No. 148
Editorial Note

In preparation for the Pleven visit the Department of State drafted six sets of negotiating papers, designated “Pleven D,” covering not only those topics on the formal agenda but also those which might emerge in the course of discussion. Each document in a series was drafted in the responsible office and cleared within the Department. In addition, the Department drafted for the President’s personal guidance, a detailed paper for each of the three formal meetings entitled “Suggested Procedure,” which was given no designation, dealing with the ways in which the conversations should be guided from the American side and what response(s) should be given to each possible French query, comment, or response.

The first set of negotiating papers, entitled “D–1,” dealt with the following topics: the fate of Indochina and Southeast Asia, United States intentions in Korea, and China. The second set, entitled “D–2,” included papers on integrated forces and the proposed European Army and the Schuman Plan. The third set, entitled “D–3,” included papers on the establishment of military operating rights and facilities in France and French North Africa, present means of [Page 304] the Western Powers to deter aggression in Europe, the size and increase of United States forces in Europe, and strengthening of the political, military, and economic leadership of NATO. The fourth set, entitled “D–4,” included papers dealing with probable Soviet intentions toward Germany and the consequent reaction of the Western Powers, Western objectives in the proposed Four-Power conference, and questions to be examined quadrilaterally outside the German question. The fifth set, entitled “D–5,” dealt with United States aid to France and problems of the Three-Power Commodity Group dealing in raw materials. The sixth set, entitled “D–6,” dealt with atomic energy; the political situation in France; negotiation of a treaty of friendship, commerce, and navigation between France and the United States; Western policy toward Yugoslavia; release of counterpart funds in France; and French attitudes toward tariff reductions.

A nearly complete set of these papers can be reconstructed from two sources: the ISA/MDAP files, lot 52–26, Pleven visit, contain set 1 and sets 3–6 of the negotiating papers, while copies of the “Suggested Procedures” papers and set 2 of the negotiating papers are in CFM files, lot M–88, Pleven visit.