Lot 70 D 467: Master set of the Department of State classified internal publication Current Economic Developments for the years 1945–1969, as maintained in the Bureau of Economic Affairs.
  • ICA Director’s Files: FRC 61 A 32
    • Subject file of the Director of the International Cooperation Administration, containing correspondence, memoranda, reports, messages, and other material accumulated from 1955 to 1958.

Published Sources

  • U.S. Government Documentary Collections
  • U.S. Department of State. American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1956 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1959)
  • ———. Department of State Bulletin, 1956, Vols. XXXIV and XXXV (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1956–1957)
  • ———. The Suez Canal Problem, July 26–September 22, 1956 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1956)
  • ———. United States Policy in the Middle East, September 1956–June 1957 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1957)
  • U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1956 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1958)
  • U.S. Congress. Senate. Executive Sessions of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (Historical Series), Vol. VIII, Eighty-fourth Congress, Second Session, 1956 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978)
  • ———. Joint Hearings before Subcommittees of the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, United States Senate, Eighty-fifth Congress, First Session, Parts 1–4 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1957)
  • Memoirs
    • Note: The following memoirs which contain information on the Suez Crisis were consulted at the time this volume was prepared in 1979. The Department of State takes no responsibility for their accuracy nor endorses their interpretation of the events.
    • Adams, Sherman. First Hand Report (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1961)
    • Aldrich, Winthrop W., “The Suez Crisis: A Footnote to History,” Foreign Affairs, April 1967, pp. 541–552
    • Ben Gurion, David. Israel: A Personal History (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1971)
    • ———. Israel: Years of Challenge (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1963)
    • Bohlen, Charles E. Witness to History, 1929–1969 (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1973)
    • Bowie, Robert R. Suez 1956 (London: Oxford University Press, 1974)
    • Burns, Lt. Gen. E.L.M.Between Arab and Israeli (New York: Obolensky, 1963)
    • Butler of Saffron Walden, Richard Austen Butler, Baron. The Art of the Possible (Boston: Gambit, 1972)
    • Cooper, Chester. The Lion’s Last Roar, Suez, 1956 (New York: Harper & Row, 1978)
    • Copeland, Miles. The Game of Nations: The Amorality of Power Politics (London: Wiedenfeld & Nicolson, 1969)
    • Dayan, Moshe. Diary of the Sinai Campaign (New York: Harper & Row, 1976)
    • ———. Moshe Dayan: Story of My Life (New York: Morrow, 1976)
    • Eban, Abba. Abba Eban: An Autobiography (New York: Random House, 1977)
    • Eden, Sir Anthony, Earl of Avon. Full Circle: The Memoirs of Anthony Eden (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1960)
    • Eisenhower, Dwight D. The White House Years. Waging Peace, 1956–1961 (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Company, 1965)
    • Eveland, Wilbur Crane. Ropes of Sand: America’s Failure in the Middle East (New York and London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1980)
    • Ewald, William Bragg, Jr. Eisenhower the President, Crucial Days: 1951–1960 (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1981)
    • Gallman, Waldemar J. Iraq Under General Nuri: My Recollections of Nuri al-Said, 1954–1958 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1964)
    • Georges-Picot, Jacques. The Real Suez Crisis: The End of a Great Nineteenth Century Work (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1978)
    • Haykal, Muhammed Hasanayn. The Cairo Documents: The Inside Story of Nasser and His Relationship With World Leaders, Rebels and Statesmen (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1973)
    • Hayter, Sir William. The Kremlin and the Embassy (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1966)
    • Hughes, Emmet John. The Ordeal of Power: A Political Memoir of the Eisenhower Years (New York: Atheneum, 1963)
    • Hussein, King of Jordan. Uneasy Lies the Head: An Autobiography (London: Heinemann, 1962)
    • Khrushchev, Nikita S. Khrushchev Remembers (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1970)
    • Lloyd, Selwyn.Suez/1956 (London: Jonathan Cape, 1978)
    • Lodge, Henry Cabot. As It Was, An Inside View of Politics and Power in the 50’s and 60’s (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1976)
    • ———. The Storm Has Many Eyes (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1973)
    • Macmillan, Harold R. Riding the Storm, 1956–1959 (New York: Harper & Row, 1971)
    • Meir, Golda. My Life (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1975)
    • Menzies, Sir Robert. Afternoon Light, Some Memories of Men and Events (London: Cassell, 1967)
    • Mollet, Guy. Bilan et Perspectives Socialistes (Paris: Librarie Plon, 1958)
    • Moncrieff, Anthony (ed.). Suez, Ten Years After (London: British Broadcasting Corporation, 1967)
    • Murphy, Robert. Diplomat Among Warriors (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1964)
    • Nutting, Anthony. No End to a Lesson (London: Constable, 1967)
    • Pearson, Lester. Mike. The Memoirs of the Right Honorable Lester B. Pearson. Vol. 2, 1948–1957 (New York: Quadrangle, 1973)
    • Peres, Shimon. David’s Sling. The Arming of Israel (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1970)
    • Pineau, Christian. Suez/1956 (Paris: Robert Laffont, 1976)
    • Spaak, Paul Henri. The Continuing Battle: Memoirs of a European, 1936–1966 (London: Wiedenfeld, 1971)
    • Trevelyan, Humphrey. The Middle East in Revolution (Boston: Gambit, Inc., 1970)
    • Urquhart, Brian. Hammarskjold (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1972)