321. Editorial Note
At the 377th Meeting of the National Security Council, August 21, Director of Central Intelligence Allen Dulles reported on UAR-Saudi relations and internal developments in Saudi Arabia as follows:
“Crown Prince Faisal had returned to Saudi Arabia after a four-day visit with Nasser in Cairo. Faisal was a wily character, and in these negotiations with Nasser had gone only as far as he thought necessary in order to save the Saudi dynasty. Faisal had made no written commitments that we know about, but had of course made public statements favorable to the United Arab Republic and unfavorable to the West.
“Mr. Dulles again emphasized the possibility that Nasser would try to submit all the Arab states to some degree of control through the instrumentality of a revivified Arab League. King Saud, meanwhile, was not in sympathy with what Faisal was doing, [1-½ lines of source text not declassified].” (Memorandum of discussion by Gleason, August 21; Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, NSC Records)
The Embassy in Saudi Arabia reported on King Saud’s account of Faisal’s visit to Cairo in telegram 236 from Jidda, August 17. (Department of State, Central Files, 686A.86B/8–1758) Other extracts of this meeting are printed as Documents 43 and 248.