303. Memorandum of Conversation1
SUBJECT
- Meeting with The President—United Nations Matters
PARTICIPANTS
- The President
- Ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson, U.S. Representative to the United Nations
- Assistant Secretary Harlan Cleveland
[Here follows discussion of unrelated matters.]
7. Congo.
Governor Stevenson said that Foreign Minister Spaak of Belgium is about to go back to Brussels and consider with his government whether they should now move to a decision to consult with Union Miniere that revenues would be paid only to the Central Government and that in the event of Tshombe’s resistance to reconciliation, the mines would be shut down. He thought that Spaak might add withdrawal of Belgian technicians to the agenda of possible measures. He commented that Ambassador MacArthur believes that there is only a fifty-fifty chance they could take such measures in the present state of Belgian politics. The consequence of failure in the Congo, Governor Stevenson said, would be extremely serious. Adoula would fall and his successor would be far less satisfactory from our point of view. There would be pressure in the UN, particularly from the Africans, for some kind of military action against Tshombe. If the U.S. refused to go along with such action, it would be like breaking faith with the United Nations action and its own Congo policy. The prospect of U Thant’s reelection or indeed his willingness to run for reelection would be dimmed. And on the ground in the Congo, there would be a break-up of the Congo, continuous civil war, and a golden opportunity for the Soviets.
Governor Stevenson mentioned the idea of Wachuku and possibly other African moderates coming in as conciliators, but referred to it as a last resort after the West’s and the UN’s efforts to bring the situation to a head had seemed doomed to failure.
[Page 600]The President hoped the Belgians would be willing to use as much influence as they have, but did not indicate what the U.S. policy would be in the event of failure of the present efforts toward reconciliation. He indicated he would await a report from Under Secretary McGhee, particularly on his trip to Elisabethville this week.
The President asked Mr. Cleveland to secure from the Defense Department an up-to-date appraisal of the military balances in the Congo, taking into account the latest information available on the apparent build-up of both ground troops and air capability on the part of Katangese forces.2
- Source: Department of State, Presidential Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 66 D 149. Confidential. Drafted by Cleveland and approved in the White House on October 11. The source text does not indicate the time of the meeting, but an attached memorandum of October 2 from Cleveland to Rusk states that the conversation took place after the signing of the act authorizing the loan of $100 million to the United Nations. (P.L. 87–731; 76 Stat. 695) According to Kennedy’s appointment book, the signing ceremony ended at 9:43 a.m. and his next appointment was at 10:15 a.m. (Kennedy Library)↩
- An October 17 memorandum from Brubeck to Bundy forwarded a Defense
Intelligence Agency report prepared on October 9, and summarized its
main conclusions as follows:
“1. The ANC is still plagued by serious problems of lack of leadership, training and logistical support as well as untested loyalties.
“2. The Katangan gendarmerie, numbering about 18,000, appears to enjoy good morale, adequate ammunition and improved training. They are judged capable of conducting successful defensive operations against central government forces.
“3. The UN military are not equipped to engage in effective military operations of any magnitude outside Elisabethville.” (Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Congo)
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