867.00/8–747
The Acting Secretary of State to the Secretary of War (Royall)
My Dear Mr. Secretary: Thank you for your letter of August 7, 19471 stating that in your opinion the one-year program of aid to Turkey proposed in the “Report of the United States Ambassador Concerning Assistance to Turkey”, dated July 15, 1947, is generally suitable.2 A favorable letter has also been received from the Secretary of the Navy.3
The Department of State, in the light of the views expressed in these letters, has now given general approval to the program recommended in the Ambassador’s report of July 15 mentioned above, and looks to the War and Navy Departments for the implementation of the Army, Air, and Naval components of the program. The Department of State intends, however, with the concurrence of Ambassador Wilson, who is Chief of the American Mission for Aid to Turkey, to set aside from the $100 millions tentatively earmarked for the Turkish Aid Program out of Greek-Turkish Aid Funds, an amount of $5 millions as a reserve fund, and to reduce, at least temporarily, the amounts to be allocated to each program by five percent.
The Department of State will, upon request of the War Department, allocate funds as required to the War Department to cover the cost of the approved military and air programs of aid for Turkey, in accordance with the two letters of August 19, 1947 to you from the Acting Secretary of State4 transmitting for your concurrence two proposed Memoranda of Understanding between the State and War Departments regarding the Turkish Aid Program, one of the Memoranda being for the Air Force.
It is assumed that the War Department and the Air Force are proceeding with the formulation of a firm schedule of requirements and shipments under this program which they will submit to the Department of State. Pending formulation of this schedule, it is assumed that individual requirements definitely established as part of the program [Page 306] will be shipped as soon as available and that funds to cover such shipments will be requested.5
Sincerely yours,
Coordinator of Aid to Greece and Turkey
- Not printed.↩
- Mr. McGhee, in a letter of July 25, had requested urgent advice from the Secretary of War whether Ambasador Wilson’s recommendations of July 15 “accord with the intent of the Act of May 22, 1947 … propose measures which in the circumstances appear to be the best that could be designed to this end, and specify programs that are feasible in view of the existing limitations of time, money, and supplies.” (867.00/7–2547)↩
- Dated August 5, not printed.↩
- Neither printed.↩
- A similar letter was sent to Secretary Forrestal on August 22.↩