The Beginnings of Greek-Turkish Aid, 1947–51

Abstract

It was necessary, of course, to determine how the new aid package would be administered. At the request of the president, the State Department took the lead among the executive agencies in co-ordinating the implementation of the policy underlying the Greek-Turkish aid programmes, in drafting the necessary legislation and in preparing its presentation to Congress. The duties of the Washington ‘back-stop organization’, according to a State Department analysis, ‘seem to be primarily those of planning, organizing, and reporting’. For this purpose the department created the Interim Greek-Turkish Assistance Committee on 7 April 1947. Letters were sent to the departments of Treasury, War, Navy, Commerce, Agriculture and Labor, as well as to the Bureau of the Budget, inviting their participation. At the same time, a State Department committee with the same name was created to co-ordinate the activities of the ten departmental units involved with the new initiative.