Office of the Historian

250. Memorandum of a Conversation, Washington, August 3, 1958, 10 a.m.1

Washington, August 3, 1958, 10 a.m.

SUBJECT

  • US Attitude toward Passage of UK Troops through the Suez Canal to Jordan

PARTICIPANTS

  • Lord Hood, Minister, British Embassy
  • The Secretary
  • C—Mr. Reinhardt
  • NEA—Mr. Rountree
  • H—Mr. Macomber
  • NE—Mr. Rockwell

Lord Hood called under instructions to discuss the continuing requirement for the build-up and supplying of the UK forces in Jordan. He said that in the light of the Israeli refusal to permit overflights to continue,2 the UK would have to send men and supplies into Jordan via the Suez Canal.

It was suggested to Lord Hood that if this were done it would be less provocative if the troops could transit the Canal in commercial vessels rather than in warships.

Lord Hood asked whether he could inform the Foreign Office that the US would support the UK if the Egyptians prevented that passage of UK troops through the Canal bound for Jordan. The Secretary replied that this was a most important question which could not be decided quickly during the course of a casual Sunday morning’s conversation. In a situation such as Lord Hood described, we would be getting awfully close to war. The Secretary would think about the matter during his trip to Brazil.

  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 786B.54/8–358. Top Secret. Drafted by Rockwell. The source text indicates that the conversation took place at the Secretary’s residence on Sunday morning.↩
  2. See infra.↩