358. Memorandum From the Acting Secretary of State to the President1
SUBJECT
- Determination under Section 451(a) of the Mutual Security Act of 1954, as amended,2 permitting the use of funds in order to furnish military assistance to Morocco
The Moroccan Government has formally asked the United States for military assistance. Because of internal political difficulties which they feared a refusal on our part would worsen, the Moroccan authorities had previously sought and obtained our agreement in principle to the acquisition of arms from the United States although no commitment was made as to the financial terms (sale or grant) by which such arms would be provided.
Our decision to permit the acquisition of arms from the United States was guided principally by these considerations:
- 1.
- The United States is entering a particularly critical phase of its efforts to secure Moroccan agreement to continued operation of important American air and naval bases in that country, or at least to avoid interference with these activities. Fulfillment of the request by Morocco for a limited military program would be of substantial help in these base discussions and would be an important first step in building a community of interest in the military sphere.
- 2.
- It is believed that the Moroccan Government has before it an offer from the Soviet bloc for a grant of arms on generous financial terms, with few if any other conditions. Moreover, a fairly sizeable shipment of Czech arms was landed in Casablanca last year. It is important to avoid further Moroccan involvement with Communist bloc arms, with its obvious consequence of Moroccan dependence upon spare parts, ammunition, and training from this source.
- 3.
- The Moroccan Army, directly responsible to the King as Commander-in-Chief, is believed to be primarily loyal to the throne and to be the principal stabilizing influence in a turbulent internal political situation. An increase in Army prestige, through the acquisition of modern weapons, would therefore tend to reinforce the power of the King, [1 line of source text not declassified].
The Moroccan government accepted a United States survey team to examine the country’s military establishments and to make recommendations concerning the ultimate character and quantity of the equipment to be furnished by the United States. The team’s preliminary [Page 790] recommendation for assistance in the amount of about $2.3 million annually for five years has been received. When the team’s final report3 is received, it will be carefully considered with a view to recommending the complete program of United States military assistance to Morocco which would be necessary and desirable.
In the meantime, the Moroccan authorities have requested that the United States furnish urgently a token quantity of equipment for display in their Independence Day parade, November 17. This equipment, with associated services, is valued at not more than $500,000, and would consist of a small number of guns of various calibers and a limited number of vehicles.
It is believed that a grant of the requested equipment would have maximum political effect as a gesture of good will. Even though merely token quantities are involved, this initial step would tend to remove the most immediate pressure for implementation of the basic military assistance program. When the Moroccan Prime Minister on July 14 formally advanced his country’s general request for military assistance from the United States, he said he hoped the first deliveries could arrive as soon as possible, preferably by mid-August. The token shipment recommended herein would thus serve as a useful stop-gap. It would, moreover, provide an improved climate for the discussions the United States is having with the Moroccan government on a number of current problems, including difficult questions about the movement of military supplies and jurisdiction over United States servicemen.
The French Government has expressed its agreement to our plan to fulfill the Moroccan request for a token shipment of arms.
The cost of furnishing the proposed military assistance to Morocco on a grant basis would be met by the use of funds made available for military assistance purposes under the Mutual Security Act of 1954, as amended (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”), by the Mutual Security Appropriation Act, 1960,4 upon its entry into force. In order to use such funds for grant military assistance Morocco must, in the absence of a Presidential waiver under Section 451(a) of the Act, agree to the assurances required by the second sentence of Section 141, Section 142(a), and Section 511(c)5 of the Act concerning the use and disposition of the military assistance. We are considering the feasibility of obtaining the required assurances from the Moroccan Government. [Page 791] However, in view of the present political climate in Morocco, the negotiation may prove difficult and prompt acceptance by Morocco cannot be expected. It is believed that it would not be in the interests of the United States to delay the token shipment pending negotiation of the agreement with Morocco embodying these assurances and that the requirements therefor should be waived under Section 451(a) of the Act.
It is, accordingly, recommended that you sign the enclosed memorandum6 which contains the determination required by Section 451(a) of the Act in order to carry out the proposed program.
The Secretary of Defense and the Director of the Bureau of the Budget concur in this recommendation.7
- Source: Eisenhower Library, White House Central Files, Confidential File. Secret.↩
- For text of the Mutual Security Act of 1954, P.L. 83–665, August 26, 1954, see 68 Stat. 832. Section 451 (a), as amended, defined the President’s special authority under the Act.↩
- Not found.↩
- P.L. 86–383, September 28; for text, see 73 Stat. 717.↩
- Section 141 of the Mutual Security Act of 1954, as amended, defined conditions of eligibility for assistance under the Act. Section 142 (a), as amended, listed agreements required of nations receiving such assistance. Section 511 (c), as amended, addressed disposition of equipment or materials provided under the Act once they were no longer needed.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Eisenhower signed the memorandum, Presidential Determination No. 60–3, on September 23.↩