107. Editorial Note
On March 30, at a Department of State–Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting at the Pentagon, with participants from the Departments of Defense, State, the National Security Council, and the Central Intelligence Agency, Admiral Radford and Deputy Under Secretary Murphy presented reports on the Baghdad Pact and the role of the British in the Middle East. The memorandum of discussion reads in part as follows:
“Commenting on a recent telegram from Karachi on the concern of our Middle East allies over our failure to join the Baghdad Pact, Admiral Radford said that he was fully aware of the various objections [Page 265] to U.S. membership in the Pact, and he was busy working on how to get around those objections. He expressed the conviction that, if the U.S. does not join the Baghdad Pact, it will fall apart. The Pact meeting on April 16 was discussed and Mr. Murphy mentioned the Department’s recommendation that there be higher ranking civilian and military representation from Washington.
“Admiral Radford reported the urgent visit to Washington next week of Air Marshal Sir William Dickson in connection with our Middle East planning. He said that the United Kingdom defense chiefs will have ready by April 21 their planning papers for various contingencies in the Middle East, including action necessary to stop an outbreak of hostilities. Admiral Radford’s final comment was that he thought the best help the British could give us in the Middle East right now would be to give in on several bitter issues such as their Buraimi controversy with the Saudi Arabians.” (Department of State, State–JCS Meetings: Lot 61 D 417)