Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Western Europe and Canada, Volume VI, Part 1

611.41/10–1752: Airgram

No. 369
The Acting Secretary of State to the Embassy in the United Kingdom¹

secret

Washington, October 30, 1952.

A–674. References: Embtel 2258, October 17 and Embassy Despatch No. 823, August 13 on “Consultation with Commonwealth Governments”.² In suggesting this subject for the Truman–Churchill talks of January 1952, the Department did not seek agreed procedures for regular and normal consultation with Commonwealth Governments but rather an arrangement for occasional exclusive US–UK discussion which both Governments would fully respect as long as the circumstances of either required. The Commonwealth was cited principally because it was assumed that the obligation upon the United Kingdom to consult was greater in the cases of the Dominions than of other friendly governments.

The Department did not anticipate that either Government would desire such limitation on its consultation with the other except under unusual and infrequent circumstances. Nevertheless it believed that the interests of both countries would be served in these special circumstances if it were clearly understood that a bilateral line of discussion undertaken would not be passed along to a third country. In most cases, the need for this limitation probably would pass in a relatively short time.

The U.S. probably would not be prepared to undertake the type of discussion contemplated in the Department’s original consideration of this matter if British acceptance of the conditions of confidence were qualified to the extent suggested in either version proposed in the reference despatch. The Department’s original objectives would be more accurately expressed in the following modification of the exchange discussed between the Embassy and Foreign Office:

“In certain special cases either HMG or the US Government may wish to confine exchanges or consultations on a specific matter strictly to the two Governments. If either Government wishes any particular matter to be handled in this way, it is that Government’s responsibility so to inform the other Government. If the latter accepts this condition upon the initiation of a discussion, it will not inform other Governments, including the members of the Commonwealth, without prior consultation with the Government which requested this treatment of the subject discussed.”

If the British are reluctant to accept some such version of what was sought and agreed in the January discussion, it may be preferable to drop the subject at this point, introducing it again on the next occasion that the intimate kind of discussion with the British, orginally envisaged by the Department, seems desirable.³

Bruce

1. Drafted by Hamilton on Oct. 27 and cleared by Raynor, Perkins, Bonbright, and Matthews.
2. Neither printed; the latter transmitted excerpts from various records of the Truman–Churchill talks (see Documents 329 ff.), a letter from Penfield to the Foreign Office suggesting language for an agreement on consultation with the Commonwealth, dated May 12, and a reply from the Foreign Office, dated Aug. 9, offering different language for such an agreement; the former reported that the Foreign Office had inquired when it might expect a reply to its proposal of Aug. 9. (611.41/8–1352 and 10–1752)
3. On Apr. 20, 1953, the Embassy in London reported that it had received a message from the Foreign Office, dated Apr. 16, which stated that it believed it would be better to leave the matter of consultation with the Commonwealth as it stood rather than attempt to commit anything to paper. (Despatch 4999; 741.00/4–2053)