Office of the Historian

87. Circular Telegram From the Department of State to Certain Diplomatic Posts1

Washington, March 7, 1956—4:42 p.m.

617. AP story carried Wednesday’s2 New York Times quotes Secretary as saying “Standing military force needed to protect vulnerable SEATO nations from Communist aggression”.3 This being interpreted many quarters as departure our policy of flexible sea and air forces to policy committing or supporting establishment of standing SEATO force.

Request clarification soonest so press queries can be accurately answered.4

Hoover
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 396.1–KA/3–756. Confidential; Priority. Sent to Karachi and repeated to Bangkok, Canberra, London, Manila, Paris, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Saigon, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, and Wellington.↩
  2. March 7.↩
  3. In the AP story as carried in The New York Times, p. 10, the quoted sentence was not printed as a direct quotation from the Secretary: “A standing military force is needed to protect vulnerable SEATO nations from Communist aggression, Secretary of State Dulles declared.”↩
  4. In Secto 33 from Karachi, March 9, the Embassy stated:

    “Associated Press story as quoted New York Times is misinterpretation [and] has already been thrown down to correspondents here. Berding, briefing press, said that Secretary said adequate military forces were required by Asiatic members but that major deterrent to communist aggression consisted in having strong retaliatory striking power by member nations generally, particularly United States.” (Department of State, Central Files, 396.1–KA/3–956)

    Andrew H. Berding, a Senior Adviser to the U.S. Delegation to the SEATO Council Meeting, was Assistant Director for Policies and Programs of the U.S. Information Agency.

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