320. Memorandum From the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Murphy) to the Director of the Executive Secretariat (Howe)1
With reference to your inquiry whether I would care to comment on the attached memorandum of Park Armstrong to the Acting Secretary regarding Allen Dulles’ attached draft letter, it seems to me that this is an unprofitable exercise. An attempt to “set the record straight” would also succeed no doubt in expanding the area of inquiry and advertise the criticisms. That type of criticism, it seems to me, is something that any intelligence organization must absorb. Furthermore, the Secretary’s testimony seems to me fairly accurate and corresponds with my recollection of the events.
I know that personally, reading I think all the material that came to us at that time, and I believe that is true of Mr. Hoover, I had no indication of an imminent attack until the wires from our Military Attaché in Tel Aviv came in regarding Israeli mobilization. Of course in conversations in London in late July 1956, I obtained the impression that the British and French were determined on military intervention, but during October I saw no hard intelligence out of London, Paris, or Tel Aviv substantiating a firm plan of attack, except for the Military Attache’s telegrams about Israeli mobilization.
The attached would call on the Secretary to reopen his testimony and I see no advantage in his doing so.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 711.5280/5–857. Secret; No Distribution. Notes attached to the source text indicate that Howe solicited these comments from Murphy on May 6 and that Howe transmitted the memorandum printed here together with Document 314 (and its enclosure).↩