Office of the Historian

473. Telegram From the Department of State to Secretary of State Rusk in New York1

Washington, October 2, 1965, 4:41 p.m.

Tosec 53. Following is text letter on Rhodesian UDI from PriMin Wilson to President Johnson delivered this afternoon by Stewart, UK Emb, who under instructions asked text be given to Secretary soonest:

“As you know, we have been keeping in close touch about Rhodesia with your Administration at all levels and we are most appreciative of the support which we have received.

“We are now entering a crucial phase and the discussions I am to have with Smith next week are likely to be final and decisive. He seems to have retreated from the basis of negotiation which the Commonwealth Secretary established with him earlier this year, and I do not think it likely that we can now reach any agreement with him. The risk of unilateral declaration of independence must therefore be regarded as serious and I know you share with us the belief that this could escalate with disastrous consequences for the whole area and serious damage to Western interests.

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“If our negotiations unhappily fail, I shall do everything possible to bring home to Smith the consequences of an illegal step in the hope of deterring him from it. If there is still any chance of deflecting him and his colleagues from such a disastrous course I believe that your influence might be a decisive factor. I wonder therefore if you would be prepared to approach Smith in whatever way you think best calculated to bring home to him the gravity of the step which he is apparently contemplating. Subject to the way things go in the next few days I think that a message from you would be most effective immediately after a break-down in the negotiation. Since the timing of such a message could be crucial we will keep your Ambassador closely informed of the progress of our discussions with Smith. I hope very much that you will feel able to intervene in this way and to do so publicly since your message would then have the maximum effect on the Rhodesian public.”

USUN requested pass to Komer.

Ball
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 19 RHOD. Secret; Immediate. Drafted by MacKnight; cleared by Joseph F. Starkey of EUR/BNA, Springsteen, John J. deMartino of S/S, and Haynes (in substance); and approved by Fredericks. Repeated to London, Dar-es-Salaam, Lusaka, and Salisbury.↩