740.0011 Pacific War/71
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under Secretary of State (Welles)
The British Chargé d’Affaires called to see me at his request.
Mr. Butler first mentioned that the British were sending secretly to Washington two high-ranking officers to engage in staff conversations with regard to the Pacific problem. He said that the British Government desired to know whether the United States would not consider it useful for a corresponding Dutch officer to participate in these conversations. I stated that, in the opinion of the State Department, both Secretary Hull and I felt that the wiser procedure [Page 239] would be for the exchange of views to be limited to British and American officers, and for the British to inform the American officers of the exchange of views which they, themselves, had with the Dutch General Staff. I said it seemed to us that this was a procedure which would have obvious advantages. Mr. Butler inquired whether I did not think it would be useful for protection for a Dutch officer to be on hand somewhere in the background, should it later be determined that the Dutch should be included in the exchange of views in contemplation. I said I saw no objection whatever to this arrangement, provided it were premised upon the understanding above outlined.