222. Letter From President Eisenhower to Prime Minister Macmillan1
Dear Harold: I received yesterday your message about Jordan.2 Taking up first the matter of supply, we are quite ready in principle to help out further in this respect. I understand that we are flying POL from Lebanon to Jordan, overflying Israel close to the Syrian border. The Israelis acquiesce in this but do not like it. We have told them that we think this need will be over by this week and that an adequate substitute can be found in Aqaba where, I believe, intensive work is being done to improve the facilities and communication route with Amman.
We would be willing to use our Globemasters to assist you in flying from Cyprus supplies to your forces in Jordan. As you say, a smaller number of these larger planes could do the job you are doing. However, we would have to seek and find some accommodation with Israel. Foster has already talked with their Embassy here about the matter,3 and we hope to get a reply by tomorrow. I am convinced that whatever be the immediate outcome, we cannot look upon these over-flights of Israel as a permanent solution. We must concentrate upon getting what is needed into Aqaba, preferably by commercial vessels because of Arab sensitiveness about non-Arab naval vessels in the Gulf. Then we must quietly create better ways to get the cargoes to the Amman area.
The introduction of our ground forces raises much more difficult problems. Our public opinion and Congress would, I know, be extremely averse to seeing us take this further step.4 We believe,5 as you indicate, that your forces there already stabilize the position and we [Page 379] hope that it will continue thus, until through the UN or otherwise you are able, logically, to lay down this burden.6
As ever,
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 785.00/7–2358. Secret; Presidential Handling. Transmitted to London in telegram 884 with instructions to pass to the Prime Minister from the President. Telegram 884 is the source text. Drafted by Dulles and cleared by Eisenhower. a draft of this letter, with Eisenhower’s handwritten revisions, is in Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, Meetings with the President.↩
- Document 214.↩
- Memorandum of conversation between Dulles and Israeli Minister of Embassy Yaacov Herzog, July 23. (Department of State, Central Files, 785.00/7–2358; included in the microfiche supplement)↩
- Eisenhower deleted a sentence from Dulles’ original draft at this point which read: “Our intelligence does not suggest that it is needed now, and I hope we can postpone this decision.”↩
- Eisenhower revised the final sentences, which read in Dulles’ draft: “We believe, as you say, that your forces there already stabilize the position and we hope that it will contain them. We shall, however, keep this under the closest review and keep in touch with you on this matter.”↩
- On July 24, Hood conveyed to Dulles a reply to this message for Eisenhower from Macmillan which reads, in part: “Thank you for your message of July 23 about the Jordan problem. I understand the difficulties which you mention. I am grateful about the Globemasters. I have asked our planners to work with yours on this as quickly as possible.” (Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204; included in the microfiche supplement)↩
- Telegram 884 bears this typed signature.↩