<--PREV Doc #559  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  Second Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #561 Document #560; February 1, 1958 To Saud ibn Abd al-Aziz Series: EM, AWF, International Series: Saudi Arabia ; Category: Secret The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XIX - The Presidency: Keeping the Peace Part IV: Recession and Reform; February 1958 to May 1958 Chapter 8: "To engender confidence"   Your Majesty: In view of the great value which I have derived from past opportunities to consult with you concerning developments in the Middle East, I am taking the liberty of communicating with you with regard to announced plans for the establishment of a union between Egypt and Syria under the title, reportedly, of "United Arab Republic."1 Our information as to this development and the forces behind it is not yet complete and indeed such information as we have is somewhat conflicting. Nevertheless, it seems clear to us that the proposed union could carry serious implications for other Arab states with which we have friendly relations.2 However, in order for us to determine if we can assist our Arab friends, it would be helpful to know their views and position. I understand that the Government of Iraq intends to consult with Your Majesty's Government and with the Governments of Jordan and Lebanon with regard to the position which might be adopted. Such consultation, I believe, would be constructive, and I hope that Your Majesty will be pleased to share your wise views and counsel with these Arab states to this purpose. The opinions of Your Majesty in this matter are of deep interest to me, and I look forward to receiving them at your early convenience.3 May God have you in His safekeeping. Your sincere friend 1 For background on U.S. relations with Egypt and Syria see Galambos and van Ee, The Middle Way, no. 2147; and nos. 124 and 450 in these volumes. Syria had sought a union with Egypt since the conclusion of a military pact between the two countries in 1955. In November 1957 their parliaments had adopted a joint resolution supporting the principle of union, and in mid-January Egyptian President Nasser had agreed to a merger. Egypt and Syria had announced formation of the United Arab Republic on this same day (State, Foreign Relations, 1958 - 1960, vol. XIII, Arab-Israeli Dispute; United Arab Republic; North Africa [1992], pp. 403 - 13). 2 During the Baghdad Pact Ministerial Meeting, which had been held in Ankara, Turkey, from January 27 - 30, various delegates had apparently expressed their concerns regarding the projected Egyptian-Syrian union. Secretary Dulles, who had attended the meeting as an observer, had told Eisenhower that the Middle East members of the pact saw the proposed merger as "an unhappy development which can presage much trouble." No one at the conference could determine the extent of Communist involvement, Dulles said, or whether the Communists were merely accepting Nasser's ambition to unify the Arab world under his leadership. Dulles believed that Jordan and Lebanon would feel pressure to join and that Saudi Arabia and Iraq would be jeopardized. Only a united position among the threatened countries would allow the United States to be helpful to its Arab friends, Dulles said (Dulles to Eisenhower, Jan. 29, 1958, AWF/D-H; Herter to Eisenhower, Jan. 30, 1958, AWF/I: Saudi Arabia; and Telephone conversation, Eisenhower and Dulles, Feb. 1, 1958, Dulles Papers, Telephone Conversations). As part of a plan to consolidate Arab opinion quickly, Dulles had agreed to an Iraqi request that he contact Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Jordan, urging their cooperation with Iraq in reaching a unified position. He suggested that Eisenhower make the approach to Saudi Arabia in a personal letter, drafted by State Department officials, to King Saud. The State Department cabled the text of Eisenhower's letter to Saud on this same day. The President and his Secretary of State agreed that any public statement regarding the merger should be withheld until they had received the monarch's views (Telephone conversations, Eisenhower and Dulles, Feb. 1, 1958; Dulles and Berry, Feb. 1, 1958; and Drafts 1 and 2, Proposed Statement, Feb. 1, 1958, all in Dulles Papers, Telephone Conversations; see also U.S. Department of State Bulletin 38, no. 975 [March 3, 1958], 332; and NSC meeting minutes, Feb. 7, 1958, AWF/NSC; and Eisenhower, Waging Peace, pp. 262 - 63). 3 On February 7 King Saud would notify the United States that he would not oppose the Egyptian-Syrian merger as long as both countries freely approved, the union did not harm any other Arab state, and the objective was Arab unity (State, Foreign Relations, 1958 - 1960, vol. XIII, Arab-Israeli Dispute; United Arab Republic; North Africa, pp. 419 - 20). On February 8 Dulles would tell Eisenhower that other Arab countries, unable or unwilling to unite in a common plan, might well recognize the new republic. The United States could not justifiably withhold its recognition, he said, "without renouncing our traditional policy on Arab unity and without giving offense to the popular appeal of Arab nationalism" (Dulles to Eisenhower, Feb. 8, 1958, AWF/D-H). After virtually unanimous approval of the union in both Egypt and Syria, the United States would officially recognize the United Arab Republic, with Nasser as its president, on February 24. Iraq and Jordan would form their own federation, the Arab Union, on February 14 (see State, Foreign Relations, 1958 - 1960, vol. XII, Near East Region; Iraq; Iran; Arabian Peninsula, p. 293). For developments in Middle Eastern affairs see no. 683. Bibliographic reference to this document: Eisenhower, Dwight D. Secret To Saud ibn Abd al-Aziz, 1 February 1958. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 560. 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/second-term/documents/560.cfm <--PREV Doc #559  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  Second Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #561

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