Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Western Europe and Canada, Volume VI, Part 2

Eisenhower Library, Eisenhower papers, Whitman file

No. 917
Memorandum of Discussion at the 201st Meeting of the National Security Council, Wednesday, June 9, 1954¹

top secret
eyes only

June 9, 1954

There were present at the 201st Meeting of the Council the President of the United States, presiding; the Vice President of the United States; the Secretary of State; the Secretary of Defense; the Director, Foreign Operations Administration; and the Director, Office of Defense Mobilization. Also present were Mr. Tuttle for the Secretary of the Treasury; the Attorney General (for Items 1 and 2); the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce (for Item 1); the Director, Bureau of the Budget; the Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (for Items 2, 3, 6 and 7); the Acting Federal Civil Defense Administrator (for Items 2 and 3); Assistant Attorney General Barnes (for Item 1); the Secretary of the Army; Under Secretary of Commerce Murray (for Item 1); Assistant Secretary of the Interior Wormser (for Item 1); the Under Secretary of the Navy; Robert Amory, Jr., Central Intelligence Agency; the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; the Director of Central Intelligence; the Assistant to the President; Robert Cutler, Special Assistant to the President; the Deputy Assistant to the President; the White House Staff Secretary; the NSC Representative on Internal Security; the Executive Secretary, NSC; and the Deputy Executive Secretary, NSC.

Following is a summary of the discussion at the meeting and the main points taken.

[Here follows discussion of items 1–4, national petroleum policy, organizational arrangements for continental defense, proposal for an international moratorium on future tests of nuclear weapons, and a report on the Indochina situation.]

5. United States Policy Toward Spain (NSC 5418;² Memo for NSC from Executive Secretary, same subject, dated June 1, 1954³)

Mr. Cutler gave the Council a lengthy briefing on the Planning Board report, pointing out the various areas of disagreement.

With respect to one such disagreement—namely, the degree of inflationary impact on the Spanish economy which would be occasioned by the expenditures for the U.S. base program—Secretary Dulles pointed out that the velocity of money was more significant than the amount, and he doubted whether any safe prediction could be made.

. . . . . . .

The National Security Council:

a. Adopted the statement of policy contained in NSC 5418, subject to the following amendments:

(1) Paragraph 4: Revise the last two sentences to read:

“Of these elements, the most important is the Army, which is firmly under Franco’s control. Its prestige will be further strengthened by the U.S. aid and base programs.”

(2) Paragraph 6: Delete the bracketed phrase and the footnote thereto, and substitute “cannot now be estimated”.

(3) Paragraph 7: Revise to read as follows:

“7. In the event of Franco’s death, a successor regime composed of the same elements would probably attempt to continue the main outlines of his internal and external policies. It seems likely that such a successor regime would be able to preserve stability, though not to the same degree which now exists in Spain. However, a struggle for power might develop, with results which cannot now be estimated.”

(4) Paragraph 14: Insert, after “geographic position”, the words “and of its armed forces”.

(5) Paragraph 16: Delete subparagraph c.

(6) Paragraph 18: Revise subparagraph b to read as follows in lieu of the alternative proposals:

“b. To develop forces which will increase Spain’s capability primarily to defend the Iberian peninsula, including defense of U.S.-occupied Spanish bases.”

(7) Paragraph 19: Delete, and renumber the remaining paragraphs accordingly.

b. Noted that the President has decided that, for the time being under present conditions, military end-item assistance to Spain should be extended on the basis that, in general, NATO time-phased commitments will continue to have priority for U.S. aid and matériel under the NAT and MDAP.

Note: NSC 5418, as amended, approved by the President; referred to the Operations Coordinating Board as the coordinating agency designated by the President; and circulated as NSC 5418/1.³

[Here follows discussion of items 6–8, United States policy toward Yugoslavia, survey of conditions in Southeast Asia, and review of the status of NSC projects as of June 1, 1954.]

1. Drafted by Gleason on June 10.
2. As a result of the Mar. 11 decision by the NSC to undertake a review of NSC 72/6 (see footnote 1, Document 910), the NSC Planning Board scheduled a discussion of policy toward Spain for its Apr. 12 meeting and requested that the Department of State submit prior to that date a draft NSC Staff Study and a draft policy statement as the basis for discussion. (Spanish Desk files, lot 59 D 108, “NSC Reports”) By late March, Dunham had completed the two drafts which, after undergoing revisions as a result of the Planning Board discussions, emerged essentially intact as NSC 5418 on May 14. (S/S–NSC files, lot 63 D 351, NSC 5418 Series) Initially scheduled to come before the NSC on May 28, then June 3, it was finally discussed at the June 9 meeting.
3. This memorandum transmitted to the NSC the dissenting views of the Joint Chiefs of Staff regarding NSC 5418. (S/S–NSC files, lot 63 D 351, NSC 5418 Series)
3. Infra.