Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, Western Europe, Volume III

740.5/11–1050: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the United States Deputy Representative on the North Atlantic Council (Spofford), at London¹

top secret
priority

Washington, November 10, 1950—6 p. m.

Todep 89. For Spofford. Although we are giving great deal thought and study to question Ger participation in Eur defense, particularly to steps we might take which wld be helpful to Fr, we have not yet reached any conclusions. Our general feeling is that it wld be mistake when Deps meet on Nov 13 for us (or for that matter for other Deps) to inject any specific and detailed proposals. We are still not sure of lines along which Fr are now thinking and we believe that until we know more clearly what they have in mind it wld be an error to get too specific. Furthermore, we believe that the new organizational arrangements which any compromise solution wld require shld be kept as simple and uncomplicated as possible. The premature tabling of proposed detailed solutions which have not been thought through might result in Fr grasping some complicated device which at best might be extremely difficult to work out and which Fr otherwise wld not have proposed. This wld complicate not only Deps discussions, but the solution to the problem itself.

Dutch Emb has queried us whether it wld be desirable for Dutch Dep to table Stikker’s 7-point proposal² on Nov 13. (Depcirtel Nov 8, 3 a. m.³) In reply, we have said we thought it unwise table specific formula on Nov 13, particularly since it had apparently not been thought through in any detail and we did not yet know enough about Fr position. We also pointed out that we really did not understand either where we finally ended up under Stikker’s 7-point proposal or what organizational details Dutch had in mind. Therefore believed that it wld be premature to put them before Deps on Nov 13.

We will of course keep you fully informed of lines along which we are thinking and hope very shortly to send you some definite thoughts for your comment.⁴

Acheson

1. Repeated to Paris as 2528, and to HICOG, Frankfort as 3502.
2. Proposal submitted to Acheson by the Netherlands Ambassador to the United States, J. H. van Roijen, during a conversation on November 4. Stikker’s proposal was not acted upon at the time but was later formalized in a Council Deputies document, D–D/191, “Establishment of a NATO High Commission for Germany,” November 22, 1950. See Depto 221, November 25, 1950, p. 482. The memorandum of conversation by Matthews dated November 4, with the proposal attached, neither printed, is in Department of State file 740.5/11–450.
3. Not printed.
4. Achilles reported in Depto 167, from London, November 11, not printed, that the British agreed with the U.S. views expressed in this telegram and felt that the Deputies should avoid getting into strictly military aspects of the problem.