“During Graham’s visit to Washington on February 11 prior to his departure (for the) subcontinent, (State) Dept officials indicated (the) desire to be (of) maximum assistance to him in his final effort (to) achieve (an) Indo-Pak agreement. (An)informal suggestion (was) made that if Graham believed (that a) Presidential appeal (to)Nehru and Nazimuddin would be helpful, (the) Dept would consider recommending such a move. (The) timing would be contingent upon some indication from Graham as to (its) possible effectiveness. Graham expressed considerable interest in (the) above suggestion, but stressed (that the) appeal should appear as spontaneous as possible.
In view of (the) limited period (of) Graham’s negotiations, such an appeal, if made, would have to be forwarded within ten days or so. The appeal could express sincere hope (of) success (for) Graham’s efforts, stressing (that the) settlement (of the) Kashmir dispute (was) vital (for) peace of (the) subcontinent and Asia as a whole.
The Dept believes (the) advantages (of) such (an) appeal can be gauged only in light of (the) negative situation facing Graham at (the) moment and his as well as Embassy’s estimate (of the) effectiveness (of) such a move. (The) following possible disadvantages occur to Dept: 1) Nehru and/or Nazimuddin might interpret (the) appeal as unwarranted interference and stiffen attitudes; 2) Effectiveness (of the) appeal (is) contingent upon (its) confidential nature, and (the) strong possibility (of) leak which might disrupt negotiations cannot be overlooked.
In view (of the) foregoing, (the) Dept requests (the) Embassy’s assessment (of the) wisdom (to the) dispatch of (the) Presidential appeal at this time. Embassy should, if feasible, confer with Graham and obtain his reaction (to the) possible consequences (of) such a move. Utmost discretion, of course, (is) imperative. (The) Dept believes (that a) joint Truman–Churchill appeal (is) not likely. In view (of the) Dept’s understanding, (the) UK (is) insistent that any appeal to (the) PMs should be for (the) purpose (of) getting them together under Graham’s aegis. Graham advised (the) Dept before leaving for (the) subcontinent (that) he believed getting (the) Prime Ministers together now might be premature and dangerous.
Reply soonest.

KR Desk