Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Western Europe and Canada, Volume XXVII

260. Letter From Prime Minister Macmillan to President Eisenhower¹

London, March 5, 1957.

Dear Friend: When we first spoke on the telephone this evening² I was not fully up to date on the position about our force reductions and I am therefore sending you this telegram because I do not wish you to be under any misapprehension, although I know that the Foreign Secretary has asked our Ambassador to explain our difficulties to FOSTER.

I am up against a rigid time-table. I have to approve a Defense White Paper³ before I leave for Bermuda. The Budget must be prepared for early April. Therefore it is absolutely essential for us to know where we stand before Bermuda. Also we fear that if we now go slow in N.A.T.O. we shall give the impression that we are not serious and the whole operation may go sour on us. I fear therefore that we must press ahead and try to bring the N.A.T.O. discussions to a close at the end of this week or early next.

We have made a great effort to meet General Norstad’s views by agreeing that only a half of our proposed reductions shall take place during the financial year, 1957/58, and that the second half will take place during the financial year, 1958/59. We have further agreed that of the 1957/58 reductions a major part will take place in the first quarter of 1958 rather than the last quarter of 1957. Norstad seems satisfied and by extending our reductions over a longer period I hope that we have done a lot to diminish the risks which you fear.

I earnestly hope that in these circumstances it will be possible for the United States Government at least not to query our proposals. I am sure that this will make all the difference to our chances of getting a quick and satisfactory conclusion on which our whole economy depends. We can only be good N.A.T.O. partners if we are financially sound.

I shall, of course, be happy to discuss the implications of all this with you in Bermuda but in the meantime I must ask for your sympathy and help.⁴

Warm regards,

Harold Macmillan⁵

1. Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File. Secret. Enclosed in a note from British Minister Coulson to the President, March 5. (Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204, Macmillan to Eisenhower Correspondence 1957–1958) At the top of the source text, the following handwritten note appears: “no answer needed.”
2. See supra.
3. The White Paper on Defence, “Outline of Future Policy,” published on April 4, outlined Britain’s new defense policy and foreshadowed sweeping changes in all the Services; a copy is in Department of State, Central Files, 741.5/4–557.
4. Macmillan telephoned the President at 2:07 p.m., Washington time, and gave him the substance of this letter. (Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, DDE Diaries)
5. Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.