UNITED STATES DELEGATION TO THE SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION
October 28, 1952 (Typed October 30, 1952)
SUBJECT: Secretary Acheson's Conversations with Foreign Ministers of the NEA Area Attending the 7th General Assembly of the United Nations
PARTICIPANTS: H.E. Dr. Fouad Ammoun, Principal Representative of Lebanese Delegation
The Secretary Mr. E. A. Plitt, US Delegation
Because the US Delegation has in past General Assembly sessions generally enjoyed valiant support from the Lebanese Delegation to the UN, and because H.E. Dr. Fouad Ammoun presently holds the position of Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs of Lebanon with influence in the Arab world of the Middle East, it was felt that a meeting between him and the Secretary was advisable.
Dr. Ammoun called at USUN headquarters at 11:30 a.m. today and remained the better part of an hour. He was visibly pleased at having an opportunity to speak privately with the Secretary and after the usual exchange of courtesies asked permission to set forth his views on the domestic and foreign political objectives of his country. The conversation was held in French.
1. Domestic
Dr. Ammoun described briefly recent political developments in his country and emphasized the nature of the reforms envisaged
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by President Chamoun which, he said, were long overdue. He mentioned among others in this connection: Reorganization of government departments, electoral reforms, judicial system revision, woman suffrage, creation of economic development council, etc.
Dr. Ammoun did not wish to go into further details in regard to the domestic program briefly referred to as he was certain that our Embassy in Beirut had been keeping the Secretary fully informed. The Secretary expressed his interest in these developments and said he was
sympathetically watching their progress and wished the program success.
2. Foreign
On the subject of Lebanese interests beyond its borders, Dr. Ammoun referred to his country's participation in and the active support given to the UN and on which the UN could continue to count. He recalled that he had personally assisted at several of its General Assemblies when he had had the opportunity to meet many of the American personalities who had taken such leading parts in the deliberations of the UN.
Dr. Ammoun then outlined Lebanon's position vis-Ã -vis the other Arab states and emphasized its orientation toward the West. That its position in this respect was not always a comfortable one when it leaned too much in that direction to please its Arab colleagues, is self-evident, he said. It would nevertheless continue with this policy which was one of collaboration to the fullest extent possible with the West and particularly with the United States which could always count on its help to the extent this would be feasible and Lebanese ties with its Arab neighbors made this possible. He hoped that this would be understood regardless of the attitude Lebanon might be obliged to adopt from time to time to avoid being accused of lacking in solidarity with the Arab world. In this connection he referred to the stand Lebanon took by itself and with Syria on a number of issues before the UN in the past. In thanking the Secretary for the support given to the election of Lebanon to a seat on the Security Council, he emphasized the fact that this would enable his Delegation to be of greater assistance in matters of vital interest to us.
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Dr. Ammoun then went on to say that the principal issues which the Arab states feel must be resolved are Anglo-Egyptian relations and the Arab refugees. In connection with the former, he knew, that the United States was playing an important part and that there existed some hope that a solution would be found. The other, however, presented a problem of equal and even greater importance for the peace and tranquility of the Middle East. He said that even though Israel had to be reckoned with now as an established fact-however displeasing this may be to those directly affected-the solving of the refugee problem is of paramount importance. For four years relief has been provided principally from generous American sources. But relief is only an inadequate palliative and does not remove the political and military danger inherent in the deplorable situation created by nearly a million human beings uprooted from their homes with no future to speak of to which they can look forward with confidence. On the one hand, should a war break out this bloc of restless humanity would easily get out of control and be used to inflict untold damage in the area by an astute aggressor. And even without the advent of armed conflict, it is ripening fast for Communist infiltration. It has nothing more to lose, and dynamic commie propaganda could quickly make devastating inroads among its ragged ranks. To remove this menace these refugees must be re- established which in Dr. Ammoun's opinion will cost no less than one billion dollars.
