62. Letter From the Secretary of Defense (Wilson) to the Deputy Representative on the United Nations Disarmament Commission (Stassen)1

Dear Harold: I have your letter of 17 August concerning the contribution of this Department to your comprehensive study as well as your letters which request the cooperation of the Services with the Military Task Force Groups of your staff.2

Let me assure you of the continuing cooperation of the Department of Defense and re-emphasize my determination that this Department should carry out its responsibilities with regard to the implementation of NSC Actions 1328 and 1419.3 In order that these special Task Forces may receive the information they require, I have requested the Secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force to afford these Groups the opportunity for staff consultations and to make available information to authorized individuals as appropriate. A copy of my memorandum is forwarded herewith.4 If you and your staff have additional requirements, I am sure that you will not hesitate to bring them to my attention.

I note that your major letter of 17 August requests that “the Department of Defense undertake to develop studies and make recommendations with respect to the military portions of the comprehensive study,” using the Memorandum of Assignment which you inclosed as an over-all guide. We accept and welcome the responsibility, which we feel rightly rests with the Department of Defense, for the development of these military portions of the comprehensive inspection plan. The necessary staff studies are being initiated and their results will be made available to you by 15 October as you request. However, since the Department of Defense has been made responsible for drafting the technical military aspects of the over-all plan, it would appear logical that our recommendations in this respect should be incorporated in the over-all draft plan prior to its consideration as a whole by the various interested agencies of the government. Subsequently, we [Page 191] would hope that the comments of the Department of Defense on the entire paper as well as those of other agencies would be taken into account prior to the drafting of a formal proposal for consideration by the President and the National Security Council. In connection with all of this, I should like to emphasize my concern, discussed with you during our recent conversation, lest the work of the Military Task Forces of your staff may duplicate and perhaps impinge upon the responsibilities of this Department referred to above.

Sincerely yours,

C.E. Wilson
  1. Source: Department of State, Disarmament Files: Lot 58 D 133, Inspection—Task Force—Military. Top Secret.
  2. Stassen’s letter to Wilson is printed as Document 55. In another letter to Wilson, also dated August 17, Stassen requested the cooperation of the Department of Defense with the Task Force engaged in the Army portion of the inspection problem. (Department of State, Disarmament Files: Lot 58 D 133, Inspection—Task Force—Army) No further letters from Stassen to Wilson requesting the Services’ cooperation with the Task Forces have been found.
  3. Regarding NSC Actions Nos. 1328 and 1419, see footnote 22, Document 7, and footnote 9, Document 45, respectively.
  4. Dated August 27, not printed. (Department of State, Disarmament Files: Lot 58 D 133, Inspection—Task Force—Military)