United States Relations With Greece1

1. For previous documentation on US policy toward Greece, see Foreign Relations, 1952–1954, vol. VIII, pp. 780 ff.


276. National Intelligence Estimate

Source: Department of State, INRNIE Files. Secret. National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs) were high-level interdepartmental reports presenting authoritative appraisals of vital foreign policy problems. NIEs were drafted by officers from those agencies represented on the Intelligence Advisory Committee (IAC), discussed and revised by interdepartmental working groups coordinated by the Office of National Estimates of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), approved by the IAC, and circulated under the aegis of the CIA to the President, appropriate officers of Cabinet level, and the National Security Council. The Department of State provided many political and some economic sections of NIEs.


277. Draft Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs (Allen) to the Secretary of State’s Special Assistant for Mutual Security Affairs (Nolting)

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 781.5–MSP/2–2455. Secret. This memorandum, drafted by Wood, was not sent. A memorandum for the files by Baxter, February 24, attached to the source text, notes that Allen had made the following comments on the proposed memorandum:

“I believe our role in this is to point out that reduction in aid to Greece will require reduction of the Greek army to 70,000. It is for the military (and particularly NATO) to determine how that will affect the general defense picture. I do not wish to take on the burden in NEA of justifying the size of the Greek army. If those primarily concerned with defense want to keep it at 100,000, let them fight for the money. Otherwise, let the army drop to 70,000.”


278. Memorandum of a Conversation Between the Greek Ambassador (Melas) and Secretary of State Dulles, Department of State, Washington, April 6, 1955

Source: Department of State, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 64 D 199. Secret. Drafted by Baxter on April 8.


279. Memorandum of a Conversation, Ambassador’s Residence, Paris, May 10, 1955

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 881.49/5–1055. Confidential. Drafted by Young. Secretary Dulles was in Paris to attend the Ministerial meeting of the NAC, May 9–11.


280. Telegram From the Embassy in Greece to the Secretary of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 781.5–MSP/5–2055. Confidential.


282. Letter From the Acting Secretary of State to the Secretary of Defense (Wilson)

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 781.5/7–1555. Confidential. Drafted by Wood on July 13.


283. Memorandum From the Secretary of State’s Special Assistant for Intelligence (Armstrong) to the Secretary of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 781.00/8–1755. Confidential. Transmitted through the Executive Secretariat.


284. Letter From the Counselor of the Embassy in Greece (Thurston) to the Director of the Office of Greek, Turkish, and Iranian Affairs (Baxter)

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 781.00/9–1255. Secret; Official-Informal.


285. Memorandum From the Director of Central Intelligence (Dulles) to the Secretary of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 781.00/9–2255. Top Secret. According to a note attached to the source text, Dulles’ memorandum was read by Hoover, Allen, Baxter, Jernegan, and Barnes.


286. Telegram From the Embassy in Greece to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 781.00/9–2955. Confidential. Pouched to Salonika.


288. Telegram From the Army Attaché in Greece (Strange) to the Department of the Army

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 781.21/10–1355. Secret; Noforn. Sent also to the Department of State, which is the source text. Repeated to the Army Attaché at Ankara, USNMR at Paris for SACEUR, USDOCOSOUTH, USDOCOSOUTHEAST, and the Army Attaché at Belgrade. The information addressees were instructed to pass the telegram to appropriate U.S. Embassies.


289. Telegram From the Office of the Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 740.5/10–2255. Secret. Repeated to Athens and Ankara.


290. Telegram From the Embassy in Greece to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 711.56381/11–955. Secret; Priority. Repeated to Paris.


291. Staff Study Prepared by an Operations Coordinating Board Working Group

Source: Department of State, OCB Files: Lot 62 D 430, Greece. Top Secret.

The working group that prepared the study included representatives of the Department of State, the Department of Defense, CIA, ICA, and USIA.


292. Letter From the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Murphy) to the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Gray)

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 711.56381/9–2955. Secret. Drafted on November 14 by Ben Dixon, Acting Political-Military Adviser to the Bureau of Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs, and by Chalmers Wood.


293. Telegram From the Embassy in Greece to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 711.56381/12–1355. Confidential; Niact. Repeated to Paris.


295. Memorandum From the Director of Central Intelligence (Dulles) to the Secretary of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 781.00/5–2656. Secret. In a memorandum of June 6 to Eric Oulashin of the Bureau of Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs, Roger Kirk of the Executive Secretariat indicated that copies of Dulles’ letter were being forwarded to the Secretary and Howard Furnas, Intelligence Staff Officer.


296. Telegram From the Embassy in Greece to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.81/6–1156. Secret.


297. National Intelligence Estimate

Source: Department of State, INRNIE Files. Secret.


298. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs (Allen) to the Acting Secretary of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 881.00/7–256. Secret. Drafted by Laingen and Lincoln on June 29.


300. Telegram From the Embassy in Greece to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 781.5–MSP/10–3156. Secret. George V. Allen presented his credentials as Ambassador to Greece on October 12. Cavendish Cannon, who had been appointed Ambassador to Morocco on July 21, left Greece on July 28.


301. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, November 15, 1956, 11:30 a.m.–12:10 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 781.5–MSP/11–1556. Secret. Drafted by Wood on November 26. Karamanlis arrived in New York on November 10 to head the Greek Delegation to the Eleventh Session of the U.N. General Assembly.


302. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, November 15, 1956, 12–12:50 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 881.00/11–1556. Confidential. Drafted by Wood on November 19. The times given for this conversation and the one supra are as on the source text.


303. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, November 15, 1956

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 740.5/11–1556. Limited Official Use. Drafted by Wood on November 20.


304. Memorandum From the Director of the International Cooperation Administration (Hollister) to the Under Secretary of State (Hoover)

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 781.5–MSP/12–1256. Secret.


305. Telegram From the Embassy in Greece to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 781.00/12–1356. Secret. Repeated to Paris and London.