111.73/12–1449

Memorandum by Mr. Donald C. Blaisdell, Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for United Nations Affairs (Hickerson), to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for United Nations Affairs (Sandifer)

secret

Inadequate Policy Information on U.S. in the UN

Recently it has struck me that very little policy information on matters within UNA’s province comes to the attention of the Department, except for the so-called political matters handled by UNP. The three principal vehicles for disseminating policy information within the Department are:

1)
The Daily Staff Summary (Top Secret)
2)
The Daily Secret Summary
3)
The Weekly Review (Secret).

With the exception just noted, very little material of a policy sort on our participation in the United Nations and the specialized agencies appears in these publications of the Policy Service Committee. The so-called political matters are well covered. Other matters, however,—economic and social, trusteeship and non-self-governing territories, as well as international administration, etc.—receive no coverage at all. On these matters, however, just as on the political matters, the United States has policies which it attempts to give effect to in the UN and the specialized agencies. Since policy information on these matters, however, is rarely if ever included in the three publications referred to, I conclude that full information on our policy in the UN is not being disseminated to the Department.

In this memorandum I wish to call this situation to your attention without suggesting any remedy. Without further thought, I do not know whether a remedy is available. To me the situation seems to call for some concerted consideration within UNA. If you agree, I would appreciate an opportunity to discuss it further with you, to raise it in [Page 29] a staff meeting, or to convene a meeting of the Office Directors and others for a discussion of the situation.1

Donald C. Blaisdell
  1. In a memorandum of December 15 to Mr. Blaisdell, Assistant Secretary Hickerson recorded his agreement with Mr. Blaisdell concerning the inadequacy of dissemination of information throughout the Department regarding U.S. policy at the United Nations. Mr. Hickerson recommended that Mr. Blaisdell develop a program and procedures for remedying the situation, which could be reviewed by the UNA staff at an early date. The Assistant Secretary noted the names of certain officers of the Bureau who should be consulted in implementing his suggestion. (111.73/12–1549)