DAILY SUMMARY - 1946/05/09

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Daily Summary Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 02578585
• Document Creation Date: September 11, 2018

Approved for Release: 2018/09/05 CO2578585 APPROVED FOR RELEASE - Historical Programs Staff 30 August 2018 Approved for Release: 2018/09/05 CO2578585 Approved for Release: 2018/09/05 CO2578585 APPROVED FOR RELEASE - Historical Programs Staff 30 August 2018 9 MAY46 72 1. PALESTINE: US proposes immediate consultations�The State Depart- ment has forwarded to London a request for Prime Minister Attlee 's comments on President Truman's views regarding the next steps to be taken with respect to the Palestine report. President Truman believes that in view of the urgency surrounding the question of admitting 100,000 Jews to Palestine, consultations with Jews and Arabs (to which both the UK and US Governments are committed) should be initiated immediately. Following these consultations, the US would confer with the British Gov- ernment- and would subsequently issue a public statement on the report as a whole. 2. CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Minister of War to be replacecl�Steinhardt has been told in confidence by President Benes that the Minister for National Defense, General Svoboda, and several other highly-placed Army offi- cers soon will be removed because Benes doubts their loyalty to Czecho- slovakia and has found them unfriendly to the US and UK. Benes intends to replace Svoboda with a civilian. 3. CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Hungarian minority viewed as threat�President Benes has told Ambassador Steinhardt that he is increasingly concerned over Hungarian Government demands for minority rights for Hungarians residing in Czechoslovakia. He claimed that (a) the Hungarians oppose transfer of the remaining Hungarians in Czechoslovakia solely in order to maintain a Hungarian "bridgehead" in Czechoslovakia, and (b) such a bridgehead might become as dangerous as the pre-war German minority. Benes added that Molotov had told Czech representatives in Paris that he was prepared to acquiesce in the transfer, but would first have to ascer- tain US views as he could "do nothing without the Americans." 4. FRANCE: Reasons for defeat of Constitution�According to Caffery, the defeat of the draft Constitution is attributed to the unexpected defection of many SociPlists from their Party line, and the notably few abstentions. The Communists overplayed their hand, and the referendum was in effect a plebiscite for or against Communism, rather than a constitutional issue. Caffery warns, however, that the rejection should not be interpreted as an Important shift to the Right, since Communists and Socialists together still control 47 percent of the electorate. ,,�;,-,uinent No. NO CHANGE in Class. 0 0 DECLASSIFIED " a Class. CHANGED TD: TS S DDA Menlo, 4 Apr 77 - Auth; DDA R":(1; 770,.7c:3 � 1 4 foR 1978By MrDate: Approved for Release: 2018/09/05 CO2578585 Approved for Release: 2018/09/05 CO2578585 APPROVED FOR RELEASE - Historical Programs Staff 30 August 2018 5. HUNGARY: US to hold USSR resp�sible " .skligmtLAatio-- The State Department has instructed General Key, US delegate ACC, and Embassy Moscow to inform the Soviets that the US Government (a) considers that there can be no military justification for the Red Army in Hungary to require US Legation personnel to evacuate their residences (see Daily Summary of 8 May, item 5), and (b) will hold the Soviet Government entirely responsible for any "unpleasant" action taken by the Soviet High Command. 6. SPAIN: "Use" of urpxdum in Spain not established-.Embassy Madrid reports that it has no evidence that uranium ores are being "used" in Spain, although numerous deposits are believed to exist and one mine is in operation. FAR, EAST ' '1. KOREA: US communique-..The Political Advisor to Lieutenant General Hodge reports that the Soviet delegate, General Shtikov, was visibly disturbed when he was shown the text of the US communique of 8 May on the adjournment of the Joint Commission (see Daily Summary of 8 May, item 6). The Advisor believes that the communique will (a) cripple the Communist "fifth column" in South Korea, (b) damage Communist puppet authority in North Korea, and (c) handicap for a long time any Soviet attempt to dominate Korean affairs. 2 Approved for Release: 2018/09/05 CO2578585