PPS files, lot 65 D 101, “China”
No. 410
Memorandum by the Director of the
Policy Planning Staff (Bowie)
Mr. Phleger talked with me this afternoon about proposals for action now under study in response to the Chinese sentences on U.S. personnel. He said that he had looked into the facts and found that certain of the individuals were connected with CIA and were not in uniform, but that eleven were members of the Armed Forces and had been engaged in dropping leaflets. He said that his conclusions on the matter were as follows:
- 1.
- That any blockade would be an act of war;
- 2.
- That such action would require Congressional approval;
- 3.
- That retention of the military personnel appeared to be in violation of the Korean Armistice and was certainly contrary to statements made to the British and to us at Geneva;
- 4.
- That a blockade would be contrary to our obligations under the UN Charter to settle disputes peaceably and without resorting to force and could not be justified as a reprisal.
Mr. Phleger concluded that we should not undertake a blockade, but should attack the action as a violation of the Armistice and the assurance given to us and the British, and should seek to line up the sixteen nations and demand adherence to the Armistice terms. He said he assumed from the reports already issued that the Chinese had succeeded in extracting factual confessions from at least some of the individuals and would have a fairly circumstantial report on the episode.