207. Editorial Note

On March 9, while signing into law the Middle East Resolution which had been adopted by the Senate on March 5 and by the House of Representatives on March 7, President Eisenhower announced that Congressman James P. Richards would leave for the Middle East on March 12, as the head of a special mission to explain the Middle East Resolution to leaders in the region. (Department of State Bulletin, March 25, 1957, page 480) The previous January, Eisenhower had appointed Richards to the post of Special Assistant to the President with the personal rank of Ambassador, and had commissioned him to head a special group of State Department, Defense Department, and International Cooperation Administration officials, who would advise the President and help implement Middle East policy. Documentation concerning the origin and focus of the Richards’ mission as a whole is scheduled for publication in volume XII. Briefing papers prepared for the mission, telegraphic reports related to Richards’ travels, and other pertinent documents are in Department of State, Central Files 120.1580.