100. Minutes of a Cabinet Meeting, White House, Washington, March 23, 1956, 9-11:40 a.m.1
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Trip to Asia—Sec. Dulles reported on the SEATO Council meeting at Karachi and his visits to other countries in that area and the Far East. He stressed the beneficial effect on SEATO of the Defense Department’s operation “Firm Link” which had demonstrated the great mobility of US forces, thus giving substance to our basic principle of depending on mobility rather than fixed troop commitments.
Mr. Dulles noted the bitterness in India against Pakistan, the Soviet efforts toward economic penetration of Afghanistan, the strength of anti-Communism in Ceylon, the formation of a satisfactory government in Indonesia thanks perhaps in part to the invitation he extended at the critical moment to President Sokarno to visit the United States, the understanding Thailand now has of our policies, the recent strengthening of Diem’s position in Vietnam, the political charges in the Philippines that Magsaysay had not set a sufficiently high price on his friendship for the United States, the serenity of his talks with Chiang Kai-shek and Syngman Rhee, the overwhelming popular demonstrations on his arrival in Seoul, and his talks for the first time with those individuals who are the real power behind the Japanese officials.2
Mr. Dulles summarized that in all these countries there was a desire to know whether the United States would remain stronger than Russia, that the acuteness of the economic problems in all these [Page 212] countries made it imperative that we carry on both the military and economic aspects of our mutual security program, and that the United States has some very great assets in that part of the world particularly by virtue of our own experience of moving from colonial to independent status two centuries ago.3
The President noted the fact that no matter how great a nation’s strength may be, an enemy can always concentrate superior strength at a particular point, as during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. He believed the entire Cabinet should be mindful in respect to their public addresses that we are perfectly justified in asserting that the United States has superior strength.
The President also noted the benefit to be had from face-to-face meetings with foreign officials in terms of facilitating later negotiations.
The President told Secretary Dulles he wished to discuss later the question of bipartisanship in foreign policy because allegations were being made that the Administration merely “briefed” without “consulting” the opposition.
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- Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Cabinet Meetings. Confidential. Drafted by L.A. Minnich, Jr., Assistant Staff Secretary in the White House. Among the 36 persons present at this meeting were the President and Secretaries Dulles and Wilson.↩
- Secretary Dulles visited all of the countries mentioned in this paragraph except Afghanistan. Documentation concerning developments during these visits is printed in the respective bilateral compilations.↩
- Dulles also reported on this trip to the Bipartisan Legislative Meeting held on March 22. (Memorandum by Minnich; Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Legislative Meetings)↩