Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1993 (44 USC 2107 Hotey? DATE: 11-14-2017 os a Nese ~ : ear “ +a SEP prs. Washington, D. C. , CREY January 3, 1961 | Tuesday , _ — FR| SUMMARY - cont D ((wr-987-s:) ($7 11:55 am EDHARD MORGAN and fenw{? continued Cont'd 1-3-6121 MORGAN. explains that he was confused by the Times dispatch. : from London which said that both (U. S. Ambassador) WHITNEY -.:. and (British Foreign Secretary) Lord HOME agreed that the ~~’ revival of the (International Control) Commission was. necessary. As he gathers from here, Yashington has not .«. taken that view yet. | LEBEL, in replyp’observes that. since this is something which hap peneg between othersthe is not | the one to give a line on thig but he thinks the truth is” half-way between--that is, there is agreement on. princi ple,. and perhaps there is not yet agreement on how to do its, MORGAN asks’ what the (French anworff-a s been to! the American = 3: . argument that to have’ a coalition goverment would be too Jha dangerous, that it would bleed the regime to weakness-- MORGAN explains that he is referring to a seemingly illuminating dispatch which the Washington Post reprinted | from the London Observer last Thursday in which it was said that many British feel that the Americans threw away a golden opportunity of restoring peace and political equild b- rium to Laos when they failed to support SOUVANNA PHOUMA. That sentence, [LEBEL replies, coulg,be transferred one hundred per cent to what [they feel)"in GarisPYsouvanna PHOUMA was never really, ‘supported here; [(the French) know the man) quite wekl, ‘and! %f he had been (stpported here) he would not have turnéd to the Left as he was oblig 4 3 to reestablish his balance. [In (France's) opinion, pa (turned Left) too much, but the point is at he had to do it aoa hefelt there was no support here. Cizeer] emphasizes that every ne he is (sayi ng is for back- ground (and not guotation MORGAN accepts it as such. as There was also, MORGAN continues, a report in the Washington Post by this rather good reporter, WARREN UNNA, in which he- said that there had been a hassle between (the U.S.) Ambassador and CIA field wople on the one hand and Washington CTA and the State Department on the other, that the field people were urging the support of PHOUMA t that they were overruled. [Useless to say, [-EBEL repliesp/if he were . inforned that point he would consider himselfa jolly good (ai plomat} but he could not say that what he has seen and heard would urge him to disprove that story; he just does not know any damned thing oo. ite i. (Continued) Gr- 16295) SE ECRE: ; ‘ ' Docld: 32323163 Page 4
{ i i j Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (44 us¢--2107 Hote}. DATE: 11-14-2017 t —_ . . _ —_ a val . 7 “a © . ~ Washington, D. G. January 3, 1961. Tuesday . (e)) | 1-3-61 PR| SUMMARY - CONT'D [(wF-987-S:) £3) 11:55 am EDWARD MORGAN and [LEpei] ” continued Contid today; but it makessense, he observes. MORGAN comments that he got the impreggion from BOB last - night, lwhen he saw him at the [FmbassyfP*that he took a'very lugubrious view of the situation; but (MORGAN) gathers from | the papers today that Paris and London still do not think. - in termgof the word "grave", :No, for one reason, LEBEL repliesP- that when one is dealing with Laos, oreis dealing with Laotians, and what would go for other peoples cannot apply to an absolutely charming people where the notion of hate hardly exists; so that when you read that Comaunist _ forces have taken someplace, the news is not: good, but it: is not as bad when it applies to Laos as if it applied to someplace else. : The question which puzzles MORGAN is what to’ do from here (this point), referring specifically to this busin of | alerting the fleet and all that. [LEBEL's personalPebinion is that alerting the fleet is an excellent thing Because two things may happen: either negotiation, and it is always better to negotiate with a fleet behind you; or the opposite, and then you need (the fleet) Tn any case, that is not bad in itself, [LEBEL replies he problem is how one would start some form of negotiation, and to what end, . = : » 2? ~ MORGAN gathers, ifrom having talked with tani ind. fon oo some of these dispatches, that the revival of the (Inter- national Control) Commission is -the first step toward getting EBEL replies} adding that he dogs, not feel that he can © commit himself Gr his Government ecause he is not quite clear as to the best possible procedural angles . +; , (Ease kind PoG@ adding the government. :This is quite possible, L S s > MORGAN, summing abt notes that the [French objacgtive is a neutralist Government without the [PathetLao;Pput, he asks, is. this realistic? A few days ago this was (the French] position, {LEBEL replies but now he has an interrogation mark in his mind considering what has happened since, "2, (English) HLD/hid ; | / | SECRETE. ae (FR-16300 ]& ~ Tr A a ae, ree omens3 woe ne EE ATS TET MORGAN thinks he can clarify this a little bit more here)’ Docld: 32323163 Page 5