330.13/9–552
Memorandum by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for United Nations Affairs (Sandifer) to the Secretary of State1
- Subject:
- Meeting with Members of Panel of Consultants on Disarmament.
Problem:
To advise Messrs. Robert Oppenheimer and John Dickey of the views of the Department concerning a report of the Panel of Consultants on Disarmament.
Discussion:
- 1.
- Mr. Allen Dulles saw you
on September 22 to arrange an appointment with you for Saturday,
September 6, for Messrs. Oppenheimer and Dickey3 in order that they might
discuss the following with you:
(a) “What is the wise thing for the Panel to do?” (b) “Should the Panel make a report?” (c) “Should the Panel terminate its work until the advent of the new administration or should it continue?”
- 2.
- It is difficult to answer any of these questions because of our lack of information concerning the work of the Panel to date. We do know that the Panel concluded at an early stage that it would be necessary to examine the whole range of armaments in a broad context of political relationships rather than to deal with any of the specific problems confronting us in the United Nations. We have not attempted to discourage this expanded approach, and we have accepted the necessity of awaiting their findings before knowing to what practical use they could be put in our disarmament operations.
- 3.
- We are as yet uninformed as to the tenor of their thinking, the flavor of their conclusions, and the timing of their recommendations, if any. It is our feeling that we cannot advise them regarding their report until we have some idea of what that report might contain.
Recommendations:
In this setting, our reactions to the three specific questions put to you by Mr. Dulles are as follows:
1. “What is the wise thing for the Panel to do?”
The Panel should indicate to the Department in any manner it sees fit what the results have been of its deliberations in order that the Department can then advise as to the next step.
2. “Should the Panel make a report?”
We have been expecting a report of their work but until we know what their conclusions are we cannot advise as to the nature and use of the report. With regard to the problem of press leaks, our major concern is that there be no premature publicity on possible revisions in the UN atomic energy plan. If the report is Top Secret it should certainly be assured of adequate security. UNA’s primary concern, as the action office with respect to the disarmament program in the United Nations, is to have useful ideas from the Panel which will facilitate the discharge of our responsibilities. Whether the report is written or oral is essentially immaterial. It occurs to us that their hesitation on this score may be due to a reluctance to submit negative findings. We can only repeat that we seek enlightenment and assistance from them, whatever their findings may be.
3. “Should the Panel terminate its work until the advent of the new administration or should it continue?”
It is difficult to recommend on this without full knowledge of implications or repercussions which the Panel may have in mind. The timing of their report is a matter which they themselves would doubtless want to weigh carefully in the light of its potential usefulness to the government. It is conceivable that recommendations [Page 1010] involving any major new approach to the problem are not feasible until the end of the year. Their concern regarding timing should of course be considered in that light, and clearly they would share the Department’s conviction that disarmament must not become a political football. Needless to say, the Department would not want to be in the position of appearing to suppress any report the Panel may make. We have not in fact seen that there is any necessary connection between the elections, and either the work of the Panel or our efforts in the UN.
In this connection, we feel very strongly that the US Government has maintained a successful initiative in this field and has an unusually favorable position vis-à-vis the USSR as a result of our efforts to date. We recommend that no steps be taken or decision reached which would affect this initiative without the most careful examination of all aspects of the problem.