ABSTRACT
The imbroglio over the Coert DuBois-Critchley Proposal showed Washington officials and US representatives in Indonesia to be badly divided over two basic issues: the amount of trust that could be placed in the Dutch, the Indonesian governments, and the degree to which the global interests of the United States could accommodate Indonesian aspirations. Merle Cochran’s and Marshall Green insistence on advancing the new US proposals reflected not only increasing doubts of Dutch good faith but also a belief that they should help the Mohammad Hatta government withstand a communist threat. At Cochran’s urging, Hatta made a further concession to the Dutch while the department reiterated its warning to various Dutch officials. Cochran’s efforts to alert the other members and staff of the Committee of Good Offices in Kaliurang to the impending military action were frustrated when the Dutch-controlled telegraph office refused to transmit his message. Hatta gave Cochran permission to publicize the letter if he thought it would be useful.
