Hurry up call to go to State Dept. Saw Secretary Hull, in conference with Navy files – Ridgeway. Wanted a bribe to give Chile in way of defense materials, so as to get a favorable note on breaking off relations with Axis.
Scraped up a bunch of C.0.C. and small items of Lend-lease Aid.
Arnold promised 50 A-6’s and 17’s for distribution in South American countries.
The struggle to secure the adoption by all concerned of a common concept of strategical objectives is wearing me down. Everybody is too much engaged with small things of his own, or with some vague idea of larger political activity, to realize what we are doing – rather, not doing.
We’ve got to go to Europe and fight, and we’ve got to quit wasting resources all over the world – and still worse, wasting time. If we’re to keep Russia in, save the Middle East, India, and Burma, we’ve got to begin slugging with air at West Europe, to be followed by a land attack as soon as possible. (May 7 – The above plan, which finally won official — in April, is called BOLERO.)