549. Draft Paper with Eisenhower’s Revisions1
March 23, 1960
The United States should be prepared to accept the following three point program in the Geneva nuclear test negotiations:
- (1)
- Conclusion of threshold treaty along lines proposed by the U.S. on February 11, with satisfactory settlement of the outstanding technical and political issues required for an effective control system, including the level or quota of inspections (to be applied both above and below the threshold), remaining aspects of the staffing and voting problems, composition of the Control Commission, arrangements for detonations for peaceful purposes, and the phased extension of the controls necessary to assure a world-wide cessation of nuclear weapons tests.
- (2)
- Undertaking of a coordinated research program, to be commenced as soon as possible, for the purpose of progressively improving control methods for events below the threshold. Such a research program should explicitly make provision for the conduct of nuclear explosions (to be carried out under safeguards similar to those for detonations for peaceful purposes) necessary for improving and testing detection capabilities.
- (3)
- Simultaneous unilateral declarations by the three powers at the time of signature of the treaty that they would refrain from conducting nuclear weapons tests explosions not prohibited by the treaty for an agreed period2 dependent on (a) active pursuit of the agreed coordinated research program and (b) absence of any indication that the other countries are testing.
- Source: Outlines a U.S. position on nuclear test suspension. Confidential. 1 p. Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Dulles–Herter Series.↩
- The President would make it clear in the basic agreement that so far as he is concerned this period could not extend beyond January 20, 1961, and that subsequent determination would necessarily be by his successor. [Footnote is in the original.]↩