484. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the United Kingdom 1
2129. For the Ambassador from the Secretary.
Please deliver the following message from the Secretary of State to Prime Minister Wilson as soon as possible:
“We have given careful thought to the most useful way in which we can assist you in deterring the Rhodesian Government from going over the cliff.
Our considered judgment is that any further public statement on our part at this eleventh hour would run the risk of driving the Smith Government further into a corner and stiffening their desperate resolve.
At the same time, we wish to leave no ambiguity in Prime Minister Smith’s mind as to our condemnation of the step he is proposing.
The President has asked me to tell you, therefore, that he would be entirely agreeable to your conveying to Smith the following views as coming directly from him:
- 1.
- The United States is gravely concerned at the possibility of a unilateral declaration of independence by Southern Rhodesia.
- 2.
- The United States Government fully supports the efforts that the British Prime Minister and his Government are making to arrive at a solution to the question of the future of Southern Rhodesia satisfactory to that colony’s population as a whole.
- 3.
- A unilateral declaration of independence unresponsive to the rights and interests of the majority of the population and in violation of the existing constitution would be a tragic mistake. If such a step should be taken, the United States would feel compelled to sever the traditional close and friendly ties that have characterized its relations with Southern Rhodesia through war and peace.
- 4.
- The United States Government believes that most people in Africa and in the world at large share the hope that with British help the Rhodesian people will find a peaceful solution to their constitutional problems and eventually take their place in the world community as a united and democratic nation.”2