Foreign Relations of the United States, 1949, National Security Affairs, Foreign Economic Policy, Volume I

Department of State Atomic Energy Files

Minutes of the Meeting of the Combined Policy Committee at the Department of State, September 30, 1949, 2:30 p. m.

September 30, 1949, 2:30 p.m.

top secret

Present:	Members:
	The Under Secretary of State, Mr. Webb (in the Chair) as alternate for the Secretary of State
	William Webster, as alternate for the Secretary of Defense
	Sumner Pike, Acting Chairman AEC, as alternate for Mr. Lilienthal
	The British Ambassador, Sir Oliver Franks
	Sir Derick Hoyer Millar
	Mr. Hume Wrong, as alternate for Mr. C. D. Howe
	By Invitation: United States Mr. Kennan Mr. Fisher Mr. Wilson Gen. Burns Maj. Gen. Nichols Mr. LeBaron1 United Kingdom Sir John Cockcroft Sir Roger Makins Gen. Sir Wm. Morgan Mr. Peirson Mr. Longair
	Secretariat: R. Gordon Arneson F. W. Marten George Ignatieff

I. Minutes

Inasmuch as the Minutes of the last meeting² had not yet been circulated to all members and comments thereon obtained, it was agreed that their approval should be held over for a subsequent meeting.

II. Future Arrangements Between the U.S., U.K., and Canada in the Field of Atomic Energy

Mr. Webb commented that since the last meeting on September 20 the respective delegations had put in a very heavy stint of work. There had been numerous meetings of the various subgroups, and it now appeared that a point had been reached when it would be profitable to assess the status of the talks, Mr. Webb called on Mr. Kennan to indicate where matters stood.

Mr. Kennan reported that the Subgroup on Strategic and Military Considerations had seen fit, with the approval of all concerned, to constitute itself as a Steering Committee for the talks, and in his capacity as Chairman of the Steering Committee, he was reporting on the work of all the subgroups. He directed the attention of the Committee to the report prepared by the Steering Committee which consisted of three parts—(1) Tab A, a summary statement of the course of the talks; and annexed thereto, (2) an agreed report on raw material supply from the Subgroup on Raw Materials, and (3) a memorandum from the Subgroup on Information.³

Mr. Webb inquired whether anyone wished to comment on the report then before the Committee for notation. He drew attention to the report’s last paragraph which read: “The members of the Subgroup on Strategic and Military Considerations invite the Combined Policy Committee to take note of this report and recommend it to the attention of the respective governments with a view to the holding of further meetings at a later date to consider what future arrangements should be made.”

Mr. Wrong welcomed the proposal to suspend the discussions for an interval in order to permit further considerations by the three governments. It seemed to him that the officials of the governments had talked very fully and freely, and therefore it should be possible within a few weeks to reach agreement on a joint course of action. He thought there was one point to which consideration should be given during the recess. On the assumption that a meeting of minds would be achieved on reconvening, the three governments should be prepared to settle the manner and extent of the publicity to be accorded any agreement that might be reached. He thought this was an important matter, pointing out that the three countries were now engaged with nine other countries in organizing the defenses of the North Atlantic area, and that it behooved them, therefore, to be very careful to see that any arrangement on the production of atomic weapons among the three countries be publicly presented in as acceptable a form as possible from the point of view of the other parties to the North Atlantic Treaty. Accordingly, the publicity to be accorded to the desired agreement should be one of the matters to be discussed with the respective governments during the recess. Mr. Wrong said that he was sure we wanted to represent such an agreement as a very important contribution to the common security of the North Atlantic powers and of the free world in general. How best to do this was not easy to decide, and what was decided might very well affect not only the form but also the substance of the arrangements. Mr. Webb suggested that during the interim it might be useful to have some exploratory work done on this problem.

Sir Oliver expressed his general agreement with the point that had been made by Mr. Wrong. He went on to say that the United Kingdom welcomed the pause that was being taken in the talks, that there was much thinking to be done about the points that had been raised in the course of the conversations, and that the United Kingdom for its part intended to do its best to think through the problem. In commenting on the report which was before the Committee for action, he said that the statement contained therein on the two British piles and the LSD⁴ plant was quite accurate. He did point out, however, that the statement on this matter did not represent a governmental commitment but was rather a statement of fact based on the exploratory conversations. Having made this point, he did not wish to suggest any change in the text.

