740.0011 European War 1939/5178a: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Consul General at Beirut (Palmer)

51. The Department would appreciate receiving by telegraph any information which may be discreetly obtainable concerning: (1) the present number and status of the French Army in Syria and the Lebanon; (2) the number, if any, which have been demobilized but not repatriated; (3) the number which may have been repatriated; and (4) any reliable estimate available of the number which have passed into Palestine. In this connection the Department would be interested in learning whether plans have been formulated for the repatriation of any appreciable portion of the army in the near future and, if not, the reasons for the continued maintenance of such a force.

The Department should be promptly informed in the event of any significant changes at any time in the disposition of the French forces in your district.

Welles