On the other hand, immigration into Israel must be stopped. If permitted to continue as it has in the past, Israel will burst at the seams and its Arab neighbors will be faced with another burden which will be too much for them to bear. Those already in Israel, in spite of being too numerous for a poor country to support, cannot be driven into the sea. Their survival will depend on Israel's development. The population saturation point has long since been surpassed in Israel and the knowledge of this and what the future may hold for the Arab states with this potential danger on their flank frightens them. Help the Arabs to remove this trouble from their door-step and they will then be able to take a broader view of other problems.
Commenting more specifically on Lebanon's relation with the United States, he stated that they were two-fold. First of an economic nature as exemplified in the Mutual Security Assistance
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Agreement with the United States and secondly those falling within the political and military spheres. In the latter respect he set forth the intention of his country to be as helpful as possible in the development of the Middle East defense in which we and our NATO allies were interested. Lebanon's assistance from a practical point of view had to be encouraged by providing badly needed military materiel. Its single brigade is inadequately armed and should be better equipped. He added that the establishment of a full division could be achieved if means could be found to furnish the necessary armament. The forming of a full division is contemplated by his government and could easily be achieved with outside help. He solicited the Secretary's assistance to this end explaining that a written agreement would not be essential and referred to the military aid provided by us to Yugoslavia which he thought had been arranged without any formal accord. The Secretary interjected that American legislation covering the supply of arms required more than informal arrangements. When Dr. Ammoun mentioned that he seemed to recall that this subject had been discussed with our Embassy and during Assistant Secretary Byroade's visit to Beirut, the Secretary told Dr. Ammoun that he would consult Mr. Byroade and assured Dr Ammoun that he would give it his personal attention.
3. Korea
Dr. Ammoun extolled the Secretary's statement on Korea before Committee I which gave the Secretary the opportunity to speak of the importance he attached to the full support by the Arab states of the efforts to resolve this issue. He implied that the Lebanese Delegation could be a big help in this respect in impressing on the Arab-Asian Delegations to join with the other free world representatives in the UN in developing a united front. Dr. Ammoun replied that he would do what he could but that no meeting of the minds had as yet come out of the Arab-Asian deliberations in regard to any attitude, whether joint or individual, to be taken by members of that group.
4. Tunisia
Adverting to the Tunisian issue, the Secretary carefully explained our point of view in regard to the approach to be made to this difficult subject in the forthcoming debate and asked Dr. Ammoun to exert his influence among his Arab-Asian colleagues to keep the debate within the bounds of moderation and constructive deliberation. He asserted that we wanted an end result beneficial to
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all concerned and would be pleased to discuss further with Dr. Ammoun any practical suggestions which he or his colleagues might wish to advance and from which a solution of this problem could be developed. The Secretary touched on the political difficulties with which France has to contend and pointed up the advisability of avoiding by all means a French refusal to participate in the discussions. He traced the long years of our friendly relations with France and how difficult it had been for the United States Delegation to take the stand it did take. For the moment our action has served to displease the French which has made US efforts to seek an equitable outcome of the issue all the more difficult. The Secretary repeated again and again that the Arab-Asian group should not lose sight of what all of us are trying so hard to reach, i.e., an amicable settlement of the controversy without which progress in the direction desired by the Arabs held little hope of achievement. To sacrifice the benefits to be gained from this to the ephemeral triumph of bitter emotional oratory could only lead to the worsening of existing circumstances and consequently benefit no one.
Dr. Ammoun agreed with the Secretary that it was the task of those who had French, Tunisian and Moroccan interests at heart to do all they could to promote a better understanding among the opposing parties. He promised to exert his influence in this direction. The Secretary also recommended confining the debate to members of the UN delegations. He thought that sufficient information is available to them about the situation in North Africa without having to invite any native representatives from that area to take part in the Committee meetings and thereby run the risk of exacerbating still further the sensitivity of the French who would undoubtedly actively oppose any such invitations with all the means at their disposal.
Dr. Ammoun expressed his deep appreciation to the Secretary for having spoken so frankly to him on the subjects discussed and, in leaving, assured him that he remained at the Secretary's disposal for any further exchange of ideas in which Dr. Ammoun could be useful in pursuing with him the same objectives.
Distribution: Basic List
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