Images (14)
- Part of Dean Acheson Papers, Princeton Seminars Files
Extracted text
OCR Page 1 of 142/13/54, Reel 2, Track 2, Page 1
MR. KENNAN:
I have, if it would be of any interest here, the record of what went on
during the night between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning when you
met with the Congressional leaders, because it illustrates a little the
complexities in which we were involved in trying to brief the various people
concerned.
MR. ACHESON: Good.
MR. KENNAN:
"The President had approved, in principle, the statement that we had drafted,
TRUMAN
but the text of it was to be finally worked out by the Departments of State
and Defense and be ready for release the following day about 12:00 0' clock,
ess
by which time the President expected to have received and consulted wi th Con-
gressional leaders. Meanwhile, it had been understood that the Joint Chiefs
of Staff would at once issue orders to our forces in the Far East implement-
ing the decisions set forth in the statement.
"We therefore immediately set about the final polishing up of the S tatement
and were busy with this until after midnight. When it was finished, the
text was telephoned to the Defense establishment, in order that we might get
their comments the first thing in the morning and submit an agreed version
to the President." -- He wanted the final version of it worked out between
State and Defense - We then faced the question of communicating to Chiang
Kai-Shek the decision with regard to Formosa. Obviously it would be improper
and undesirable for him to receive this news only from the press and radio,
and some communication would have to be made to him at once." -
There
is
an upshot of this, which I won't read in detail, of the struggle until three
or four in the morning of MacArthur's Headqurters on one end of the telecon
and the Defense people on the other, and finally worked out a rather ingenious
and desperate device by which MacArthur broadcast this news in the first place
to the Korean people in Korean, but didn't tell the press people in Japan;
and we did meanwhile send our fellow down in the middle of the night to tell
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