Presidential Papers, Doc#176 To Muhammad Naguib, 5 May 1953. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower
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Document #176; May 5, 1953
To Muhammad Naguib
Series: EM, AWF, International Series
The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XIV - The Presidency: The Middle Way
Part II: Settling into "the long pull"; May 1953 to August 1953
Chapter 3: "A time for continued vigilance"

 

Dear General Naguib:1 May I express to you my heartfelt thanks for the beautiful work of art which you were gracious enough to send me and which was delivered through the courtesy of the new Ambassador of Egypt, Dr. Ahmed Hussein.2

I appreciate particularly the wonderful workmanship and the perfect state of preservation of this beautiful ibis, described to me as representing Thot, the god of wisdom and science of ancient Egypt.3

I shall keep this as a valued reminder of your kindness and of the strong bonds of friendship which unite our two countries.4 Sincerely

1 For background on Egyptian Premier Naguib see no. 54.

2 Hussein, a professor of agricultural economics at Fouad First University, had been Minister of Social Affairs until 1952.

3 The ibis, recovered from the excavations at Tuna el-Gebel, was believed to date from 1800 b.c. (Weaver to Schulz, May 4, 1953, AWF/I).

On May 11 MSA Director Stassen and Secretary of State Dulles would arrive in Cairo to attend a diplomatic conference concerning the Suez Canal crisis. When the meeting opened Dulles presented Naguib with a .38 caliber automatic pistol from Eisenhower's personal collection of weapons. Naguib's initial reaction was one of surprise, and there was criticism of Eisenhower's gift because of its "negative symbolism" (New York Times, May 12, 1953; Hoopes, The Devil and John Foster Dulles, p. 182).

4 In an undated letter Naguib thanked Eisenhower for his gift and expressed his desire for cooperative U.S.-Egyptian relations (AWF/I). For background see nos. 54 and 95. For developments see no. 181.

Bibliographic reference to this document:
Eisenhower, Dwight D. To Muhammad Naguib, 5 May 1953. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 176. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/first-term/documents/176.cfm

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