421. Letter 19 from Johnson to McConaughy1
I have neglected writing you the past few weeks, on the one hand, because I felt that I have covered matters very thoroughly in my telegrams, and, on the other, since the necessity of my returning to Prague each week because of the negotiations I have going on up there has left me little time after getting out my telegrams.
I know that in some of my messages I posed some really hard and possibly unanswerable questions at this time, but I, nevertheless, wanted you all to know what was worrying me and that I did appreciate answers to the extent that they could be made.
As I have indicated in my telegrams, I have had serious doubts about the efficacy of the course I have been asked to pursue the past two meetings, but I have, nevertheless, tried to do my best in carrying out the instructions I have received. Very frankly, while we have been [Typeset Page 610] able to establish what will undoubtedly appear as a good position “on the record”, I think that it has, if anything, set back the release of further Americans, and I am at the moment not at all clear as to where we go from here. Yesterday’s session was a very trying one, and towards the end of the meeting I tried to balance myself on the knife’s edge in testing their reaction to the continuation of these talks. It was quite clear to me that they certainly did not want a break, at least at this time, but, as I have said in a telegram last week, I do not think that we can safely assume that this is going to continue indefinitely.
I hope that the Department appreciates that in practice it would be extremely difficult for me to carry out an instruction, such as that for the last meeting, to introduce our amendments on their renunciation of force draft if necessary to [Facsimile Page 2] prevent a break. It would probably only be absolutely clear that a break was coming if Wang were to make an ultimatum type statement of some kind to the effect that there would be no point in continuing the meetings unless I negotiated on their renunciation of force statement. This would, of course, be in effect an ultimatum, and if I were at that point suddenly to respond to his ultimatum, I would entirely destroy my future negotiating position.
I greatly appreciated the telegram authorizing Helenka’s employment and she is going to go to work right away. I had thought of this possibility but had not yet got around to talking with her when your telegram arrived.
Give my regards to all and an especially Merry Christmas to you and Dorothy from Pat and myself.
Sincerely,
American Ambassador
- Source: Department of State, Geneva Talks Files, Lot 72D415. Secret; Official–Informal. Johnson signed the original “Alex.”↩