396.1 LO/5–1450: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Acting Secretary of State
Secto 258. Quoted below for your information is French proposed resolution for adoption by Council in nature of general instructions to new central organization under NAT.1 We have not [Page 99] commented on it and do not intend do so unless they press strongly for its adoption in which case it would need detailed study. Defense representatives have seen.
Begin verbatim text: “The Council agrees in particular to bear in mind the following general considerations while carrying out its tasks as defined in Council resolution No. blank:
- 1.
- The essential objective of the signatory powers of the NAT is to ensure that their
countries shall be in a position victoriously to resist any
aggression.
This objective can only be attained:- —By the use and standardization of the most up-to-date material and equipment, products of up-to-date technical progress.
- —By the acknowledgement on the part of each country of the necessity for the maintenance of disposable forces for the initial fighting and the character and composition of which forces should be adapted to these types of material and equipment with a view to obtaining maximum efficiency in common defence.
- —By the parallel creation of the necessary operational internal structure for the use of these military resources within the framework of common defence.
- 2.
- The essential and most difficult problem being that of arms manufacture, it is therefore desirable that the nature and quantity of material and equipment necessary to attain this objective should be decided upon as soon as possible.
- 3.
- The production of this material and equipment should be shared out as far as military, economic, and financial considerations permit among the industries of participating nations so that the best results may be obtained in the shortest possible time and at the lowest cost. In this respect, production programmes thus established should constantly be brought up-to-date in order to ensure that the individual resources of countries as regards priorities and speed of production may satisfy to the full the common need.
At the same time the Council agrees that the following questions should be examined as soon as possible:
- (a)
- How can balanced collective forces for all the signatory powers of the NA Council best be set up?
- (b)
- How should the necessary operational internal structure be at the same time created for the employment of these resources should war break out?
- (c)
- How should the financial charges arising from the carrying out of these tasks, taking into consideration the necessity for maintaining their economic, financial, and social stability, be shared out as fairly as possible between the various participating nations?” End verbatim text.
Sent Department Secto 258, repeated Paris 849.