Office of the Historian

19. Telegram From the Secretary of State to the Department of State1

Copenhagen, May 6, 1958—11 p.m.

Dulte 10. Re Tedul 8 and Tosec 29.2 After conferring with Mr. Lloyd and Mr. Laloy we agree with basic policy decision to support Chamoun on basis of paragraph 3 of joint appreciation3 of British, French and American Ambassadors.

[Page 31]

Secretary leaves to Department and Embassy the implementing of this basic decision in accord with British and French but suggests that if we do back Chamoun we should do so wholeheartedly and possibly Tedul 8 might be somewhat depressing for Chamoun.

Dulles
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 783A.00/5–658. Top Secret; Niact. Also sent to Beirut.↩
  2. Tosec 29 to Copenhagen, May 5, repeated to the Secretary the texts of telegrams 3673 and 3674 from Beirut. (Ibid., Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 1505) Telegram 3674 is supra, and telegram 3673 is summarized in footnote 2, supra. Tedul 8 to Copenhagen, May 5, from Herter to Dulles, also sent to Beirut as telegram 4173, suggested that, in view of the short time remaining before McClintock’s May 7 meeting with Chamoun, Dulles should coordinate a U.S.–U.K.–French position on the impending Lebanese presidential election with Selwyn Lloyd and the French representative at the NATO meeting in Copenhagen. [31/2 lines of text not declassified] (Department of State, Central Files, 783A.11/5–558; included in the microfiche supplement)↩
  3. Transmitted in telegram 3674, supra.↩