—ao

-3-

imperative necessity of avoiding a recurrence of the surprise
attack on Peiurl Harbor.

Others insisted that the area

should be submitted to the trusteeship system which was

to become part of the United Nations Charter.

Ultimately,

President Truman worked out a compromise which rejected
annexation but resulted in the only trusteeship which permitted
the administering authority to use the area for military
purposes, a so-called strategic trust.
We have been unable to find any historical evidence of
consultation with the Micronesians about their future, prior
to establishment of the Trusteeship.

The Trusteeship

.

Agreement itself was drafted by the United States and ultimately
approved in essentially the same form as originally submitted
to the Security Council.

1 Whiteman, Digest of International

Law 788 (1963); see also, H.Rep.No. 889, 80th Cong., lst Sess.
3-4

(1947).
It would be hard to improve, nonetheless, on the

language in Article 6 of the Trusteeship Agreement, which
embodies the principal aims of the entire Trusteeship
and the humanitarian obligations undertaken by the United
States.

Couched in mandatory terms,

the United States

agreed to:

Foster the development of such political
“institutions as are suited to the trust
territory and shall promote.
er independent...

.

. self-government

Select target paragraph3