Department of State Disarmament Files
Minutes of the 104th Meeting of the Executive Committee on Regulation of Armaments at the Department of State, August 19, 1949, 9:30 a. m.
secret
RAC M–104
Present
Members:
- Department of State
- Harry M. Shooshan, Jr., Acting Chairman
- Allen Dines, Acting Secretary
- Department of the Army
- Lt. Col. J.A. Folda, Jr.
- Department of the Navy
- Capt. Robert H. Wilkinson
- Department of the Air Force
- Brig. Gen. P. M. Hamilton
- U.S. Representative at the Seat of the United Nations
- Frank C. Nash, Deputy Representative on CCA
Consultants:
- Department of State
- Harding F. Bancroft
- Bernard G. Bechhoefer
- Department of the Air Force
- Major J. M. Wilson
1. Consideration of Minutes of Previous Meetings (RAC M–103)1
The Committee Approved RAC M–103.
2. United States Position on Conventional Armaments for the Fourth General Assembly (RAC D–36, RAC D–36/1)2
Mr. Shooshan explained that General Hamilton and he had agreed to set down the substance of the respective positions discussed at an earlier informal meeting held in General Hamilton’s office, in order to provide a basis for formal consideration of the subject by the [Page 123] Committee. This was the explanation of the two papers (RAC D–36 and RAC D–36/1) now before the Committee.
General Hamilton said that the three services were in agreement on the Conclusions contained in RAC D–36/1.
Mr. Shooshan pointed out that as he read the two papers, the main difference seemed to center on the third recommendation of the State Department draft3 which stated that the U.S. position should be to favor CCA’s continuation with its Plan of Work by the consideration of Item III on “safeguards”.
Mr. Nash asked if the military view was that the U.S. should take an affirmative position that the work of CCA should be suspended.
General Hamilton replied that further discussions of the question of regulation and reduction of conventional armaments and armed forces in the CCA were futile due to the motivation and methods of the USSR which had not changed in the past year and gave no indication that they would be changed in the immediate future. He stated that at present there was not the slightest indication that the USSR would make any effort to negotiate constructively in the UN in the field of conventional armaments. He pointed out that in fact the USSR was using the Commission for Conventional Armaments to further its own propaganda interests. While continuing to emphasize its good faith in support of the long-range objectives of Article 26 of the UN Charter, General Hamilton stated that it was the position of the service members that the U.S. should seek to achieve formal recognition of the fact that an impasse does in fact exist in CCA. Accordingly, it was the opinion of the service members that the U.S. should encourage any suggestion for the suspension of CCA activities until such time as the USSR indicates its willingness to resume constructive negotiations.
Mr. Nash stated that affirmative action by the U.S. to suspend the activities of the CCA was in his opinion contrary to the best interests of the U.S. and was simply unsaleable. He stated that such action would be seized upon by the Russians and held up by them to the world as proof that the U.S. was slamming the door on disarmament discussions and was not interested in efforts to promote peace and was bent on another World War. Mr. Nash also expressed concern over the effect of such action on our friends from the abandonment of any further activities on the part of CCA. He pointed to the excellent relations existing especially with the British, French and Canadians in the work of the CCA during the past year. He also stated that the support by an important element in Congress of such measures as the North Atlantic Pact and the Military Assistance Program was conditioned on the reassurance that our paramount aims are pacific and not bellicose and that this Government was in fact exerting maximum efforts to develop an effective plan for the regulation and reduction [Page 124] of armaments. While many in Congress and most of the peoples of the world were probably unaware of the existence of the CCA much less with its work to date, he stated that all would be extremely sensitive to any charge that the U.S. was withdrawing from disarmament discussions—a charge which would inevitably follow any efforts on the part of the U.S. in advocating the suspension of the CCA. He stated that in his opinion it would be useful to continue the work of the CCA by dealing with Item III (safeguards) of the established Plan of Work, concentrating on the vital principle that nothing can be accomplished in the field of disarmament in the absence of effective international control. In his opinion such a position would forestall GA action contrary to the basic U.S. position.
General Hamilton said that real progress had not been made on the subject in the CCA due to one nation alone—the USSR—and that if there was to be any change in Russian motives and methods it would result from showing up their position clearly to the rest of the world which would best be accomplished by suspending discussions of the CCA and thus focusing the attention of the world on Russian intransigeance. General Hamilton was confident that if the situation were clearly explained the American public would accept the position taken by the service members.
After further discussion in the course of which there appeared to be much in common on many points of the contents of a position paper on the subject,
The Committee Agreed to postpone discussions pending further study of the problem.