Foreign Relations of the United States, 1947, General; The United Nations, Volume I

500.A/4–147

Memorandum by Mr. Wilder Foote ¹ to the United States Representative at the United Nations (Austin)

[New York,] April 1, 1947.

Before you go to Washington I want to place before you in as succinct a way as possible my fear that Washington’s failure to develop a constructive policy on conventional armaments is leading us up a blind alley and that immediate corrective action on the highest level is necessary.

We start with these facts:

1. As I understand it, we oppose unilateral disarmament and fear being maneuvered into a position where congressional and public pressures will force what would, in effect, be unilateral disarmament. We also believe collective disarmament should be attempted only as part of a general system of collective security which will safeguard complying states against the hazards of violations.

2. Disarmament has a tremendous appeal to all peoples. Every government is under pressure from its own people to cut down on arms and therefore finds it very difficult to resist disarmament proposals of any kind, no matter how ill-conceived they may be.

The Russians may be expected to propose an immediate disarmament program that will be dramatic, sweeping and enthusiasm-provoking.

It is at this point that our present policy collapses. Once such a proposal has been made, we will not be able to win an argument either with our own people or with other countries based simply on the fear of being tricked into unilateral disarmament.

If we continue our present defensive, negative strategy, the very result that the War and Navy Departments most fear will have come about—and the blame for that will lie squarely on the bankruptcy of our own strategy.

You cannot arouse loyalty and mobilize support for a policy that is simply against something, especially when it is something as popular as disarmament.

You cannot replace something with nothing.

In order to achieve the results stated in (1) above, it is necessary to formulate and publicize a constructive, positive, specific proposal on conventional armaments that will enlist the same kind of enthusiastic support both in this country and abroad that our atomic energy proposals achieved.

A little application of creative imagination on our part now (it should have been done months ago) would enable us to propose in broad outlines a control plan for conventional armaments that could and would enlist such support.

We would then be in a position to defeat any attempt to disarm us unilaterally by having something better to offer to our own people and to the world.

We would also make it politically possible in their home countries for other governments to rally to our support and we would strengthen the faith of the rest of the world in our capacity for leadership at a time when that faith needs strengthening.

1. Adviser to the Permanent United States Delegation to the United Nations.