372. Telegram Dulte 2 From John Foster Dulles at USUN.1
Dulte 2. For Acting Secretary for President from Secretary.
Following is text of letter I have handed Selwyn Lloyd for Harold Macmillan: (Revised statement enclosed with letter in separate telegram.)
Dear Harold:
I have just returned from Washington where I went to discuss with the President your two messages of August 20. The message with respect to exchange of information is being handled from Washington. The other message I am answering through Selwyn Lloyd in line with the President’s views.
We feel that it is important, as you say, that there be “some public response” to the report of the experts. We believe, however, that unless this public response indicates a significant program, we shall be subjected to a serious propaganda barrage, and if as you suggest we only make our statement on suspension at the opening of the General Assembly, we will then appear to have surrendered to Soviet pressures rather than have taken ourselves an initiative.
Our standing in the world is at a point where there is real [Facsimile Page 2] danger to us in [illegible in the original] adjudged militaristic. That danger can have consequences as serious as the foregoing of some nuclear weapons knowledge. The United States has already held back on this suspension matter for several months largely in deference to our desire not to confront you with a possible test suspension before we could give you the benefit of our own knowledge in this field. We have through great exertion obtained an amendment of the Atomic Energy Act in your favor and the President has undertaken to act generously under it. We really wonder in the light of this whether you should ask us to take further serious risks in relation to world opinion.
We do not share the fear you express that if we temporarily suspend testing we will never be able to resume, and therefore the Soviets will have gotten something for nothing. Of course this is a risk. But it seems to us that if we made clear that we are suspending only in order to get some constructive progress in the field of disarmament, that will [Typeset Page 1434] put the Russians under pressure to do something in this field, as otherwise they will carry the responsibility for the resumption of testing.
That is one reason why we do not want to qualify our suspension in a way which would imply acceptance of the health hazard. If we did that then indeed we might have burned our bridges behind us. Rather we should emphasize that we are suspending only in the hopes that this will prove an opening wedge which will permit of progress in the disarmament field.
As to the French, I wonder if your fears are founded. Last night I showed Couve de Murville the statement we proposed to make. He gave it as his first impression that it was entirely satisfactory and that it would leave the French free to proceed if they so desired because if the Soviets and we stopped testing then there can be no allegation that a small test by the French would be a hazard to world health. Of course that was only a first impression, but during the intervening 24 hours, I have not received anything to the contrary. Certainly a suspension statement in September would be no better from the French standpoint than one made now. For any test that they could make would probably not be until next year.
As to dates, we are willing in view of your preoccupations to [Facsimile Page 3] indicate October 31st as the date for starting the trial period of test suspension and then on the assumption that the Soviets will by then have initiated with us a serious negotiation.
We have redrawn the proposed statement to reflect somewhat more fully the foregoing views and to make it, we hope, a more effective public document. I enclose a copy of the redraft statement herewith. We will defer making it tomorrow morning, as we had planned, and hold it until Friday or Saturday morning, giving us time to hear further from you.
Faithfully yours,
John Foster Dulles.
- Source: Transmits for Eisenhower text of letter from Dulles to Macmillan on suspension of nuclear testing. Secret; Niact; Eyes Only. 3 pp. NARA, RG 59, Central Files, 700.5611/8–2158.↩