Memorandum on New Strategy for Johnson Plan
(September 22, 1962)
This memorandum suggests steps to try to keep the
Johnson Plan alive.
SUBJECT
Next Steps on Preserving the Johnson Plan
We believe the following to be appropriate next steps.
1. You speak with the President saying it is in Israeli
and United States interest to keep the plan alive. We are too deeply
engaged simply to drop it, and the consequences would be bad if we did
so. The Israelis have not shut the door to negotiating with the United
States Government, though they do not want to talk seriously with Johnson.
In fact, one of them has urged two United States officials to get into
negotiations with Israel to see how we can meet Israel's concerns. Our
estimate is that if the Israelis find they cannot scare us out of the
plan and cannot get us to take the blame for scuttling it, their fallback
position is to get from us in writing the guarantees given orally by
Mike plus a precise upper limit on repatriation. Through their conversations
they have dwelt on the absence of anything in writing protecting their
sovereignty, their security and against a flood of refugees.
2. You request the President to agree to your effort
to get us into a negotiating situation and to your telephoning Harman
asking him to tell Mrs. Meir that Israel is acting precipitately, that
they should keep their shirts on, that he will be talking with her on
Wednesday,/2/ and that it should be possible to find a way to handle
the problem. A suggested talking paper for a call to Harman is at Tab
A./3/
3. You then inform Mike Feldman you have the President's
agreement to your effort to get into a negotiating position with Israel
and advise him nothing should be said to give the Israelis the impression
we have backed out on the plan.
4. You buck up Joe Johnson at lunch Sunday but not
try to see Mrs. Meir before your regular appointment Wednesday.
Recommendations:
A. That you follow the above course.
B. That you authorize us to inform the French and the
Turks that we are working to keep the door open and we request them
to do likewise.
/1/Source: Department of State, Central Files, 325.84/9-2262.
Confidential; Limit Distribution. Drafted by Strong and cleared by Cleveland,
who added the handwritten note: "Adlai Stevenson has also seen
and approved." Secretary Rusk initialed the memorandum.
/2/September 26. See Document 57.
/3/Attached but not printed. The "Suggested Telephone
Statement by the Secretary to Ambassador Harman" indicates that
the call would be in response to Harman's call of September 21 to Talbot
(see Document 50). In it, Rusk would reaffirm U.S. support for the Johnson
Plan, ask Israel to re-examine the proposals and consider the consequences
of a hasty rejection, and propose discussing the subject at the forthcoming
meeting between himself and Meir on September 26.
Sources: Foreign
Relations of the United States, 1961-1963: Near East, 1962-1963,
V. XVIII. DC: GPO,
2000. |