747C.00/5–1954
No. 367
The Acting Secretary of Defense
(Anderson) to
the Secretary of State
Dear Mr. Secretary: Reference is made to a communication from the Acting Secretary of State, dated 18 February 1954,1 which forwarded a copy of an Aide-Mémoire from the British Embassy2 and which asked for an expression of opinion from the Department of Defense on the importance of Cyprus to the United States within the framework of overall United States strategic plans.
This communication and its accompanying Aide-Mémoire were referred to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who now express the following views:
“The Joint Chiefs of Staff consider that base facilities in Cyprus are important to United States strategic interests in the Mediterranean area. Accordingly, they would prefer those arrangements which are most likely to permit their continued use by the armed forces of the United States.”
The Department of Defense is not willing to go beyond this statement of U.S. military interest, or to take a position in a dispute between two of our allies in which the U.S. interest is not clearly affected.
- Not printed. (747C.00/2–1854)↩
- Dated Jan. 28; outlined in Document 361.↩