859A.20/17
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under Secretary of State (Welles)
Mr. Butler33a of the British Embassy called to see me this morning at his request.
I stated to Mr. Butler that the President had requested me to inform the British Government that the plan of procedure concerning Iceland which was set forth in the secret memorandum33b handed me by Lord Halifax34 two days ago and which I had submitted to the President yesterday was entirely unacceptable to the President.
[Page 778]The President desired to inform the British Government that the plan of procedure he envisaged was as follows:
The necessary American forces, ships and troops, would be concentrated at either Newfoundland or Bermuda, or both. The President estimated that approximately four days would be required for these forces to reach Iceland from the point of concentration. As soon as the concentration had been completed, the President believed that the British authorities should state to the Prime Minister of Iceland that because of their own defense requirements and military requirements in other parts of the world, it had become inconvenient for the British Government to maintain any longer their forces of occupation in Iceland and that, consequently, they were prepared to withdraw. The British authorities would likewise state to the Prime Minister of Iceland that the British Government was informed that the Government of the United States, because of its determination to defend the Western Hemisphere against any danger of attack by Germany, would be prepared to send forces to Iceland in replacement of the British forces in order to assist in the defense of the integrity and independence of Iceland and that, consequently, the Prime Minister of Iceland should send a message to the President of the United States requesting the United States to undertake the task of defending Iceland. Immediately upon the receipt of such a message from the Prime Minister of Iceland, the President would reply stating that American forces would immediately be sent for that purpose and would likewise state that the United States had no intention of impairing in any manner whatever the independence or sovereignty of Iceland and that as soon as the present emergency was passed, all American forces of occupation would be withdrawn. As soon as these messages had been exchanged, the American forces would be dispatched to Iceland to take over from the British forces.
I further stated that the President did not approve the suggested statement to be made by him as contained in the British memorandum and did not agree that any statement to be made by him should give the unfounded impression that the steps taken by the United States were taken “in concert with His Majesty’s Government.”
I stated that Ambassador Winant35 had been fully instructed by the President along the lines I had just indicated to Mr. Butler, but that in view of my belief that time is extremely important in this matter now, I felt the President wished his views to be conveyed without delay to the British Government.