29. Message From the Secretary of State to the President1
Dear Mr. President: We have just finished at 1 o’clock Sunday morning and the result is not too bad, much better than seemed possible [Page 77] earlier today. We obtained a reasonably firm dedication to increased unity within the Atlantic community and have set up a working group of three—Pearson, Lange, and Martino—to discuss with the member governments what needs to be done and to make a recommendation based thereon.2 The communiqué as a whole is firm in tone but we had to battle throughout with the softness of the French. … They wanted NATO turned into an economic body and sought the closest possible cultural and trade relations with the Soviet bloc. All of the others were reasonably solid. … However, “sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof”, we have reasonably overcome today’s evil and hope to be able to keep going.
Faithfully,
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 110.11–DU/5–656. Secret; Priority. Transmitted to Washington in Dulte 11, May 6, at 3 a.m. A handwritten notation on the source text indicates it was delivered to the White House at 9:30 a.m. on May 6.↩
- Regarding the final report of this committee, see Documents 47 and 48.↩