197. Memorandum Prepared by the Assistant White House Staff Secretary (Eisenhower)0
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Iraq
We have informed our NATO mission that available information indicates that in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk clashes involving violence and casualties occurred on July 14 and the days immediately following. However, our information is still incomplete and it by no means has been established that these developments represented a calculated and clear-cut clash between Communists and anti-Communists, as some press treatment has suggested. Though the evidence strongly indicates that an important ingredient in the situation was the longstanding hostility between Kurdish and Turkoman elements of the Kirkuk population, Communist exploitation is not improbable. The role of the Kirkuk Army garrison during the violence remains obscure. The Baghdad Government subsequently ordered military reinforcements to Kirkuk to re-establish order and, on the basis of the latest reports, the Government now appears to have the situation under control. Meanwhile, the Department has also received reports of minor clashes between Communist and nationalist elements in suburban Baghdad areas which resulted in some local casualties.
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- Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Eisenhower Diaries. Top Secret. Goodpaster initialed the memorandum.↩