135. Editorial Note
On October 5, following passage of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 with the provision denying most-favored-nation status to Yugoslavia and Poland, Ambassador Kennan offered his resignation. (Telegram 496 from Belgrade, October 5; Department of State, Central Files, 611.0041/10–562) Both McGeorge Bundy and President Kennedy, in separate messages, requested that Kennan withdraw his resignation. (Telegrams 367 and 373 to Belgrade, October 5 and 9, respectively; ibid.) The Ambassador agreed to do so on October 10, thanking President Kennedy, but underlining that congressional action had “severely narrowed” the “possibilities for successful action here.” According to Kennan, the defeat of efforts to protect Yugoslavia’s MFN status was the culmination of a series of events that led to his decision to return to academic life. (Memoirs, 1950–1963, pages 305–306)