King Constantine of Greece in his conversations with the President described developments in Greece and pointed to two times at which the confrontation with the coup leaders might occur: 1 at the time the committee report on the constitutional revision was reviewed by the coup leaders, and 2 at the time of a plebiscite on the constitutional revision.
The first might be in December, the second later in The King elaborated on the fact that if a confrontation were to occur, it would be on issues of real substance, not on such questions as, for example, military appointments.
He did not think that they had the talents to govern. He was evidently by no means confident that they would stick to the constitutional commitment and schedule. The King spoke at some length about the question of confrontation and his relationships with the coup leaders. He gave the impression of being serious-minded and devoted to the concept of returning Greece to constitutional procedures and democratic processes. He stated that he was willing to get his family out of Greece if tensions between him and the coup leaders grew, and to go so far as to risk his life if a confrontation were unavoidable.
He inquired as to what we were prepared to do in the case of a confrontation and spoke of the possibility of 1 the landing of marines as a show of force, 2 the positioning of Sixth Fleet units in Greek waters, and 3 a sympathetic U.
The President explained the problems growing out of such a request and noted that a military intervention would not be feasible. The question of a public statement would be studied in the light of circumstances at the time, but he could not commit himself in advance on this question.
