Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume VII, Arms Control and Disarmament

122. Telegram From the Department of State to the Mission to the United Nations⁰

Washington, January 18, 1962, 1:27 p.m.

1875. Eyes only Stevenson. There follows text of letter from Macmillan to the President.

January 16, 1962

“Dear Mr. President: Thank you for your message of January 14¹ about nuclear tests. I am very glad to feel that we are in such close agreement about the need for some new initiative to break the deadlock on disarmament and to try to stop the nuclear arms race. I shall be very interested to hear what you propose about this.

“I quite understand your wish to start soon the preparations necessary at Christmas Island to enable you rapidly to carry out the programme of nuclear tests there which we discussed, should you in the event decide that these tests must go forward. I also accept that once you begin preparations at Christmas Island it would not be right for the United Kingdom to claim a veto on the actual decision to start the series of tests, although of course we should, as I said in my letter of January 5,² expect full consultation with you on this point. But opinion here while it would accept our decision that tests are militarily right would not like an arrangement under which we gave you the right to decide unilaterally whether or not actually to conduct the nuclear tests from Christmas Island. It was for this reason that I suggested in my letter that it would be better to state straight away that you and I had jointly decided that further tests were indeed militarily justified, rather than saying only that we had agreed to make preparations for tests against a possible decision to hold them. That is still our position.

“As I explained in my letter, my colleagues, while recognising the military need for further tests, nevertheless wanted to find a way out of this sterile contest. They would prefer, therefore, to connect the announcement on tests with an announcement about a disarmament initiative.

“While I recognise the practical difficulties about this, I think we could overcome them. I have, therefore, prepared a formula for your consideration somewhat different to the one which I suggested on pages 8 and 9 of my letter, and I attach this as an annex to this letter. You will see that I have left a bracketed passage in section C of this annex, as this will turn on what kind of initiative you feel able to agree to. Perhaps Rusk and Ormsby Gore could discuss the wording of this. The more we can make it look like a constructive initiative, the better. If you felt able to agree to a presentation on the lines of this annex, I would propose to recommend it to my Cabinet colleagues at a meeting which I would arrange for the purpose on Thursday, January 18.³ If, as I hope, the Cabinet accept my advice, we could then discuss the timing of the announcement, in relation to whatever disarmament initiative we mutually agree, and meanwhile our experts could be discussing the draft agreement about the scientific, technical, financial and administrative arrangements at Christmas Island.

“I hope very much that this suggestion may meet both our difficulties.

“With warm regard,

“Yours sincerely, Harold Macmillan.”

ANNEX

Possible joint statement by the United States and the United Kingdom

• “A. It is the joint view of the United States and the United Kingdom Governments that the present state of nuclear development, in which the recent massive Soviet tests are a factor, justifies the West in making a further series of nuclear tests for purely military reasons. The United States and British Governments have therefore decided to make preparations to conduct a series of tests in various places including Christmas Island.
• “B. The two Governments recognise the possibility that further tests by the West may be followed by more Soviet tests. Nevertheless, they do not accept that this situation in itself justifies them in putting at risk the military security of the free world.
• “C. The two Governments are, however, deeply concerned for the future of mankind if a halt cannot be called to the nuclear arms race. The two Governments are, therefore, determined to make a new effort to move away from this sterile contest. [They propose accordingly to approach the Soviet Government at an early date with the object of finding ways and means whereby the nuclear aspects of disarmament, for which the three Powers have a special responsibility, could be discussed again at a high level, preparatory to the meeting of the 18-Power Conference on general and complete disarmament.] ”⁴

Rusk

0. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 600.0012/1-1862. Top Secret; Niact; Verbatim Text.
1. The President’s January 13 letter (Document 119) was delivered on January 14.
2. See footnote 1, Document 119.
3. A January 19 memorandum from the British Embassy to the Department of State states that on January 18 the British Cabinet had decided it was “willing in principle to agree to” U.S. use of Christmas Island subject to a number of conditions. (Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Subjects Series, Nuclear Weapons Tests, 1/16-22/62) See the Supplement.
4. Brackets in the source text.