252. Editorial Note
The Defense Ministers of the 15 NATO countries met in Paris March 31-April 1 to discuss military matters of mutual concern. The conference was held in response to the defense resolution (C-M(59)24) adopted by the Ministerial Meeting on December 17, 1959; see Document 243.
The U.S. Delegation to the conference was headed by Secretary of Defense Thomas S. Gates, Jr., and Permanent Representative at NATO W. Randolph Burgess. Other U.S. participants included John N. Irwin, II, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, and Ivan B. White, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs. No full list of U.S. participants has been found.
Documentation on the Defense Ministers Conference is in Department of State, Central File 396.1-PA.
On March 30, the North Atlantic Council confirmed the agenda items and sequence as follows: A. Logistics in Peace and War; B. Cooperation in Research, Development and Production; C. NATO Defense Plans; D. Meeting the Defense Burden; and E. Other Business. (Polto 1954 from Paris, March 30; ibid., 396.1-PA/3–3060)
The proceedings of the conference were summarized in Poltos 1973 and 1974 and Polto Circular 10 from Paris, all dated April 1. (All ibid., 396.1-PA/4–160) Secretary Gates’ statement on MRBMs at the morning session on April 1 is summarized in footnote 6, Document 254. For text of the conclusions on the first four agenda items, which the Defense Ministers agreed upon as an internal document, see Document 253. The Conference also issued a two-paragraph communiqué at its conclusion, printed in Texts of Final Communiqués, 1949–1970: Issued by the Ministerial Sessions of the North Atlantic Council, the Defense Planning Committee, and the Nuclear Planning Group, page 122. Secretary Gates’ oral report on this NATO Defense Ministers meeting to the National Security Council on April 7 was summarized in an NSC memorandum of discussion. (Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, NSC Records)