867N.01/11–1044
Memorandum by the Director of the Office of Near Eastern and African Affairs (Murray) to the Secretary of State
These two despatches from Beirut and Damascus,69 respectively, give further information regarding the reaction in the Near East to pro-Zionist statements in this country and are worth your glancing through if time permits.
Our Minister at Beirut, Mr. Wadsworth, says that the reaction in Lebanon was one of “shocked disillusionment that the author of the Four Freedoms, joint author of the Atlantic Charter and champion of democracy should have so sacrificed principles for votes”. His despatch summarizes the press comment and describes a mass meeting in Beirut attended by some two thousand persons. Mr. Wadsworth also transmits several protests, including one from the students of the American University at Beirut which is remarkable for its restraint.
The second despatch, from our Chargé at Damascus, fills in the picture by showing that the reaction in Syria was parallel to that in Lebanon and that the press constantly referred in this connection to the Atlantic Charter and the Four Freedoms.
- Despatch 559, November 10, and despatch 193, November 15, neither printed.↩