During the last years of World War I, US policy regarding the transformations. Until the middle of 1917 the official attitude of the US government toward the political aims of the Slavs of the Habsburg Monarchy seemed to be generally sympathetic, thus vaguely implying support of their demands.¹ At the end of 1917, however, President Wilson made public for the first time his wish that the future of the Slavic nations in Central Europe be tied to the continued existence of Austria-Hungary.² This political twist, by which Wilson attempted to lure Emperor Karl out of German "vassalage", was reversed again during the spring and summer of 1918, as the US expressed its support for the political movements of the Slavs in Austria-Hungary, began to favour the claims to independence of the Czechs, Slovaks and Yugoslavs, and decided to dismember the Habsburg Monarchy after the end of the war.³ Although this new trend was clearly a result of the changing situation in the military and diplomatic spheres, the incentives for the new policy as well as its full context, rationale, and timing have remained unclear. ⁴ There are several reasons for this. First, the variety of ways of dismantling the Monarchy and the ambiguity of the term "independence" not only allowed the US to maintain a flexible diplomacy but also to obscure its real intentions. Moreover, the new policy was formulated slowly and was accompanied by a number of vague or even contradictory official statements which reflected divergent tactical considerations as well as the personal views of various politicians. To add to the confusion, President Wilson during this period remained faithful to his reputation as a statesman who occasionally conducted foreign policy without offering explanations to the public or even consulting with the Secretary of State.⁵