332. Memorandum of a Conversation, New York, September 25, 1958, 6 p.m.1
SUBJECT
- Middle East
PARTICIPANTS
- United States
- The Secretary
- Mr. J. N. Greene, Jr.
- Mr. William M. Rountree
- United Kingdom
- Mr. Selwyn Lloyd
- Sir Pierson Dixon
- Sir Harold Caccia
- Mr. Harold Beeley
- Mr. Anthony Moore
- Mr. Denis Laskey
Following is a summary of the Middle East portion of the Secretary’s talk with Mr. Lloyd:
Jordan. Mr. Lloyd urged that the United States not exclude the possibility of providing assistance to Jordan in order to enable the King to create some additional military force based upon the use of the more reliable Bedouin tribes. He feared that unless the military situation were improved, Jordan would collapse shortly after the British withdrawal. While he realized that we could not provide everything the King wanted, he earnestly hoped that we could do something that would strengthen the King’s hand in the military field.
At the Secretary’s request, Mr. Rountree outlined our views regarding the Jordanian request for two additional brigades. He said the expense of this military force was considerably greater than we could meet through additional military and budgetary aid. We had some doubts as to the feasibility, quite apart from the question of funds. We had not, however, told the King that we would not provide for any additional forces. We were sending a mission which would look into the military situation and report back to Washington, after which decisions would be made. Mr. Lloyd urged that the mission not communicate [Page 581] to the Jordanian Government in Amman that additional military forces would not be approved. Mr. Rountree said it was our intention that the mission would be instructed not to communicate any such decisions directly to Jordan.
[Here follows discussion of Israel and Cyprus.]
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 785.5/9–2558. Secret. Drafted by Rountree. The source text indicates that the conversation took place in Lloyd’s suite at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.↩