Historical Documents - Office of the Historian

190. Telegram From the Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Regional Organizations to the Department of State1

Paris, July 29, 1966, 1536Z.

1461. NATUS. Personal for the Secretary.

1.: As we deadlocked in negotiations with France on French troops in Germany this week, I took some soundings among my colleagues as to [Page 441] why the French had in the end assumed so unyielding a position in the face of our efforts to establish a political basis for Lemnitzer-Ailleret talks.
2.: The first reason given by everybody was Chancellor Erhard’s performance during the General De Gaulle visit to Bonn. He was evidently so anxious to please his guest and to have something that looked like a political success after a disappointing provincial election, that he must have given De Gaulle the impression that the Germans would never invite the French troops to leave, no matter what. As long as De Gaulle thinks he has the Germans hexed, he is entitled to assume that he does not need to permit serious discussions with the Fourteen about such issues as the mission of those forces, command arrangements in wartime, coordination in emergency alerts, and cooperation in peacetime exercises.
3.: In these circumstances, I think it is important that this subject be promoted to a pretty high priority in the President’s discussions with Erhard during the latter’s visit to Washington next month. If we can help with the staff work to this end, I hope you will let me know.

Cleveland