840.20/7–2048
Memorandum of the Fourth Meeting of the Working Group Participating in the Washington Exploratory Talks on Security, July 20, 1948
Mr. Reber reported to the working group that existence of the military talks in London have been reported in the press and therefore the Department would now take the position, if public inquiry were made, that U.S. observers were in London and that any information concerning them should be secured in that city.
Referring to the draft memorandum1 on Item 1 of the agenda, Mr. Bohlen said that some points were presented in a somewhat different light than that in which the U.S. Government viewed them. For example, the strength of Russia was perhaps overstated; the U.S. Government considers that our position vis-á-vis the Soviet Union is better now than at any time since the end of the war. Furthermore, he questioned the statement in the memorandum that Russia’s ultimate aim is domination of the entire world, since he felt that Stalin, unlike Lenin or Trotsky, would seek to achieve only the maximum, feasible extension of the power of the Kremlin. Russia perhaps might endeavor to be the strongest power in the world, in order to make herself and the satellites invincible to attack by other states or groups of states. Another point in the memorandum stems from this earlier statement, to the effect that the Kremlin ultimately wishes to dominate the United States. Here again the United States has a somewhat different concept of the problem; the present world situation is not viewed primarily as a struggle between the United States and Russia. The United States is interested not only in the military revival of Europe but also in its cultural, spiritual, and economic restoration, so that, in general there can be created the type of world in which the people of the United States would like to live.
The working group then turned its attention to redrafting a memorandum on Item 1.