Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Near East Region; Iraq; Iran; Arabian Peninsula, Volume XII

217. Memorandum of Discussion at the 438th Meeting of the National Security Council⁰

Washington, March 24, 1960.

[Here follow a paragraph listing the participants at the meeting and agenda items 1–5.]

6. The Situation in Iraq (NSC Actions Nos. 2068, 2160 and 2180)¹

Mr. Gray said the next item was a report on the situation in Iraq by the Interdepartmental Group on Iraq established by NSC Action No. 2068, approved April 22, 1959. The last report by the Group was made on January 14.² Secretary Herter said the Interdepartmental Group had met on March 18 and prepared a report which he would read. (A copy of the report read by Mr. Herter is attached.)³ The President asked whether the Interdepartmental Group had considered relations between Iraq and Iran. Secretary Herter believed the situation between these two countries had improved considerably with the withdrawal of Iranian troops from the border. The President said that when the Iranian Ambassador had presented his credentials the other day, he (the President) had observed that the situation between Iraq and Iran was much improved. However, the Iranian Ambassador did not agree. Perhaps the Secretary of State might talk to the Iranian Ambassador about this situation. The Ambassador is a son-in-law of the Shah and should be able to reflect the Shah’s thinking. Mr. Dulles said that the Ambassador was a very able man and was also the son of the man who had led the coup against Mossedegh.

Mr. Dulles said he had been about to report as an item of late intelligence that Khrushchev had recommended revival of the Franco-Russian alliance. However, he had just had a flash which cancelled that information.

The National Security Council:⁴

Noted and discussed the subject in the light of an oral presentation of a report by the Interdepartmental Group on Iraq established by NSC Action No. 2068.

Marion W. Boggs

[Attachment]⁵

Report by the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Gray)

Washington, March 18, 1960.

DRAFT REPORT BY SECRETARY TO NSC ON IRAQI SITUATION

The Inter-Agency Group on Iraq met on March 18 to review developments since the first of the year. It found the situation has not fundamentally altered from that described by it earlier. However, two parallel trends were noted which, at least, in the short-run, are encouraging from the U.S. viewpoint. The first is the series of measures taken in recent weeks by Kassem to limit the power and political effectiveness of the Iraqi Communists. A concomitant development is an improvement in the attitudes of Iraqi officials towards the U.S. This has been evident in the economic and commercial field and apparently stems to a considerable degree from a growing appreciation of Iraq’s dependence on foreign technical assistance and managerial advice and the realization that results of the Soviet economic assistance agreement have not lived up to earlier expectations. It has also been evident in the cultural field.

The Group concurred in the substance of Ambassador Jernegan’s recent assessment of the situation in Iraq and agreed that, although the situation continues to bear close watching, our current policies are basically sound. It was further agreed that we be prepared to consider favorably Iraqi requests for our assistance. Specific steps which are either underway or contemplated for the near future include the negotiation of a cultural agreement, the forthcoming visit to the U.S. by the Iraqi Minister of Education, an earnest attempt to recruit American professors for Baghdad University, increased commercial representation and expanded contacts with Iraqis on the part of our officials in Baghdad, proposed offer of military training slots to Iraqi officers, consider on a case by case basis Iraqi requests for purchase of reasonable amounts of military supplies and spare parts.

0. Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, NSC Records. Top Secret. Drafted by Boggs on March 24.
1. See footnotes 1 and 4, Document 213.
2. See Document 213.
3. See attachment.
4. The following sentence constitutes NSC Action No. 2202, approved by the President on March 31. (Department of State, S/S–NSC (Miscellaneous) Files: Lot 66 D 95, Records of Action by the National Security Council)
5. Secret. Drafted by Lakeland, cleared by Furnas, and submitted by Jones to Herter on March 22. (Ibid., S/P–NSC Files: Lot 62 D 1, Iraq, The Situation, NSC Action No. 2068)