Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, East Asia-Pacific Region; Cambodia; Laos, Volume XVI

102. Memorandum From the Acting Secretary of State to the President¹

Washington, February 25, 1959.

SUBJECT

• Interim Reply to Letter from Prince Sihanouk²

Ambassador Strom at Phnom Penh, Cambodia, has recommended that an interim response to Prince Sihanouk’s letter of February 23 to you be sent as quickly as possible. I concur in this recommendation, since I believe a prompt acknowledgement will serve to reassure the Prince that his appeal has reached you and is receiving your attention. Accordingly, I enclose a suggested interim reply, which, if you approve,³ we shall transmit telegraphically to Ambassador Strom for delivery to Prince Sihanouk.

I shall forward to you in the near future suggestions for a substantive reply to Prince Sihanouk’s letter.

Christian A. Herter⁴

Enclosure

Draft Letter From President Eisenhower to Prime Minister Sihanouk⁵

Dear Prince Sihanouk: I remember with great pleasure and satisfaction your visit to the United States last year. For this reason I particularly appreciate receiving your letter of February 23, 1959, which you asked Ambassador Strom to forward to me.

I assure you that I am giving it my earnest attention, and will reply substantively to it very soon.

With warm regard,

Sincerely,

Dwight D. Eisenhower⁶

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 751H.00/2–2559. No classification marking; Presidential Handling. Drafted by Askew.
2. Document 100.
3. A note on the source text indicates it was approved. This interim reply was sent to Phnom Penh in telegram 758, February 26. (Department of State, Central Files, 751H.00/2–2359) In telegram 760 to Phnom Penh, also February 26, the Department instructed Strom to stress to Sihanouk that his letter was being given “most active and serious consideration, but in view of its weight and the complexity of the issue, a definitive reply would require several more days.” (Ibid.)
4. Printed from a copy that bears this stamped signature.
5. In telegram 1139 from Phnom Penh, February 28, Strom reported that he had delivered the interim reply and told Sihanouk that a more substantive reply would be coming in a few days. Sihanouk said he appreciated that a full reply would take time and he was quite prepared to wait. (Department of State, Central Files, 751H.00/2–2859)
6. Printed from a copy that bears this stamped signature.