Editorial Note
In telegram 175 to Belgrade, August 17, the Department of State sent instructions to the Embassy concerning the negotiation of a bilateral military assistance agreement drafted with some allowances for the peculiarities of the Yugoslav situation. The Department judged that the only major point of substantive disagreement was likely to be over the status and size of the United States personnel assigned to Yugoslavia to implement the program. (768.5–MAP/8–1751) The text of the draft agreement was sent to Belgrade in telegram 176, August 17. (768.5–MAP/8–1751)
In response, Ambassador Allen stated that the draft was an excellent one and that the Department was correct in predicting disagreement over the United States military mission. In telegram 232 from Belgrade, August 23, Allen suggested that instead of creating a United States military mission the Department ought to consider creating a nucleus within the Embassy staff of service attachés to handle this work. (768.5–MAP/8–2351) The Department’s two telegrams and Allen’s response were the beginning of a voluminous correspondence over the drafting of the bilateral military assistance agreement, the bulk of which is not printed. Documentation concerning these negotiations is in file 768.5–MAP. No substantial progress was made on these negotiations until October when a compromise was finally reached; see telegram 458 to Belgrade, Document 933. Regarding the signing of this bilateral agreement, which took place in Belgrade on November 14, see Document 937.