<--PREV Doc #542  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  First Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #544 Document #543; November 16, 1953 To John Foster Dulles Series: EM, AWF, Dulles-Herter Series The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XIV - The Presidency: The Middle Way Part III: The Space Age Begins; October 1957 to January 1958 Chapter 7: Beef and Budgets   Dear Foster: I note in the paper that Nehru is making disagreeable statements about any potential agreement between ourselves and Pakistan.1 That is one area of the world where, even more than most cases, emotion rather than reason seems to dictate policy. I know that you will be watchful to see that we do not create antagonism unnecessarily, and I assume that the Defense Department operates with similar caution.2 1 The United States favored limited military aid to Pakistan as part of a defense plan for the Middle East, and discussions between the State and Defense departments had begun earlier in the fall (State, Foreign Relations, 1952-1954, vol. IX, The Near and Middle East, pt. 1, pp. 420-24; see also Robert J. McMahon, "United States Cold War Strategy in South Asia: Making a Military Commitment to Pakistan, 1947-1954," Journal of American History 75, no. 3 [1988], 812-40). In preparation for Eisenhower's lunch with the Governor General of Pakistan on November 12, Secretary Dulles had advised the President to tell his guest that although firm assurances were not possible, he would "give earnest thought" to a proposal for military aid as soon as he had received a recommendation (Dulles to Eisenhower, Nov. 10, 1953, AWF/D-H). The Indian government was opposed to aid that would strengthen the Pakistani military forces, and American embassy officials in New Delhi had warned of a "bitter and vigorous" response that could long affect the course of U.S.-Indian relations (State, Foreign Relations, 1952-1954, vol. IX, The Near and Middle East, pt. 1, p. 423). 2 Dulles would respond later this same day (AWF/D-H). "We are watching this situation closely," he wrote, "and shall make no decision . . . without clearance with you." Eisenhower would himself display caution at his next news conference. "I should think," he responded to a question about a military agreement, "we would be most cautious about doing anything that would create unrest and distress or fear or hysteria. . . . Our effort would be to produce a friendship with that entire subcontinent and not with just one group" (Public Papers of the Presidents: Eisenhower, 1953, p. 786). For developments see no. 736. Bibliographic reference to this document: Eisenhower, Dwight D. To John Foster Dulles, 16 November 1953. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 543. 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/543.cfm <--PREV Doc #542  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  First Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #544

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