Exchange of Messages With the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
[ Released October 17, 1964. Dated October 1, 1964 ]
Dear Mr. Secretary General:
As you leave the United States, I want to tell you again how pleased we were to have you here as our guest and for the opportunity for extended discussions.
I found our talks on the state of the North Atlantic Alliance and its future needs and hopes useful and rewarding. I was particularly pleased that you were able to join me in visiting the Strategic Air Command in Omaha for I think it gave both of us another opportunity to see how closely the strategic strength of the United States and the effectiveness of the Alliance are tied together.
As I have emphasized several times, the United States is dedicated to NATO. The American commitment to the Alliance is firm and real. We in the United States remain ready, as I know you do, to work with all our allies to insure that ours is a growing partnership of freedom based on shared responsibility for the most effective defense of our people and our freedom.
More personally, I would like you to know that your visit here gave us a new sense of confidence in your leadership and your dedication to a most challenging task. You have my assurance that this Government will give you the closest possible cooperation as you carry on at the helm of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Good luck, and very best wishes.
Sincerely,
LYNDON B. JOHNSON
Note: Secretary General Manlio Brosio's message, dated October 6 and released with the President's message, follows:
Dear Mr. President:
Upon my return to Paris, I would like you to know of my profound gratitude for the very warm welcome you gave me and for the highly useful and satisfactory discussions which took place during my visit to the United States. As a result, I am even more deeply convinced than before that there is no substitute for personal meetings in order to find a complete understanding.
I am particularly grateful that you, at a time of heavy personal engagement in domestic affairs, were able to give me so much of your precious time. It was a great honor for me to be your guest at the White House in the midst of such distinguished company, and in your remarks that day I found the most unequivocal assurances of American dedication not only to the ideal but also to the concepts of our alliance. I need not emphasize the satisfaction with which I listened to your statements.
The visit to the Strategic Air Command headquarters demonstrated in a most concrete manner the substance of the American commitment to the defense of our freedom. It is an impressive experience to see directly the proof of American concern over the security not only of your country and people, but of the other NATO members as well. At this point I would like to pay tribute to the evident superior qualities of the men at Omaha who are entrusted with these grave responsibilities.
In closing, Mr. President, I want to thank you both for your boundless hospitality and for the assurances of support in my tasks, a support which I consider absolutely essential to the success of my mission.
With warm regards,
Sincerely,
MANLIO BROSIO
Lyndon B. Johnson, Exchange of Messages With the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/242160