Office of the Historian

501.BC Armaments/12-1346

Memorandum by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee 60

secret
SWNCC 240/1
Washington, December 9, 1946.

Subject: Military Guidance on the Regulation of Armaments.

In connection with the discussions now taking place in the General Assembly of the United Nations on disarmament and the regulation of armaments, the Joint Chiefs of Staff would suggest that, from the military point of view, the positions taken by the United States Representatives should be based on the following:

a.
Proposals for disarmament or the regulation of armaments should not be agreed to unless they are applicable to and accepted by all member nations.
b.
There must be effective safeguards by way of international inspection and other means to protect all nations against the hazards of violation and evasion. The implementation of these safeguards must not be subject to veto or obstruction.
c.
All matters pertaining to international control of atomic energy, including inspection, should continue to be dealt with by the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission, which was established specifically for that purpose and in which the United States position has been adequately defined by Mr. Baruch.
d.
Until final action has been taken on the United States proposals submitted to the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission, it is premature and futile to go beyond the discussion stages concerning other aspects of the problem of disarmament or the regulation of armaments.
e.
No commitments concerning disarmament or regulation of armaments, other than those pertaining to atomic weapons referred to in subparagraphs c and d above, requiring action on the part of the [Page 1092] United States, should be made until a reappraisal can be made of the world situation existing upon:
(a)
Conclusion of the peace treaties and enforcement of those terms of the treaties having predominant military implications, and
(b)
Conclusion of agreements for providing contingents of armed forces to the Security Council pursuant to Article 43 of the Charter of the United Nations.

It is requested that this information be transmitted to the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, and the Secretary of the Navy.

For the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
A. J. McFarland

Colonel, U.S. Army, Secretary
  1. This memorandum was prepared in response to a request by the Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, November 26, that the Joint Chiefs of Staff prepare as a matter of priority, guidance from the military point of view on reduction and regulation of armaments in the light of the discussion of this subject in the United Nations General Assembly. It was circulated in the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee as SWNCC 240/1 on December 9 and transmitted to the United States Representatives on the Military Staff Committee on the same day. At the request of J. H. Hilldring, Chairman of SWNCC, the Department of State forwarded copies of this document to Secretary Byrnes and Senator Austin on December 13. (501.BC Armaments/12–1346; SWNCC Files; IO Files)↩