121. Letter From the Secretary of State to the President1
Dear Mr. President: I now enclose a suggested draft reply to Bulganin with reference to disarmament.2 The last paragraph also touches on the February 1 letter with reference to a “Friendship Treaty”.
The disarmament portions of this letter are now agreed to by the Department of Defense and by Chairman Strauss and also by Mr. Stassen. The State Department also concurs, although I pointed out in my letter to the Acting Secretary of Defense that the acceptability to us of some of the changes they suggested was due to the fact that 1 think it inappropriate for you to commit your personal prestige and that of your office to certain matters which are controversial. 1 believe with respect to such matters it is generally preferable to follow normal diplomatic procedures.
If you approve of the enclosed draft, we will have it cabled to Moscow and released here after such delivery has been effected.
It may be useful to follow up with an actual manually signed letter which would be sent via the pouch.3
Faithfully yours,
- Source: Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, President’s Correspondence with Bulganin. Personal and Private.↩
- Not printed; it is identical to Eisenhower’s March 1 letter to Bulganin. See Department of State Bulletin, March 26, 1956, pp. 514–515.↩
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The source text bears Eisenhower’s handwritten notation: “OK/ But I do hope Stassen can carry to London something a bit more positive D.E.” Dulles responded on March 1:
“I am sending off your reply to Bulganin on disarmament. I observe your notation.
“Here is the ‘something a bit more positive’ which I hope you will authorize Stassen to take to London. Defense still opposes it.
“This will be discussed at two o’clock.” (Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Dulles–Herter Series)
Attached to Dulles’ letter was a statement that was approved with very minor changes as an Annex to NSC Action No. 1513 that same afternoon. This annex is printed with Document 112.
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