Foreign Relations of the United States, 1948, General; the United Nations, Volume I, Part 2

SANACC Files ¹

[Extract]

Memorandum Approved by the State–Army–Navy–Air Force Coordinating Committee

secret

[ Washington ,] 15 June 1948.

SANACC 206/29 (Revised)

Policy for the Control of the Disclosure of Classified Military Information to Foreign Governments ²

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ii. general principles

Classified military information shall not be disclosed to foreign governments unless all of the following conditions are met:

(a) Disclosure is consistent with the policy of the United States Government with regard to atomic energy and similar or related information for which special machinery for release has been or may hereafter be established. This condition is satisfied by subparagraph III (a) below.³

(b) Disclosure is consistent with the foreign policy of the United States toward the recipient nation. The filial decision in this respect rests with the Secretary of State. This condition is met by the alignments of nations set forth in paragraph IV below.⁴

(c) The military security of the United States permits disclosure. The final decision in this respect rests with the Secretaries of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. This condition is met by the category and classification of military information permitted to be released to each nation, as set forth in paragraph IV below.

(d) Disclosure is limited to the information necessary to accomplish the purpose for which disclosure is made.

(e) Disclosure will result in benefits to the United States equivalent to the value of the information disclosed. Typical benefits may be one of the following:

(1) The United States obtains information from the recipient nation on a quid pro quo basis.

(2) Exchange of military information or participation in a joint project will be advantageous to the U.S. from a technical or other military viewpoint.

(3) The U.S. military policy for the defense of the Western Hemisphere will be furthered.

(4) The development or maintenance of a high level of military strength and effectiveness on the part of the government receiving the information will be advantageous to the United States.

The final decision as to the value of military information and the relative military benefits to be derived from its disclosure rests with the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, or the Secretary of the Air Force, in matters of interest to his Department alone; or with the Secretaries of the Army, the Navy, and/or the Air Force acting jointly.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1. Lot 52M45, the files of the State–Army–Navy–Air Force Coordinating Committee (SANACC) and its predecessor, the State–War–Navy Coordinating Committee (SWNCC), located in the National Archives under the administration of the Department of State. SWNCC was reconstituted as SANACC pursuant to the National Security Act of 1947. Regarding the terms of reference of SANACC, see NSC 25, August 12, p. 605.
2. This subject was dealt with on a continuing basis by SANACC’s Subcommittee for Military Information Control (MIC); documentation generated by that subcommittee exists in the SANACC files.
3. Subparagraph a of Paragraph III (“Non-releasable Information”) stated that requests for information pertaining to atomic energy would be forwarded to the United States Atomic Energy Commission for appropriate action. For documentation on United States policy regarding the disclosure of information on atomic energy, see pp. 677 ff.
4. Paragraph IV, “Releasable Information.”