125. Memorandum of Telephone Conversation Between Secretary of State Herter and the Ambassador in Belgium (Burden)0
MEMORANDUM OF TELEPHONE CONVERSATION WITH AMBASSADOR BURDEN FROM BRUSSELS
Ambassador Burden telephoned to say he just wanted to underline the importance of getting moving on the shipment of food to the Congo.1 Burden said they have a letter from the Belgian Government saying they will pay for all the food. The Secretary said in the meantime we have had an official UN request for food from Bunche and we are going to supply it gratis since we think it is better to channel it through Bunche who then becomes the responsible party for its distribution. The Secretary said it was a question of who receives the food and who is responsible for it. Burden said he agreed but hoped there would be no delay. Burden said he understood from a tactical point of view that EUCOM is all set to airlift. The Secretary said the nearest food is in Lome and the other in Germany. The Secretary said we thought we had the necessary airlift from Lome but there have been some hitches but that everybody is at work on this right now and we are hoping we will have it all cleared within a couple of hours. Burden said the request he talked to the Secy about last night has now come in, and the Secy said he thinks it is better now not to get into a wrangle over who pays and it is better to do it under our own disaster relief thing.
Burden asked if the Secy knew why the British and French abstained on the resolution last night. The Secy said they abstained because of the phrase asking for Belgian withdrawal but made it clear in their speeches they were in favor of this whole thing. Secy said Lodge made it clear in a statement and that the Belgian had also made a good statement, but too late to get this reference out of the resolution. Burden said he talked to Lodge after he talked to the Secy and Lodge told him about that. The Secy said he understand the Belgians have taken the position now that as soon as the UN force is there and [Page 309] order restored they will pull out. The Secy said he thought it has ended up fairly amicably and Burden said much more so than he had thought possible.
Burden said there is also a problem of fuel and that Tony Freeman had talked to Mr. Merchant this morning. Burden said we may have to fly it all in and the Secy said that is really going to be a problem flying in drums of fuel. Burden said maybe we can get it off the Wasp, but the Secy said the Wasp will not be there until the 20th. Burden said he apparently had wrong information and thought the Wasp arrived Saturday.2 Burden said another thing is light aircraft to lift out missionaries; that helicopters didn’t have enough range. Secy said he didn’t know what type but there are light aircraft on the Wasp. Burden said the food thing really is the most important, and the Secy said Mr. Merchant had just come into the room with papers for him to sign on this.
- Source: Department of State, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 64 D 199. Official Use Only. Prepared in the Secretary’s office.↩
- General Goodpaster called the Secretary at 11:30 a.m. to tell him that the President approved of the proposal to provide food “under whatever may be the proper authority.” (Memorandum of telephone conversation prepared in the Secretary’s office; Eisenhower Library, Herter Papers, Telephone Conversations)↩
- July 9.↩