Roosevelt Papers: Telegram (paraphrase)
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman) to the President1
Personal and secret for the President from Harriman.
Unless you meet [need?] us some place earlier, I plan to be in Cairo by the 22nd with Deane, Bohlen, Lt Mei[kl]ejohn and an army interpreter Capt Ware. None of us here have heard of any senior Soviet staff officer who speaks English and Molotov could not think of one when I asked him. It is not clear how many Soviet staff officers you [Page 81] expect in Cairo as your cable2 speaks of a military representative in the singular and Churchill’s cable to Stalin3 expresses the hope that Molotov will bring a strong staff. It would be helpful if you would cable me urgently so that I can clarify this point to Molotov.4
- Sent to Washington by the United States Naval Attaché, Moscow, via Navy channels.↩
- Roosevelt’s message of November 8, 1943, to Stalin, ante, p. 71.↩
- The cable quoted in Churchill’s telegram 500, November 10, 1943, to Roosevelt, ante, p. 78.↩
- On November 14, 1943, Mathewson, of the White House Map Room, sent Harriman a message, in Stettinius’ name, to the effect that no reply to this telegram, or to Harriman’s telegrams to Hopkins (see post, p. 85), was possible for the time being, as the addressees were on a trip. Mathewson sent the three messages to Oran by pouch, for delivery on the arrival of Roosevelt and Hopkins there.↩