Foreign Relations of the United States, 1949, The Near East, South Asia, and Africa, Volume VI

Executive Secretariat Files, Lot 58 D 609

Memorandum of Conversation, by the Director of the Executive Secretariat (Humelsine)

[Extract]

secret

[Washington,] March 28, 1949.

Participants:	The Secretary
	The Under Secretary
	Mr. Rusk
	Mr. Bohlen1
	General Smith2
	Mr. Humelsine

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Palestine

Mr. Rusk talked briefly about the Palestine situation. He told the Secretary that the Presidential policy on Palestine was outlined very carefully in Telmar 148³ which was sent to General Marshall at the time of the last General Assembly in Paris. Mr. Rusk said to make the position outlined in this telegram effective it would be necessary to bring Governmental pressure to bear and that such a course of action would cause the President considerable heartburn before it was over. He told Mr. Acheson that there were two papers⁴ regarding this subject that he would like to have him discuss with the President at his 12:30 meeting today. Mr. Acheson indicated that he would do so and thought that he should advise the President to call in his political advisers to talk this over. Mr. Rusk went on to say that if the President exercises reasonable firmness now, we will likely get a reasonable solution to the problem.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1. Charles E. Bohlen, Counselor of the Department of State.
2. Waiter Bedell Smith, whose resignation as Ambassador to the Soviet Union was accepted by President Truman on March 25.
3. Dated November 10, 1948, to Paris, Foreign Relations, 1948, vol. v, Part 2, p.1565.
4. The editors are unable to identify the two papers.