124. Editorial Note
In his memorandum for the record of the White House daily staff meeting on January 30, 1962, Ewell included the following item on nuclear testing:
“b. Bundy said that the President feels that we must have a definitive review of the atmospheric nuclear testing problem in the next week to 10 days. This should include what sort of results we are getting and can anticipate from our underground tests, an assessment of the present DOD/AEC atmospheric testing schedule, and a review of technological progress. Komer asked whether there was any articulate policy support for testing. Bundy said yes, that every one of the President’s senior advisers was for it. He didn’t say whether this was articulate support, however. (I sense that the senior policy people see the answer so clearly that their staffs have not bothered to get into the staff level and wrestle out the sophisticated arguments which are being used against the testing program.) Bundy said that the reason he and the NSC staff had taken a line against the testing program was that no one else would articulate this side of the question, and that he felt that the President deserved a balance to the weight of Government opinion. He did not mention how he planned to organize the development and presentation of this problem to the President. (My guess would be that this would be presented to the President in a highly controlled way, with as small a group as possible participating. I am sure that this would not be considered a suitable topic for the NSC due to the fact that the non-testers would be completely swamped by the pro-testers.)” (National Defense University, Taylor Papers, Daily Staff Meetings Jan-Apr 62)