Office of the Historian

Truman Papers, President’s Secretary’s File

The Secretary of Defense (Forrestal) to President Truman

secret
Washington, 1 October 1948.

Dear Mr. President: I think you may be interested in the enclosed copy of a memorandum1 which I recently received from the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the matter of providing relief for Arab refugees. I believe this memorandum summarizes very succinctly the importance, from the standpoint of national security, of taking all possible measures to assist these individuals.

I have brought this memorandum to the attention of the Secretary of State, with the request that he institute such measures for the relief of these refugees as might be practicable.2

Respectfully yours,

James Forrestal
  1. Dated September 22; text contained in Telmar 19, p. 1427.↩
  2. President Truman replied to Forrestal on October 4 in a memorandum which read as follows:

    “Your note of the first, enclosing me a memorandum from the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the Arab refugee situation has been discussed with the Secretary of State and I sincerely hope that some means can be found for meeting this situation.” (Truman Papers, President’s Secretary’s File)

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