Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Near East Region; Iran; Iraq, Volume XII

271. Memorandum on the Substance of Discussion at the Department of State–Joint Chiefs of Staff Meeting, Washington, November 1, 1957, 11:30 a.m.¹

Washington, November 1, 1957, 11:30 a.m.

[Here follows a list of 23 persons present, including General Twining, General Taylor, Admiral Felt, and General White. The Department of State delegation included Murphy, Smith, and Anschuetz.]

1. U.S. Military Representative for the Middle East

Mr. Murphy stated that the Department’s initial reaction was a favorable one and asked whether the Chiefs would wish to elaborate on their concept.

General Twining replied that their idea was to tie things together, to designate someone from whom it would be possible to get an answer to military problems involving the Middle East area, and that while it would be inaccurate to refer to the proposed headquarters as a “command” it would in fact provide a nucleus from which, in the event of hostilities, a command could be formed. In response to a question from Mr. Murphy it appeared that the Chiefs themselves had not developed in their own minds a clear delineation of the countries to be included in the area. General Taylor said that in his view North Africa probably would be included and that one of the criteria would be to include in the area such countries as CINCEUR could not effectively control and supervise.

Mr. Murphy pointed out that this proposal poses political problems and that it had been suggested that certain of the Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia might regard this in an invidious light. Both Generals Twining and Taylor confirmed their own feelings that the headquarters should in fact be in the heart of the area, General Taylor suggesting that it be located somewhere in the Arab countries. Malta and Turkey were suggested as possible sites for the headquarters, but the consensus was that Malta being within the NATO area and the headquarters of already existing NATO commands would make it inappropriate. Mr. Murphy pointed out that we have approximately 8,000 U.S. military personnel and dependents already in Turkey and that, although by definition the proposed headquarters would be a small one, the history of such organizations usually demonstrated that they possess considerable capacity for growth.

Mr. Murphy noted that one of the responsibilities proposed for the Military Representative was participation in “supra–national agencies”. No plausible explanation was forthcoming as to what this phrase implied, and Admiral Austin suggested that this probably reflected merely an effort to “cover the waterfront”.

Mr. Murphy concluded by saying that the proposal in general appeared to him as useful and necessary but that any definitive statement of our position would be contingent on more specific proposals from the JCS.

[Here follow Item 2, “Efforts To Counter the Propaganda Effect of Sputnik;” Item 3, “Aid to Yugoslavia;” Item 4, “Service Attachés to Moscow;” Item 5, “Berlin;” Item 6, “NATO Exercise ‘Red Epoch’;” and Item 7, “Second Plane for the King of Morocco.”]

1. Source: Department of State, State–JCS Files: Lot 61 D 417. Top Secret. The source text indicates that the memorandum is a “State Draft. Not cleared with Department of Defense.”