Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, The American Republics, Volume IV

S/P–NSC files, lot 61 D 167, NSC 56 series

Memorandum by the Acting Secretary of State to the Executive Secretary of the National Security Council (Lay)¹

top secret

[Washington,] October 14, 1952.

Subject:

• Seventh Progress Report on NSC 56/2, “United States Policy Toward Inter-American Military Collaboration.”

NSC 56/2 was approved as governmental policy on May 19, 1950. It is requested that this Progress Report as of September 25, 1952, be circulated to the members of the Council for their information.

1. Grant Aid Military Assistance Program. The Congress appropriated $51,695,750, or the total amount authorized by the Mutual Security Act of 1952,² to carry out the grant aid military assistance program for Latin American countries during Fiscal Year 1953. In addition, the Congress has authorized that the unexpended balance of the Fiscal Year 1952 appropriation, which totaled $38,150,000, may be expended during Fiscal Year 1953. The total amount appropriated, $89,835,750, is $10,165,250 less than the amount originally estimated to be required for the two-year program.

Military Assistance Agreements are now fully in effect with Chile,³ Colombia,⁴ Cuba,⁵ Ecuador and Peru. Ratification of the Brazilian and Uruguayan Agreements is still pending in the legislatures of both countries.⁶ The Brazilian Foreign Minister has informed our Embassy that ratification by the Bazilian Senate probably may take place by the end of October. Some opposition to ratification of the Agreement with Uruguay has been encountered by the Uruguayan Parliament, and the Uruguayan Foreign Minister⁷ has requested a clarification of certain Uruguayan obligations under the Agreement.

The Departments of State and Defense agreed that the Dominican Republic should be approached with regard to the initiation of negotiations looking toward the conclusion of a Military Assistance Agreement with that country. By agreement with the Dominican Government, negotiations were begun on September 22.

It is intended that sufficient flexibility should be retained in the program, at least until the end of the present calendar year, to permit a Military Assistance Agreement to be negotiated with Venezuela, and perhaps with Mexico and Argentina, if it should become possible or desirable to include those countries in the grant aid program. At the request of Venezuela, defense talks between U.S. and Venezuelan military representatives have been suspended, without agreement on the types and quantities of U.S. military equipment required by Venezuela to protect the oil fields and meet other Venezuelan defense requirements. Although the talks are expected to be resumed, it would be unrealistic to discount entirely the possibility that Venezuela may not agree to buy, for cash, the equipment required for the protection of the oil fields, and take other security measures necessary for their protection. In view of the important security interest of the United States in the oil fields, it may be desirable to consider the advisability of negotiating a Bilateral Military Assistance Agreement with Venezuela, with a view to providing a part of the equipment required for the protection of the oil fields. While the mutual security negotiations with Mexico were broken off during the heat of the Mexican election campaign, it does not appear likely that the new Mexican administration intends to seek a renewal of these negotiations; however, should such a request be received from the Mexican Government, it would be given careful consideration.

Plans for expanding Brazil’s Army mission in hemisphere defense and for providing Brazil with equipment required to perform the expanded mission are now under consideration. If finally approved, these plans would require a revision of the Military Plan between the United States and Brazil, but the negotiations would not be initiated until Brazil has ratified the Bilateral Military Assistance Agreement.

Initial shipments of military equipment under the grant aid program have been made to Cuba, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru. Preparation of a consolidated shipment of Army, Navy and Air Force equipment to Chile has been suspended, pending clarification of the attitude of the newly elected President⁸ of that country toward continuance of the Agreement.

Interim Military Assistance Advisory Groups have now been established in those countries where Agreements are fully in effect. In each case, the Chief of one of the U.S. military missions already in the country has been designated acting Chief of the MAAG, for an interim period. Military missions are now performing MAAG functions, except in the case of Chile, where it will be necessary to assign a small complement of Army personnel because there is no Army mission in that country. Consideration is being given to the continued use of existing military missions to assist in carrying out the MAAG functions. This is believed desirable in Latin America in view of the small size of the countries and programs, the background of cooperation existing between missions and the armed forces of the other Governments, the familitarity of the missions with the military problems of the other Governments and the economies which would accrue to the United States and the Latin American countries by such use of mission personnel.

2. Proposed Establishment of Permanent Joint Board on Defense with Brazil.

Successful joint military talks with Brazilian Defense officials in Rio de Janeiro during September⁹ led to recommendations to the respective Chiefs of Staff of the two Governments for a reorganization of our cooperative activities with Brazil in the military field along the lines established for U.S.-Canadian military cooperation, through the establishment of a top-level joint board to be known as the Permanent Joint Board on Defense, Brazil–United States. The Board, which would meet alternately in Washington and Rio de Janeiro, would, if organized along the lines contemplated, effect increased coordination and give direction to the activities of the present Joint U.S.-Brazil Military Commission in Rio de Janeiro and the Joint U.S.-Brazil Defense Commission in Washington.

3. SHORAN Base Negotiations in Haiti.

Arrangements are being finalized by our Embassy in Haiti for an exchange of notes¹⁰ with the Haitian Government on the temporary establishment in Haiti by the U.S. Air Force of a SHORAN control station for ninety days during the conduct of experiments in connection with the tracking of guided missiles.

4. Status of Approval of Inter-American Defense Board “General Military Plan for the Defense of the American Continent”, (IADB C–019), and the “Common Defense Scheme for the American Continent”, (IADB C–04).

Eight nations, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, United States and Uruguay, have approved the “General Military Plan for the Defense of the American Continent”, (IADB C–019).

Eleven nations, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela and the United States have approved the “Common Defense Scheme for the American Continent”, (IADB C–04).

David Bruce

1. Cover sheet is not printed. Drafted by Mr. Mackay and Mr. Spencer on Sept. 29; cleared with the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of State, the Office of the Counselor, the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, the Offices of South American Affairs and Middle American Affairs, and the Department of Defense.
2. Public Law 400, approved June 20, 1952; for text, see 66 Stat. 141.
3. For text of the military assistance agreement between the United States and Chile, signed at Santiago, Apr. 9, 1952, and entered into force, July 11, 1952, see TIAS No. 2703, or 3 UST (pt. 4) 5123.
4. For text of the exchange of notes constituting a military assistance agreement between the United States and Colombia, signed at Bogotá, Apr. 17, 1952, and entered into force on the same date, see TIAS No. 2496, or 3 UST (pt. 3) 3690.
5. For text of the military assistance agreement between the United States and Cuba, signed at Habana, Mar. 7, 1952, and entered into force on the same date, see TIAS No. 2467, or 3 UST (pt. 3) 2901.
6. For documentation on the ratification of the military assistance agreements between the United States and Brazil and the United States and Uruguay, see pp. 570 ff. and 1535 ff., respectively.
7. Alberto Domínguez Cámpora.
8. Gen. Carlos Ibañez del Campo was elected President of Chile on Sept. 4, 1952.
9. Reference is to the joint meetings between the Joint Brazil–United States Defense Commission and the Joint Brazil–United States Military Commission, Sept. 8–13, 1952. A brief report describing the meetings is contained in despatch 437, from Rio de Janeiro, dated Sept. 17, 1952, not printed (732.58/9–1752); enclosed with the despatch is a copy of the recommendations agreed to at the meetings.
10. Reference is to the exchange of notes, signed at Port-au-Prince, Aug. 22 and 29, 1952, and entered into force on the latter date; the notes were transmitted to the Department of State under cover of despatch 165, from Port-au-Prince, dated Sept. 10, 1952, not printed (938.542/9–1052).