1. Telegram 294530 From the Department of State to the Consulate in Montreal1 2
Please pass following message to Office of Knut Hammarskjold, Director General, IATA from Frank Loy:
The Secretary his asked me to respond to your telegram of December 28 concerning recent attacks on aircraft of International Airlines. The Government of the United States shares your great concern at these developments. We believe that efforts to deal with serious political differences and disputes by interfering with and endangering safe and regular air transport not only threatens human life but also is destructive of a transport system of enormous importance to the world. It certainly in no way contributes to the solution of political and regional differences.
As you will have seen from press reports the United States has made its views known to all the Governments concerned, and has quite specifically and publicly condemned the action of Israel in attacking Khaldeh Airport. We have also registered our concern at the terrorist attack against the El Al aircraft at Athens. We are searching for other steps we might take to [Page 2] deal with this question and are prepared to consider with you any useful steps you might propose.
- Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1967-69, POL 27 ARAB-ISR. Unclassified. Drafted by Loy (E/TT), cleared by Roger P. Davies (NEA) and Styles (E/OA/AVP), and approved by Rusk.↩
- A message from Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Loy to IATA Director-General Knut Hammarskjold expressing U.S. concern about recent hijackings. Loy condemned Israel for the attack on Khaldeh Airport in Lebanon and noted that the U.S. had registered disapproval of the Athens hijacking of an El Al aircraft.↩