Ext 5821/43 'General Hurley's mission to Persia and China' [‎12r] (23/84)

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Fi
FAST AIR MIL.
a i u fi
Extemsl Affairs Department,
o*. Nev« Delhij
t> *i 8
The v^- j February, j 1944.
D.O. No. 554-F/44. ; / 723
944 I
Will you please f^fer^td 3am.
>fficial letter No> 29-F/ 4.3, jjated the
reJ_s-demi~
44th.
and his later demi-official letter No,
dated the 22nd January on the subject of
General Hurley’s visit to Afghanistan. In these
letters General Hurley appears somewhat in the
role of the god from the machine, and it is
hard to avoid the feeling that those with Y/hom
he came in contact in Kabul have been inspired
by the divine afflatus. It may be awkward if
tne Afghan Government really had the idea that
the General was able to give them assurances
regarding Russian intentions towards Afghanistan
on the lines suggested, and subsequently come
to believe that they have accepted these assurances
too light-heartedly. It seems to us that Hurley’s
handling of these problems was on the crude side,
though obviously it was well-intentioned and
designed to second Engert’s efforts to impress
the Afghans with Anglb-American solidarity.
2. When he was in India Hurley kept on
saying that he intended to discuss business
matters with the Viceroy and various Departments.
He did see His Excellency once, and promised to
see him again but failed to turn up, and he
practised the same technique with the External
affairs Department (and apparently also with
Squire), using the excuse that his plans were too