Office of the Historian

194. Letter From the President to His Special Assistant (Richards)1

Washington, March 9, 1957.

Dear Mr. Ambassador: I asked the Congress on January 5, 1957, to join with me in a program for economic and military cooperation with the states in the general area of the Middle East. I said that I [Page 453] intended promptly to send a special mission to the general area of the Middle East to explain the cooperation the United States is prepared to give. The Congress, by Joint Resolution adopted on March 7, 1957, endorsed the program.

I am now asking you as a Special Assistant to the President, with the personal rank of Ambassador, to undertake the mission to the Middle East as soon as possible. In charging you with this responsibility, I wish to express again my complete trust and confidence in your carrying out of this difficult assignment. You will be given full support by the various Government Departments and Agencies concerned. I know you will wish to consult closely with our Chiefs of Mission in the field.

I believe it will be desirable for you to visit each independent nation in the general area of the Middle East which expresses an interest in discussing the program. You will, of course, be speaking directly for me and the Secretary of State.

You are entrusted with a fourfold task:

1.
To convey to the Middle East Governments the spirit and purposes of my Middle East proposals as endorsed by the Joint Resolution of the Congress.
2.
To determine, after consultations with the Governments concerned, which countries in the area wish to avail themselves of the United States offer of assistance and to participate in all or part of the program.
3.

To make commitments for programs of economic and military assistance, within the provisions of the Joint Resolution and within the limitation of funds appropriated by the Congress, which you deem to be essential and urgent to accomplish the purpose of the program.

I assume you will keep me informed, through the Department of State, in regard to any commitments which you contemplate. This authorization, of course, does not extend to any question regarding the employment of the armed forces of the United States, which I alone must decide.

4.
To report to me your findings and to recommend further appropriate measures to accomplish the purpose of the program either under the Joint Resolution or otherwise.

More detailed guidance with respect to your first three responsibilities will be provided by the Secretary of State on my behalf. In connection with your report and recommendations, I shall value any observations you may wish to make regarding the intra-area problems and measures that may facilitate their solution.

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I know you share my personal conviction of the importance of this mission to the welfare of the United States and to the cause of world peace to which we are all dedicated. I wish you all success.

With warm regard,

Sincerely,2

  1. Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Administration Series. The text of this letter was drafted in the Department of State by Burdett and Mathews and transmitted to the White House on March 4 under cover of a memorandum from Secretary Dulles to President Eisenhower. In the memorandum, Dulles suggested that the President meet with Richards prior to his departure, and that in order to focus attention on the mission there be a short ceremony when the President signed the Joint Resolution on the Middle East Program. Dulles also transmitted under cover of the March 4 memorandum a suggested statement for the President’s possible use during such a ceremony. Notations on copies of these documents in Department of State, Central Files, 120.1580/3–457, indicate that Eisenhower initialed his approval on March 9 and that the President, Secretary Dulles, and Ambassador Richards revised the suggested statement prior to its delivery by the President. The memorandum of Eisenhower’s meeting with Dulles and Richards on March 6 is printed as Document 191.↩
  2. Printed from an unsigned copy.↩