Arms Control and Disarmament
61. Message From President Johnson to Chairman Kosygin
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Head of State Correspondence File, Pen Pal Correspondence, Kosygin. Top Secret; Sensitive. The source text bears no salutation. Attached is a January 14 memorandum from Thompson to McGeorge Bundy in which Thompson indicated, inter alia, that he would give the message to Dobrynin during the latter’s call the same day.
62. Notes of Meetings
Source: Seaborg, Journal, Vol. 10, pp. 73 and 75. No classification marking.
64. Report by the Committee on Nuclear Proliferation
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Committee File, Committee on Nuclear Proliferation, Report (Final, 12/21/65), Box 8. Secret. The report and a 13-page “draft of an NSAM which would in the opinion of the Gilpatric Committee give execution to its recommendations,” was transmitted under cover of a memorandum from McGeorge Bundy to Secretaries Rusk and McNamara, Foster, Seaborg, General Wheeler, McCone, and Hornig, January 23, 1964 [1965], with the President’s admonition that “these papers not be shown to anyone outside the Committee of Principals without his direct approval in each case … . I cannot overstate the strength of the President’s conviction and concern for the security of these documents.” A copy of the draft NSAM, not printed, is ibid. The NSAM was never formally issued.
65. Aide-Mémoire From the Soviet Embassy to the Department of State
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Subject File, Nuclear Testing—USSR, Vol. I, Box 31. No classification marking. In a January 22 telephone call to Seaborg, Foster said that Dobrynin made this oral reply to Thompson at 3:15 p.m. the same day. (Seaborg, Journal, Vol. 10, p. 87) Dobrynin handed the aide-mémoire to Thompson, saying it was not related to the inquiry Secretary Rusk had made of him concerning the Soviet test on January 15. When Thompson responded that he hoped there was no relationship between the two inquiries, Dobrynin “said he thought that in fact there may have been some similarity between the two events in that both may have been accidents.” (Memorandum of conversation, January 22; ibid., p. 89)
66. Oral Reply From the Soviet Ambassador (Dobrynin) to Secretary of State Rusk
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Subject File, Nuclear Testing—USSR, Vol. I, Box 31. Confidential; Limdis. A copy is also reproduced in Seaborg, Journal, Vol. 10, p. 101.
67. Aide-Mémoire From the Department of State to the Soviet Embassy
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Subject File, Nuclear Testing—USSR, Vol. I, Box 31. Confidential; Limit Distribution. A copy of the aide-mémoire is reproduced in Seaborg, Journal, Vol. 10, pp. 98-100. The source text is undated, but is attached to a January 26 memorandum from G. William Moser to the Committee of Principals indicating that a copy of the aide-mémoire was given to Ambassador Dobrynin on the same day. Llewellyn Thompson, who handed it to Dobrynin, wrote of their meeting:
(Memorandum of conversation, January 26; Johnson Library, National Security File, Subject File, Nuclear Testing—USSR, Vol. I, Box 31)“I handed the Ambassador our reply to their aide-mémoire on the Kiwi reactor. After reading it, the Ambassador quoted from the language of the Treaty, stating that in addition to weapons tests, ‘any other nuclear explosion anywhere which would take place in any of the environments described’ was prohibited. He stated that this experiment had been described by the American press as a nuclear explosion. I said that although the matter was a technical one, my understanding was that the operation of any nuclear reactor could, in one sense of the word, be described as a nuclear explosion. My understanding was that in this case in order to develop reactor safety, a reactor was speeded up to the point where it burned itself up, but that this was not comparable to what we would consider a nuclear explosion by a very wide margin.
“Dobrynin said he would of course transmit our aide-mémoire and that it would be studied in Moscow, but he clearly indicated that he did not consider we had made a convincing case.”
68. Message From Chairman Kosygin to President Johnson
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Intelligence File, Arms Control Messages Exchanged Between President Johnson and Chairman, USSR—Vol. 1, Box 11. No classification marking. The source text contains no salutation. The February 1 date is the day Dobrynin delivered it to Thompson. (Memorandum from Thompson to Bundy, February 1; ibid., National Security File, Head of State Correspondence File, Pen Pal Correspondence, Kosygin, Box 8)
70. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to President Johnson
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Subject File, Nuclear Testing—USSR, Vol. I, Box 31. Secret.
71. Memorandum From Spurgeon M. Keeny Jr., of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy)
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Head of State Correspondence File, Pen Pal Correspondence, Kosygin, Box 8. Secret.
72. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Department of State, Central Files, DEF 18. Secret. Drafted by J. Harold Shullaw (EUR/BNA) and approved in S on March 31. The source text is labeled “Part 2 of 5.” The meeting was held in the Secretary’s conference room. Foreign Secretary Stewart visited Washington, March 21-24.
73. Aide-Mémoire From the Department of State to the Soviet Embassy
Source: Department of State,S/S-I Files: Lot 79 D 246, Miscellaneous Microfilm Files, U.S./U.S.S.R. Conversations. Confidential. A cover memorandum of conversation by Thompson (S/AL), March 30, states that he asked Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin to come to the Department of State to give him the aide-mémoire. Dobrynin said he would transmit it to his government, but he made no comment on it.
74. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Department of State, Central Files, DEF 18. Confidential;Exdis. Drafted by Foster.
75. Aide-Mémoire From the Soviet Embassy to the Department of State
Source: Seaborg, Journal, Vol. 10, pp. 437-438. No classification marking. A cover memorandum of conversation by Thompson (S/AL), April 29, reads as follows: “Dobrynin handed me the attached aide-mémoire concerning the recent Plowshare experiment. I made no comment.” (Ibid.) This aide-mémoire seemed to Seaborg “to be a political move, possibly in anticipation of discussion of mutual problems in conducting Plowshare programs.” (Ibid., p. 435)
76. Aide-Mémoire From the Department of State to the Soviet Embassy
Source: Department of State,S/AL Files: Lot 67 D 2. No classification marking. Drafted by Thompson. The draft memorandum was considered at the meeting of the Committee of Principals on May 13; for a brief summary of the meeting, see Seaborg, Journal, Vol. 10, p. 478. A May 14 memorandum from Foster to the members of the committee transmitting the final version stated that it would be delivered to Ambassador Dobrynin at an early date. (Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OSD Files: Lot 70 A 1266, 388.3 (2 Feb. 65) May-June 1965)
77. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OSD Files: Lot 70 A 1266, 388.3 (2 Feb. 1965), May-June 1965. Confidential; Limdis. Drafted and approved by Thompson, May 18.
78. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Department of State, Central Files, DEF 18 UN. Confidential; Limdis. Drafted by Foster, who was in New York to attend meetings of the U.N. Disarmament Commission which met from April 21 to June 16.
79. National Intelligence Estimate
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, National Intelligence Estimates, 11-65, U.S.S.R., Box 3. Top Secret; Restricted Data. Submitted by the Director of Central Intelligence and concurred in by the U.S. Intelligence Board.
80. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to the Deputy Secretary of Defense (Vance) and the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (Seaborg)
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Subject File, Nuclear Testing, National Program, Vol. I, Box 31. Secret.
82. Telegram From the Mission to the United Nations to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, DEF 18 UN. Confidential. Reported to Geneva. Beginning in May 1965, the dates and transmission times of all incoming Department of State telegrams were in six-figure date-time groups. The “Z” refers to Greenwich mean time.
83. Report by the Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (Foster)
Source: Department of State, S/S Files: Lot 70 D 217, ACDA/Foster. Confidential. The source text was sent under cover of a June 21 memorandum from Foster to President Johnson, stating that the report was his evaluation of the results of the session. “I hope you will agree,” he concluded, “that on balance, it went well for the United States.”
84. National Security Action Memorandum No. 335
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Subject File, Disarmament, Eighteen-Nation Disarmament Committee, Vol. I, Box 13. Confidential.
85. Telegram From the Department of State to the Mission of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Regional Organizations
Source: Department of State, Central Files, DEF 18. Secret. Drafted by Ronald I. Spiers (EUR/RPM) and Lawrence D. Weiler (ACDA), cleared by Thompson (G), Leddy (EUR), Jeanne W. Davis (S/S-S), Ball (U), Klein (White House), and initialed by C. Arthur Borg (S) for Rusk. Repeated to Bonn, London, Ottawa, and Rome. A July 12 memorandum from Fisher to Rusk states that Weiler’s name was added to the source text as a co-drafter without his knowledge. Weiler had worked with Spiers on an earlier draft which ACDA concurred in except for paragraph 6. It included an FYI section, supported by ACDA, which reads as follows: “US non-proliferation policy is currently under review, and it is possible that new approaches and changes in past position will result. Accordingly, we do not want to give impression that 1963 draft treaty or above points are immutable.” Fisher’s memorandum maintains that this section was excised from the draft telegram transmitted to Rusk without ACDA’s being informed. (Johnson Library, National Security File, Agency File, ACDA, Vol. II, Box 6)
86. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 1 US-USSR. Secret; Exdis. The source text is enclosure 1 to Airgram A-151 from Moscow, July 26. Drafted by Marshall Brement on July 26. Ambassador at Large Harriman visited the Soviet Union July 12-21, during his July 10-August 3 trip to Europe to seek European support for a peaceful settlement of the Vietnamese war.
87. Record of Meeting of the Committee of Principals
Source: Seaborg, Journal, Appendix, Vol. 26, pp. 299-303. No classification marking. The source text is undated, but Seaborg indicates elsewhere in his Journal that the meeting occurred on July 22; ibid, Vol. 11, p. 77. The source text notes the meeting took place in the Secretary of State’s Conference Room from 5 to 6:30 p.m. For additional background on the issues discussed at this meeting, see Document 90.
88. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the United Kingdom
Source: Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 294, Sec. Rusk/UK Officials 11/64-12/65. Secret; Nodis; Immediate. Drafted and approved by Rusk on July 22 and cleared by Alexander L. Rattray (S/S). The source text is stamped “Sec Def has seen. 26 Jul.”
89. Message From Foreign Secretary Stewart to Secretary of State Rusk
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Subject File, Disarmament, Eighteen-Nation Disarmament Committee, Vol. I, Box 13. Secret. The source text is attached to a covering note of transmittal from British Ambassador Dean to Secretary of State Rusk, July 23. The source text contains no salutation or signature.