No. 942
Editorial Note
On May 13, officers of the Department of State and of the Canadian Embassy met in Washington to discuss the possibilities of war with the Soviet Union and the use of atomic weapons. The Canadian participants were Ambassador Hume Wrong and Counselors of Embassy George Ignatieff and Douglas Le Pan. Representing the Department of State were H. Freeman Matthews, Deputy Under Secretary of State; Paul Nitze, Director of the Policy Planning Staff; and Joseph Chase of the Office of the Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for Atomic Energy Affairs.
Nitze suggested concentrating on Germany and Korea because not much had changed elsewhere since the last meeting in February (see Document 937). Beyond the stress placed on Germany and Korea, brief comments were made on potential problems in the Middle East, South Asia, and the Far East. In a concluding comment, Ambassador Wrong stated that he felt the meetings were very useful in proving that the United States was not trigger happy. He suggested a meeting devoted chiefly to the Korean situation within the next couple of months. The record of this meeting, drafted by Chase on May 13, is in S/AE files, lot 68 D 358.