Office of the Historian

66. Letter From the Secretary of State to the Deputy Representative on the United Nations Disarmament Commission (Stassen)1

Washington, September 1, 1955.

Dear Harold: I have your letter of August 312 and enclosure.

I remain convinced that it will militate against the President’s program if we go out for this panel proposal on the scale and to the degree your draft suggests. I would see no objection to setting up a group to study inspection methods and that group would probably use the material which I understand you are having prepared through your own panels.

However, to go on and give the study group authority themselves to become a pilot plant inspection group in the five countries3 seems to me to be so spectacular and so farreaching that it will greatly dilute attention to and interest in the President’s proposal. Also, I fear there would be criticism of a proposal which gave the Soviets access to four countries whereas we would only have access to one.

It is my view that anything done now or in the near future until the President’s plan has been adopted by the UNGA should be limited to study along the lines contemplated by the middle paragraph on [Page 195] page 3,4 and that the study group should not be authorized themselves to operate as inspection teams in the different countries even on a sample basis.

I have necessarily dictated this hastily as I leave, and Mr. Hoover, who is familiar with my views, can follow up, if needed. Sincerely yours,

Foster
  1. Source: Department of State, Disarmament Files: Lot 58 D 133, Inspection—Task Force. Secret. Dulles also sent a copy of this letter to Lodge at the United Nations.↩
  2. Supra.↩
  3. The five countries mentioned in Stassen’s proposal were the member states of the subcommittee: the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union.↩

  4. This middle paragraph reads:

    “How, then, shall we proceed with our work? The United States Delegation has a suggestion to make. It is that we here in this Subcommittee do unanimously agree to establish a technical exchange panel with specific terms of reference to study the inspection methods and to report back to this Subcommittee within a fixed period of time.” (Department of State, Disarmament Files: Lot 58 D 133, Inspection—Task Force—Military)

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