371. Memorandum from Weiss to Bell, March 211
SUBJECT
- Marshall Study
1. I met yesterday with Mr. Bowles, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Hughes and Mr. Newman to discuss the assignment of Mr. Marshall to a restudy of the MAP.
2. Mr. Bowles (who had to leave midway through our meeting to keep another appointment) outlined his views as to what the Marshall study should attempt to achieve. He emphasized that it should be an objective effort to get at the real motivations which underlie our military programs. He acknowledged that we might for a variety of reasons [Typeset Page 1580] have to strike a posture of justifying the programs on grounds other than their real motivations but that when we did, this should be a conscious act. Thus if we were required to undertake military aid for political rather than military reasons we should be candid at least to ourselves and thus be in a better position to assess the implications of our action. While stressing the theme of objectivity and indicating that the result of the study might well show the need for an increased fund availability, Mr. Bowles made it clear that he would hope that the opposite result might demonstrate itself.
3. Mr. Marshall asked a series of questions, most of them substantive in nature, presumably as a effort to begin to re-acquaint himself with some of the major trends of thinking on military assistance, its problems, virtues, etc. So far as I can tell on the basis of this exchange, it appeared to me that Mr. Marshall was approaching the job with a quite open mind, (but this is necessarily a judgment based on fragmentary evidence).
4. Mr. Marshall requested various documents, memoranda, etc. which were mentioned in our conversation, and I have provided him with this material. He will be out of town today but will return on Wednesday to take up the task full time. So far as I am concerned the first and most immediate problem which he must face is that of [Facsimile Page 2] timing. Mr. Bowles is still thinking in terms of about May 1. Since Mr. Marshall will begin his effort on March 22, I think such timing is entirely out of the question if any useful end product is to be hoped for. This is a matter on which you can personally be helpful. You mentioned that you planned to talk to Mr. Marshall at an early opportunity and I would suggest that you begin to inject a more realistic consideration of the time factor into his thinking. Assuming I have the opportunity to do so I propose to raise this matter with him myself.
The following para. was not included on the copies of this memorandum which were dispatched as shown below.
- MAP study and Mr. Marshall’s role. Secret. 2 pp. Department of State, Central Files, 700.5–MSP/3–2161.↩