Dear
Mr. Prime Minister:1 I was most pleased to receive the assurances contained in your letter of November 3, 1956, of Indonesian support for efforts to bring an end to hostilities in the Middle East and to obtain the withdrawal of foreign forces from Egypt.2
As you know, the United States has not wavered in its opposition to the use of force to obtain political objectives and in its faith in the United Nations as an appropriate agency for peaceful settlement of disputes. It was with considerable satisfaction that I noted Indonesia's support for the resolution which we introduced in the United Nations General Assembly on November 1 calling for an immediate cease fire and a halt to the movement of military force and arms into the area of hostilities.3
The reported statement from the Soviet Union about "volunteer forces" for the Middle East greatly disturbs me.4 It is of vital importance that no foreign forces be introduced into the area, whether on a "volunteer" basis or otherwise, except under United Nations auspices. To introduce such forces would be a disservice to the cause of peace and would place in real jeopardy the progress we are making in the United Nations.
On November 3 the United States supported a resolution sponsored by the Asian-African powers again calling for an immediate cease fire.5 I am sure that you will understand that for the United States to take the lead in this matter in opposition to two of our principal European allies was possible only because of the deep conviction of the American people that the use of force between nations is wrong.
It is this same principle that has guided us in seeking, through the United Nations, to enlist the support of world opinion in halting Soviet armed intervention in the internal affairs of Hungary.6
The American people were inexpressibly shocked by the Soviet Union's cynical use of naked force in Hungary. On November 4, 1956, I wrote to Marshal Nikolai A. Bulganin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, to urge in the name of humanity and in the cause of peace that the Soviet Union withdraw its forces from Hungary immediately and permit the Hungarian people to enjoy and exercise the human rights and fundamental freedoms affirmed for all peoples in the United Nations Charter. I am enclosing for your information a copy of my letter to Marshal Bulganin.7
I have been informed that your government, by its action of November 8, has now joined with the majority of the Free World in expressing its regret concerning Soviet military action.8 I welcome this move, regretting only that Indonesia, with some other nations of Asia when this issue was first presented to the United Nations, did not contribute the support of a people that has sacrificed much during recent years to win its own freedom and independence.
There are heartening signs that our mutual effort to restore peace in the Middle East is bearing fruit. There is every reason to believe that the force of a united world opinion could be equally effective in bringing an end to the brutal suppressions of the liberties of the Hungarian people. I am sure you will agree that on a matter of fundamental moral principle, a double standard cannot be applied.
The United States would welcome from Indonesia the same stalwart opposition to the use of force in Hungary as it provided in the case of Egypt. I am hopeful that our two nations will work together in the United Nations for a just solution to the grave problems now confronting us.9
