740.00119 Control (Austria)/10–2649
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State
| Participants: | [President Truman] |
| Mr. Dean Acheson, Secretary of State | |
| Mr. Louis Johnson, Secretary of National Defense | |
| GA—Mr. Byroade | |
| GAA—Mr. Williamson |
Together with Mr. Johnson, Secretary of National Defense, I discussed today the question of the Austrian Treaty with the President.
[Page 1187]The President stated that he had read the Progress Report1 on the negotiations, prepared by the Department of State, and Mr. Johnson’s memorandum of October 21.2 Mr. Johnson briefly summarized an additional paper of the military views on the problem of the creation of an Austrian security force.3 The President stated that he had given the problem careful consideration and felt without question that the Treaty should be concluded in order to obtain the withdrawal of Soviet military forces from Austria and to gain the general political advantages which will be derived from this action. He considered that steps can and should be taken by the Department of State and the Department of National Defense prior to the withdrawal of the occupation forces to establish an adequate Austrian security force.
Mr. Johnson stated that although it was his personal opinion that the Treaty should be concluded now, he had wished to inform the President of the military views concerning the relationship between the conclusion of the Treaty and the problem of creating the security force. The President felt that no major difficulty would be encountered in this respect.
I informed the President that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had been apprised of the progress of negotiations on the Treaty and the nature of the problems which this Government would face in the event of its conclusion.