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Louisiana Judge, Friend of Kennedy, Holds Secret Talks with Arab Rulers

July 3, 1961
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The personal views of Arab leaders on Arab-American relations will be reported to President Kennedy this month by Judge Edmund R. Reggie, of Crowley, La. He is described here as a “personal friend” of Mr. Kennedy who has been quietly visiting Arab capitals in the wake of Mr. Kennedy’s recent letter to Arab Heads of State.

The State Department declined to comment on the Reggie trip, except to say he had delivered a lecture at Amman, Jordan, on “the protection of the individual’s rights in the American legal system, ” and that Judge Reggie had observed at first hand the plight of the Arab refugees.

Judge Reggie’s trip, according to authoritative sources, was informal and unofficial, although Mr. Kennedy had asked him to return to Washington with a personal report for the White House.

It appeared, from inquiries, that the Executive Department sought to avoid publicity of the meetings between Judge Reggie and various Arab rulers. The Reggie undertaking was described as consistent with a number of current moves, some secret, to improve Arab-American relations.

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