Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Volume III, National Security Policy; Arms Control and Disarmament, Microfiche Supplement

103. Record of Actions by the NSC¹

Washington, October 16, 1958

RECORD OF ACTIONS

by the

NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

at its

THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-SECOND MEETING

held on

October 13, 1958

(Approved by the President on October 16, 1958)

The President presided at this meeting. The Acting Director, Bureau of the Budget, and the Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, participated in the Council actions below. The Service Secretaries and the Joint Chiefs of Staff attended this meeting.

ACTION NUMBER SUBJECT

1994. EVALUATION OF OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE WEAPONS SYSTEMS

(NSC Action No. 1733)

a. Noted and discussed an oral presentation by the Director, Weapons Systems Evaluation Group, of an evaluation of offensive and defensive weapons systems, prepared by the Weapons Systems Evaluation Group pursuant to request by the Secretary of Defense.

b. Noted the President’s remarks that, while he congratulated the Group on an objective and thorough exposition, the evaluation and discussion also indicates the need for additional investigation to identify those weapons systems which may be obsolescent, antithetical or overlapping. The President stated that, unless tough decisions were taken regarding such systems, in view of the fiscal situation, we would find that in the long run we would encounter increasing difficulty in preserving our free way of life if we put unnecessary money and resources into the machinery of war.

c. Noted the President’s request that the Joint Chiefs of Staff conduct the additional investigation referred to in b above in the light of the evaluation and discussion, and report the resultant identification of obsolescent, antithetical or overlapping weapons systems.

d. Noted that although the above presentation contained a brief discussion with respect to limited war capabilities, the Joint Chiefs of Staff would not be requested to include limited war capabilities in the investigation referred to in c above, in the light of the President’s decision in NSC Action No. 1952.

e. Agreed that, in view of the above presentation, the results of this year’s review, pursuant to NSC Action No. 1733–c, of the report on “Relative Military Advantage of IRBM-ICBM vs. Manned Aircraft and Non-Ballistic Missiles” did not require presentation to the NSC; but that this report should be again reviewed within the next year and results reported to the Council.

NOTE: The actions in b, c, d and e above, as approved by the President, subsequently transmitted to the Secretary of Defense for appropriate implementation.

1995. SIGNIFICANT WORLD DEVELOPMENTS AFFECTING U.S. SECURITY

Noted and discussed an oral briefing by the Director of Central Intelligence on the subject, with specific reference to recent unusual Soviet activity connected with outer space developments; Soviet nuclear tests conducted since September 30; and recent developments in the Taiwan Strait situation.

1. Source: NSC Actions No. 1994 and 1995 taken at the 382d (Special) NSC meeting. Top Secret. 2 pp. NARA, RG 59, S/S–NSC (Miscellaneous) Files: Lot 66 D 95, Records of Action by the National Security Council.