Office of the Historian

89. Memorandum of a Meeting of the OCB Working Group on NSC 171/1, OCB Conference Room, Washington, March 8, 1955, 10 a.m.1

Washington, March 8, 1955, 10 a.m.

WORKING GROUP MEMBERS PRESENT

  • State—Mr. Philip E. Haring
  • Defense—Lt. Col. Hugh F. Queenin
  • CIA—Mr. Valentine Goodell
  • FOA—Mr. Martin Mulholland (for Mr. Aitken)
  • USIA—Mr. Francis J. McCarthy
  • Treasury—Mr. Paul D. Dickens
  • OCB—Mr. Kenneth P. Landon

The working group considered a paper prepared in the State Department on the subject: “Courses of Action to Encourage Prompt Holding of and Favorable Outcome of Indonesian Elections.”2

The Chairman reviewed current election prospects and prognosticated that the elections would probably be held in the middle of August. Courses of action in the paper were discussed and it was agreed that they were all in accordance with NSC 171/1; that they were all being implemented by various agencies; and that there was no need to seek approval of the Board for any of them. It was further agreed that they should be listed in the minutes of the meeting for the mutual information of the various agencies engaged in carrying out the courses of action. These were:

1.
The Embassy should provide continuing estimates and recommendations on courses of action as to Indonesian elections as they draw near;
2.
Encouragement should be given to all possible indigenous elements to attack the Communist Party on the grounds that it represented foreign control and was a false national front…. the International [Page 143] national Communist Movement and its tactics in other countries should be portrayed.
3.
…
4.
…
4.
[sic] The fact should be established in the minds of the Indonesians that the U.S. has maintained a proper relationship with Indonesia and that it is not guilty of interference in its domestic affairs;
6.
Efforts should be made to emphasize the technical and health benefits which accrue from U.S. cooperation with Indonesia in fields in which that country expresses a need for assistance.

It was agreed that the next meeting would be called by the Chairman, in consultation with members of the working group as the elections draw near, for a further exchange of views and consideration of possible further courses of action.

Kenneth P. Landon
OCB Staff Representative
  1. Source: Department of State, OCB Files: Lot 62 D 430, Indonesia. Secret. Drafted by Landon on March 9. Sent with a covering memorandum of March 10 from Staats to the OCB Board Assistants. Regarding NSC 171/1, see Document 81.↩
  2. Not further identified. A memorandum of February 1, from Francis J. Galbraith, then Acting Officer in Charge of Indonesian and Pacific Island Affairs and Chairman of the Working Group on NSC 171/1, to John E. MacDonald, then OCB Staff Representative on the Working Group, appears to be an earlier draft. (Department of State, Central Files, 756D.00/2–155)↩