840.20/2–1749
Memorandum by the Director of the Office of European Affairs (Hickerson) to the Secretary of State
In response to your question as to whether enough attention is being given to the points in the last two paragraphs of the memorandum of your conversation with Bonnet,1 the Joint Chiefs have long given much thought to the general problem and have for some time had a group of officers in the Joint Staff working on the question of organization under Article 8. I understand the Joint Chiefs are strongly opposed to (1) anything resembling a “Tri-partite Chiefs-of-Staff”; (2) having the multi-national Defense Committee contemplated under Article 8 (as distinct from the smaller Brussels Treaty machinery) [Page 121] primarily responsible for formulating coordinated plans for the defense of Western Europe, and; (3) having any French Generals come here to talk about it in the near future. In talking to Bonnet, Achilles was expressing the views as given him by General Gruenther2 the day before and repeated to me by Gruenther today.
As we understand it, the basic position of the Joint Chiefs is that they are prepared to integrate US security plans with respect to Western Europe with those of Western Union, and in the event of war to place US forces in Western Europe under Western Union command, but to reserve sole decision as to the extent of US forces to be committed to operations in Western Europe as distinct from operations in other theaters and to retain exclusive control over operations of the US Strategic Air Force. Apart from strategy concerning Western Europe and North Atlantic communications, they feel that we have worldwide responsibilities which we must have freedom to discharge in our own way, that the British have similar worldwide responsibilities and that accordingly close coordination with them is desirable, but that the French have basically only European and North African responsibilities and inadequate strength to play any role in other theaters and therefore are not entitled to participate in consideration of global strategy.
Mr. Hall of the Office of Budget and Planning, in conjunction with Mr. Rosenman of the Bureau of the Budget, is making preliminary studies of the non-military aspects of Article 8, but it is difficult to go very far until we have received some informal guidance from the Joint Chiefs as to what they want; as distinct from what they do not want. Achilles is in close touch with General Gruenther on this.
The Minister Counselor of the French Embassy had previously raised with me the possibility of General Juin coming to discuss these matters in connection with a visit to West Point and I have endeavored further to discourage this idea.