Office of the Historian

501.BC Atomic/6–2746

Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Eastern European Affairs (Thompson) to the Deputy Director of the Office of European Affairs (Hickerson)

[Washington,] June 27, 1946.

Ambassador Smith’s view as reported in his telegram 2013, June 27 [26],5 that basic issue in the atomic control question is that of inspection is certainly correct. If his proposal that we state we are prepared to discuss regulation and control of all weapons of war would in fact recapture moral ascendancy for us and re-emphasize the basic issue of inspection, then it might be worth trying. I feel obliged to point out, however, that such a move might have the opposite effect and obscure the issue.

So far as the Soviet Union is concerned, I fear that they would interpret such a move as indicating that our basic motive in our atomic control proposal is to break down the present “closed shop” system upon which the Soviet Union operates. Also, by getting involved in a discussion of this wider field of control, they may be able to detract attention from the essential matter of atomic control. The Russians are probably not concerned about our basic military establishment as they will always tend to maintain a larger standing army than our own.

Llewellyn E. Thompson
  1. Telegram 2013 is printed in vol. vi, p. 766. Ambassador Smith feared that Gromyko’s remarks at the 2nd Meeting of the Atomic Energy Commission, June 19, had had the effect of seizing the initiative for the Soviet Union. The Soviet Representative had proposed an international convention prohibiting the production, possession, and use of atomic weapons. The Soviet proposal made no provision for international control of atomic energy, inspection, or penalties in the event of violation. For the text of Gromyko’s statement, see AEC (I) Plenary, pp. 23–30, or Department of State, Documents on Disarmament 1945–1959, vol. i, pp. 17–24. The Ambassador suggested that the United States recapture leadership by re-emphasizing the issue of inspection and stating the willingness of the United States to discuss the regulation and control of all weapons.↩