6. Editorial Note

At its meeting on June 27, the NSC Planning Board had preliminary discussion concerning the review of NSC 5613/1 directed by NSC Action No. 1930–b (see footnote 7, Document 4), and requested the Department of State representative on the Board to submit a revised draft of the “General Considerations” section of NSC 5613/1 for consideration by the Board on July 11. The Planning Board also agreed that other members who wished to submit proposed changes in the “Policy Guidance” section should do so by the same date, and that the Board’s Chairman should invite a group of experts to consult with the Board on a revised policy statement for Latin America. (Record of Meeting of the NSC Planning Board, June 27; Department of State, S/S–NSC Files: Lot 62 D 1)

Pursuant to the Board’s decision, Nelson Rockefeller attended its meeting on July 7, and on July 11, Milton Eisenhower, former Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs Henry F. Holland, and former Ambassador Walter J. Donnelly (currently U.S. Steel Company [Page 35] representative in Caracas) participated in the meeting. They discussed the draft revision of the “General Considerations” prepared by the Department of State, and the Board referred the draft to the NSC Board Assistants for further revision in light of the discussion. (Record of Meeting of the NSC Planning Board, July 7; ibid.) In a July 14 memorandum to Sherman Adams, commenting on the role of the consultants, Robert Cutler stated the following: “All three men [Milton Eisenhower, Holland, and Donnelly] made extremely useful contributions which will facilitate the Planning Board’s task of reviewing our current Latin American policy. I can think of no more effective use of consultants on any Council assignment in recent years.” (Eisenhower Library, Sp. Asst. for Nat. Sec. Affairs Records)

During the latter part of July, revisions of the “Policy Conclusions” and “General Courses of Action” sections of NSC 5613/1 were drafted in the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, and submitted to the Planning Board under date of July 21. At its meeting on August 5, the Planning Board again discussed Latin American policy with Milton Eisenhower, who had recently returned from a trip to Central America (see Documents 58 ff.), and suggested numerous amendments to the Department of State draft. The Board then deferred further consideration of the matter to allow the NSC Board Assistants to make additional revisions.

On August 15, however, the Department of State representative on the Planning Board requested deferral of consideration of a revised policy statement on Latin America for three months to enable the Department to take account of recent developments, such as the proposed Inter-American Regional Development Institution, and reports by Vice President Nixon and Milton Eisenhower on their respective trips to Latin America. (Record of Meeting of the NSC Planning Board, August 5; Department of State, S/S–NSC Files: Lot 62 D 1) In a memorandum to Assistant Secretary Rubottom and Deputy Assistant Secretary William P. Snow, dated September 9, John C. Hill, Jr., stated in part the following: “Mr. Gray and the NSC Planning Board have agreed to postpone for three months the revision of the Policy Statement on Latin America. We are to revise the existing draft and submit it to the Planning Board in November with a view to approval of the new Policy Statement in December.” (ibid., ARA Special Assistant’s Files: Lot 60 D 513, NSC 5613/1—1958)