Ask the Scholar

{
    "localId": "183390024",
    "label": "Memorandum of Conversation Between Secretary of State Dean Acheson, the Ambassador of France, and Theodore Achilles",
    "core": "doc",
    "dtoType": "document",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/183390024"
}

{
    "id": "183390024",
    "sourceUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/183390024",
    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Memorandum of Conversation Between Secretary of State Dean Acheson, the Ambassador of France, and Theodore Achilles",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/183390024",
    "collections": [
        "Dean Acheson Papers",
        "Secretary of State Files"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-da/201181/1721905/1721905-32-01.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-da/201181/1721905/1721905-32-01.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-da/201181/1721905/1721905-32-01.jpg",
    "imageCount": 2,
    "hasImages": true,
    "source": "import",
    "hasTranscription": false
}

{
    "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/183390024",
    "naId": 183390024,
    "levelOfDescription": "item",
    "productionDates": [
        {
            "day": 14,
            "logicalDate": "1949-02-14",
            "month": 2,
            "year": 1949
        }
    ],
    "recordType": "description",
    "ocrSource": "nara-archive"
}

{
    "seq": 2,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-da/201181/1721905/1721905-32-02.jpg",
    "mediaId": "1c6653f42bc2b612",
    "ocrText": "TOP SECRET\nC\nARCHIVES \"NATIONAL RECORDS AND\n-2-\nIn discussing Article 8, he indicated that the real French\npurpose was to set up a tripartite Chiefs of Staff body in\nWashington. He said he knew that the Combined Chiefs of Staff\ncontinued to exist. Mr. Achilles reminded him that General\nMarshall had previously assured him that the Combined Chiefs\nhad not met for more than two years and that it existed on paper\nonly in connection with cleaning up various residual matters left\nby the war. The Ambassador said he nevertheless knew that there\nwere close relations between the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and the\nimportant British military mission here and that France considered\nitself of sufficient military importance to be included in such\ndiscussions. He referred to a previous statement of General\nMarshall's that it would not have been possible to conduct the war\nthrough a \"military parliament\", which France did not desire. It\ndesired only to be in on a tripartite top level group. Mr. Achilles\nsuggested that the French proposal to make Article 8 more specific\nconcerning the Defense Committee would tend to establish a\n\"military parliament\".\nThe Ambassador expressed the belief that it would be helpful\nif a ranking French General could discuss these matters with us.\nHe suggested that General Juin come under cover of conferring a\ndecoration on West Point. He was advised that the US military\nauthorities were studying this whole subject and attached impor-\ntance to making further progress in their own minds before discus-\nsing it with anyone. He was also advised that the timing of any\nsuch visit would be important since it might be embarrassing in\nconnection with Senatorial consideration of the Pact if a French\nGeneral were to come here in the near future.\nWE:TCAchilles:ca\nTOP SECRET"
}