The Committee agreed that the report before it from the Strategic and Military Considerations Subgroup should be noted and recommended to the respective governments for their consideration. As to the time of reconvening, it was suggested that the Secretariat could keep in touch on this matter.

III. Publicity

Sir Oliver Franks pointed out that it might be desirable for the participants in the meeting to be prepared to say something to the press if they were queried. He said that it was very important that all participants take a common line with the press. Perhaps the most useful theme that could be stressed would be the continuing nature of the talks under the aegis of the Combined Policy Committee, which was a permanent continuing body. The Chairman and Mr. Wrong agreed that this was the desirable approach. Sir Oliver put forward a draft statement prepared by the British representatives. After some discussion it was agreed that with a few verbal changes, this draft should serve as the basis for any comment the participants might make to the press. (Tab B.⁵)

IV Concluding Remarks

Mr. Webb thanked all participants for the energetic and thorough manner in which they had carried on the work of the talks. He said he had had an opportunity to talk with the President about the course of events, and the President had expressed admiration for the expeditious and workmanlike manner in which the facts had been rounded up. Mr. Wrong and Sir Oliver Franks expressed appreciation for the masterly way in which Mr. Kennan had conducted the work of the subgroups. Mr. Pike said that he wished to compliment particularly the subgroups on Raw Materials and Information. The Commission felt that their reports and their work had been exceedingly well done and represented a very able job. Mr. Webb announced that in order to get on with other responsibilities in the Department, it would be necessary for Mr. Kennan to drop out of the talks when they were resumed.⁶ He would be replaced by Mr. Fisher, the Department’s Legal Adviser, who brought to the assignment a wealth of information on the subject at hand as a result of his having been General Counsel to the Atomic Energy Commission.

• R. Gordon Arneson
• F. W.Marten
• George Ignatieff

These Minutes were approved by the Committee on August 27, 1951.

[Annex I—Tab A]

Report of the Sub-Group on Strategic and Military Considerations

September 30, 1949.

(as amended)

The Sub-Group on Strategic and Military Considerations has seen fit to constitute itself a Steering Committee for the exploratory talks.

As part of the record there are attached two annexes (A) an agreed report on raw materials supply from the Sub-Group on Raw Materials, and as annex (B) a memorandum from the Sub-Group on Information.⁷

In the light of these annexes and of its own deliberations the Sub-Group submits the following summary statement to the Combined Policy Committee.

1. Full agreement has been reached on the estimated quantities of raw material which should become available to the three governments in each year from 1949 to 1955.

2. The U.S. members gave particulars of the expanded production program which the U.S. Government intends to undertake.

3. The U.K. members gave information as to the U.K. production program which had been decided upon by the UK. Government. The U.K. members stated their belief that the U.K. had the necessary resources and information to execute this program including the fabrication and testing of atomic weapons.

4. The Canadian members similarly gave information about the Canadian program.

5. It was agreed that the prospective supply of raw materials was sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the expanded U.S. program and a U.K. program of two production piles and L.S.D. plant, as well as of the Canadian program, the demands of which remain substantially unaltered.

6. In the light of these facts the Committee considered, on a purely exploratory basis, the problem of cooperation between the three countries from the political, strategic and technical point of view, as well as from the standpoint of combined planning and utilization of their resources of personnel, facilities, material and information to the fullest possible extent. In these discussions it was possible to identify in a general way the probable requirements and desiderata of the respective governments and those aspects of the problem which will require further governmental consideration.

The members of the Sub-Group on Strategic and Military Considerations invite the Combined Policy Committee to take note of this report and recommend it to the attention of the respective governments, with a view to the holding of further meetings at a later date to consider what future arrangements should be made.

1. Robert LeBaron, recently appointed successor to William Webster as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense on atomic energy policy and Chairman of the Military Liaison Committee to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
2. Of September 20, p. 529.
3. The annexes to Tab A are not printed.
4. Low Separation Diffusion.
5. Not printed.
6. Kennan had been appointed Counselor of the Department of State on August 4.
7. The annexes are not printed.