State-JCS Meetings, lot 61 D 417
Memorandum on the Substance of Discussions at a Department of State-Joint Chiefs of Staff Meeting1
[Extract]
2Five-Power Talks on Southeast Asia
Mr. Matthews: We are under increasing pressure to get on with these five-power talks and we feel we have made a definite commitment. In December we sent to Secretary Acheson in Paris a statement by the JCS3 concerning their views on the talks (Mr. Matthews read the document). We feel, in the light of this document which we passed on to the French, that we should go forward. We recognize that your view on the problem of joint planning at this stage is valid but we do think we would have to go ahead, at least on parts a and b.
General Bradley: The exchange of intelligence is already going on.
Admiral Fechteler: On communications, some circuits have gone up.
General Bradley: As far as plans are concerned, we have plans with New Zealand and Australia and we could talk these plans over with them. Have we ever authorized Radford to talk things over with the French?
Admiral Fechteler: No.
General Bradley: Well, there is no reason we can’t.
Admiral Fechteler: He is already talking about a transfer of carrier air. I think this is pretty well in hand.
General Bradley: On things that are already planned, I don’t see why we shouldn’t go ahead with talks.
General Collins: Is the difficulty that the thing isn’t sufficiently formalized? What is wrong?
[Page 277]Mr. Matthews: I thought what had been done, had been done without any discussions in the group.
General Bradley: What do we need to do to carry out the commitments?
Mr. Bonsal: The specific thing before us is whether there could be a meeting, probably in Singapore, to make recommendations to governments for implementing paragraph 44 of the Five Power Military Report of last October.4 It would be a procedural meeting and we would be able to see how we could achieve the objectives. We aren’t now committing ourselves to set up a planning agency.
General Vandenberg: Like I said before, I think you have to go further than that.
General Bradley: To do what we said we would do in December, I think we could have meetings along these lines.
General Vandenberg: I don’t know what they will accomplish.
Admiral Fechteler: It’s largely in hand already.
General Bradley: But they want a meeting.
Mr. Matthews: Yes, that’s what they want.
General Bradley: You’d have to carry the ball.
Mr. Matthews: You should send instructions to Radford.
General Bradley: We ought to use what you have read, Doc, as the basis.
General Vandenberg: You could say we have been doing this already, but now we want to make a show.
Mr. Bonsal: We would want to inform the other countries.
General Bradley: Yes, I think that’s all right.
General Collins: We ought to make it clear we aren’t asking Radford to make new plans with the five of them.
Mr. Matthews: Fine.
- A note on the title page reads: “Draft. Not cleared with any of participants.”↩
- The omitted material includes a list of the persons present (20). All the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff attended the meeting. Matthews headed the Department of State group.↩
- Quoted in Bonsal’s memorandum to Allison, Feb. 17, p. 267.↩
- Dated Oct. 17, 1952, p. 230.↩