454. Memorandum From Killian to Gray1
SUBJECT
- Limitation and Control of Armaments
At its meeting on 16 and 17 March 1959, the President’s Science Advisory Committee considered the need for developing a more thorough understanding of the military and technical aspects of international agreements aimed at the limitation and control of armaments. The Committee was deeply concerned by the fact that at present no organization within the United States Government is conducting systematic and continuing studies on this problem, which the Committee recognized as one of great importance and complexity.
The Committee was impressed by the requirements for technical studies on the limitation and control of armaments, not only to understand the effectiveness of available technical means for carrying out possible inspection and control concepts but also to understand the implications of the objectives desired and the effects on national security of the various measures that might be proposed to attain these objectives. The Committee concluded that in considering these problems it is necessary not only to cover existing military forces and inspection techniques but also to lay great stress on the effect of changing technology on military forces and operations and on the techniques of monitoring agreements.
The Geneva Conferences on Surprise Attack and the Discontinuance of Nuclear Weapon Tests have demonstrated the great importance of adequate preparation for discussion of these complex problems at international conferences. The various departments of government and the scientific community cooperated exceedingly well in the technical studies undertaken immediately prior to these conferences. It is clear, however, that it is not possible either to understand specific proposals and alternatives adequately or to develop an integrated national policy [Facsimile Page 2] on the limitation and control of armaments by means of such periodic ad hoc studies conducted under the pressure of impending negotiations.
An effective study program on this problem should not be limited to purely theoretical considerations but should include the conduct of research and experimentation in order to permit the development and evaluation of technical means for control and inspection. As a specific example, the recommendations in the recent reports by the Panel on [Typeset Page 1636] Seismic Improvement and the Panel on High Altitude Detection clearly demonstrate the need for a program of creative research and experimentation if the capabilities and limitations of systems designed to detect and identify nuclear explosions are to be adequately understood.
While the Committee’s immediate concern is with the scientific and technical aspects of this problem, it recognizes that the under-standing of this problem from the point of view of national security requires the integrated study of a combination of military, technical, and political factors. It seems clear that there is no single department in government with the combination of technical, military, and political resources to study all of these factors in depth or arrive at fully integrated judgments on the entire problem. The resulting organizational problems must be successfully resolved in order for studies in this area to be really responsive to the needs of policy decisions on questions of the limitation and control of armaments.
The President’s Science Advisory Committee recommends that steps be taken to initiate a sustained program of systematic study, including appropriate research and experimentation, on the military and technical aspects of possible international agreements concerned with the limitation and control of armaments and that consideration be given to the manner in which this program can be most effectively organized and conducted.
- Source: Recommends systematic study on military and technical aspects of arms control. Confidential. 2 pp. Eisenhower Library, White House Office Files, Project Clean Up, Suspension of Nuclear Testing.↩