123. Memorandum of a Conversation, Walter Reed Hospital, Washington, November 16, 19561
PARTICIPANTS
- The Secretary
- Foreign Minister Martino
- Signor Manlio Brosio, Italian Ambassador
- C. Burke Elbrick, EUR
Minister Martino said that he was glad to see the Secretary looking so well and that his illness, particularly at this critical time, had been a source of great anxiety to him and to the Italian Government. The Secretary thanked Martino and said he expected to leave Washington on Sunday2 for a two-week stay in Key West. In reply to Martino’s question, he said that he expected to attend the NATO Ministerial Meeting in December. He characterized the meeting as one of the most important in NATO’s history where many vital matters would be discusssed, including the Wise Men’s report on which Martino had been working. Martino said that the report of the Three Wise Men had been finished and that the three Ministers had met day before yesterday in New York. Certain additions and changes were being made in the report to reflect recent developments in the Middle East and Hungary.
Martino expressed great concern over the Middle East crisis and asked what could be done if the British, French and Israeli forces are not removed promptly from Egypt and Soviet volunteers are introduced there. He felt that a clear declaration of the U.S. position should be made to avoid any misunderstanding or miscalculation on the part of the Soviets. The Secretary said that Acting Secretary Hoover is making a statement on this matter in his speech to the General Assembly this afternoon. The Secretary said that it is obvious that the Soviets [Page 398] are interested in prolonging the present crisis which they have been instrumental in stirring up from the very beginning. For example, while the 22 nations were meeting in London on the Suez problem and were working on the 18 nation proposal, the Soviet radio was already denouncing it, in broadcasts in Arabic, as an attempt to maintain and extend “colonialism”. These broadcasts were being made even before there had been an opportunity to discuss the proposal with Soviet Foreign Minister Shepilov. It is very clear that the Russians have been trying from the outset to prevent a setlement. As for the Western position, confidence has been shaken by recent events and it has become even more apparent that policies should be the subject of consultation among the Allies. We suspected that some action was being prepared by the British and French in the Middle East since for ten days or so before the action itself there had been a blackout of information from them. In London we had opposed the British and French desire to resort to military action, pointing out that this would only serve to open the area to Soviet penetration, would unite the Arab counties into a hostile bloc, and would result in the closure of the Canal. Unfortunately, the desire for military action prevailed and we are now facing a grave situation.
The Secretary asked about the oil situation in Italy. Martino said that Italy had about a two months’ supply of oil and that this matter was of course of great concern to his Government. Italian refineries are receiving limited shipments of oil from the Middle East through the Tapline but this is only a fraction of the amount required. He hoped that in any arrangement that may be made for supplementing European oil requirements from other areas, consideration might be given to funneling a larger supply of oil from the Tapline to Italy where products are refined for various Mediterranean countries. The Secretary suggested that this critical oil situation should serve to accelerate the passage of Italian oil legislation now pending. The Minister agreed that this was so. He said that this would not take care of the immediate needs as it would only provide for a long range program. The whole question of the supply of oil to Europe is being discussed in the OEEC but no decisions have been reached.
The Secretary said that for many years he has made a study of the questions of war and peace and he had long ago concluded that the task of winning, or maintaining, peace is just as hard as winning a victory in war. It requires hard work that is sometimes very disagreeable but if we do not undertake these tasks we may breed conditions which will lead to war. In the Middle East we must solve the two basic issues of the Suez Canal and the Palestine question. We have introduced into the General Assembly two resolutions containing proposals for the setting up of two committees. We hope that the free nations of the world are ready to face up to the present situation and will join [Page 399] with us in supporting these two proposals. Mr. Martino remarked that French Foreign Minister Pineau has informed him that he is now in favor of the small committee approach to these problems, contrary to the views which he had previously expressed. Apparently he now thinks that the committees would be far more effective than a fivepower conference (such as that suggested by Switzerland) which would include the Soviet Union and India.