North Atlantic Treaty Organization


121. Memorandum From the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Lemnitzer) to President Kennedy

Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, NSC Meetings, 1961. Top Secret. No drafting information appears on the source text.


122. Telegram From the Department of State to the Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Regional Organizations

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 375/12-1861. Secret; Verbatim Text; Limit Distribution. Drafted by Van Hollen.


123. Telegram From the Department of State to the Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Regional Organizations

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 740, 5611/1–862. Secret; Verbatim Text. Drafted by Kranich (EUR/RA); cleared with Fessenden, Nitze, Seymour Weiss, Bowie, and Owen; and approved by Kohler. Repeated to London, Bonn, and Rome.


124. Letter From Secretary of State Rusk to Secretary of Defense McNamara

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 740.54/1–2062. Secret. Drafted by Seymour Weiss and Johnson on January 19.


125. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 375/2–562. Secret. Drafted by Fessenden, initialed by Kohler, and approved in S on February 18. Stikker visited Washington February 5–7; a memorandum of his conversation with Kohler at 9:30 a.m. on February 5 is ibid.; memoranda of his conversations with McGhee and the U.S. Working Group on NATO strategy on February 5 are ibid., 375.75/2–562 and 375/2–562. A memorandum of his conversation with Ball on February 7 is ibid., 375.75/2–762. A memorandum of his conversation with the President on February 6 is printed as Document 126.


126. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 740.5/2–662. Secret. Drafted and initialed by Kohler and approved by the White House on April 12. The conversation lasted from 10:31 to 11:30. (Kennedy Library, President’s Appointment Book) Finletter left at the end of this part of the conversation. A 3-page memorandum of conversation on Berlin, the Azores, and West New Guinea is ibid.


127. Telegram From the Embassy in France to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 375/2–2162. Secret; Limit Distribution.


128. Telegram Topol 1279 From the Department of State to the Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Regional Organizations

[Source: Department of State, Central Files, 740.56311/2–1562. Secret; Priority; Limit Distribution. 1-1/2 pages of source text not declassified.]


129. Telegram Polto 1163 From the Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Regional Organizations to the Department of State

[Source: Department of State, Central Files, 375.75611/3–662. Secret; Niact. 2 pages of source text not declassified.]


130. Memorandum of Meeting

Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, MLF. Secret. Drafted by Kaysen on March 16.


131. Letter From the President’s Military Representative (Taylor) to President Kennedy

Source: Kennedy Library, President’s Office Files, NATO General. No classification marking. No drafting information appears on the source text.


132. Memorandum From Secretary of State Rusk to President Kennedy

Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Maxwell D. Taylor Trip to Europe, Top Secret. No drafting information appears on the source text.


133. Minutes of Meeting

Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Meetings with the President. Top Secret.


134. Telegram From the Department of State to the Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Regional Organizations

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 375/4–1662. Secret; Priority; Limit Distribution; Verbatim Text. Drafted by Fessenden and Kranich; cleared with Nitze, Seymour Weiss, and Owen; and approved by Kohler. Repeated to Bonn, Brussels, and London.


135. National Security Action Memorandum No. 147

Source: Department of State, NSAMs: Lot 72 D 316. Secret.


136. Telegram From Secretary of State Rusk to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 396.1–AT/5–662, Secret; Priority; No Other Distribution. Rusk was in Athens for the North Atlantic Council Ministerial Meeting, May 4–6. Summary and verbatim records of the sessions, telegrams to and from the U.S. Delegation, memoranda of conversations, briefing papers, and the texts of Rusk’s statement on the political situation and his and McNamara’s statement on NATO defense policy, are ibid., Conference Files: Lot 65 D 533, CF 2095–2103.


137. Circular Telegram From the Department of State to Certain Missions

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 396.1–AT/5–962. Secret; Limit Distribution. Drafted by Fessenden and approved by Kohler. Sent to New Delhi, Tokyo, and 19 missions in Europe.


138. Letter From the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Johnson) to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (Nitze)

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 711.5/5–2362. Secret. No drafting information appears on the source text.


139. Circular Telegram From the Department of State to Certain Missions

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 375/5–2562. Secret; Limit Distribution. Drafted by Fessenden and Van Hollen; cleared by Johnson, Kohler, Schaetzel, Seymour Weiss, Rostow, Owen, UNP, ARA, RPE, AF, FE, and the Department of Defense; and initialed by Rusk. Transmitted to missions in 14 NATO countries.


140. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 375/6–962. Secret. Drafted by Stalder on June 9 and approved in S on June 16 and in U on June 14.


141. Telegram From the Department of State to the Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Regional Organizations

Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, MLF-Instructions to Finletter. Top Secret; Niact; No Other Distribution. Drafted by McGeorge Bundy and cleared with Kohler.


142. Instructions for the Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council (Finletter)

Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, MLF-Instructions to Finletter. Secret. The source text, which was attached to Document 141, bears the notation “Final Version.” On June 2 the Department of State sent a 15-page telegram to Finletter containing a preliminary draft of these instructions and asking for his comments. (Topol 1853; Department of State, Central Files, 700.5612/6–262) The following day Finletter replied that he was “delighted” with the instructions and offered a few comments on the draft. (Polto 1611; ibid., 700.5612/6–362) On June 8 a revised text, approved at the staff level of the Departments of State and Defense, was forwarded to Secretary Rusk and to the White House for final approval. (Memorandum from Kohler; ibid., 711.5611/6–862) Omitted here are sections on Soviet nuclear and other forces, alliance systems, and costs.


143. Telegram From the Delegation to the North Atlantic Council Ministerial Meeting to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 740.5612/6–2062. Secret; Priority; Limit Distribution. According to another copy, this telegram was drafted by Fessenden and approved by Kohler. (Ibid., Conference Files: Lot 65 D 533, CF 2122) Repeated to the other NATO capitals.


144. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 110.11–RU/6–2062. Secret. Drafted by Cleveland and approved in S on June 26. The meeting was held at the French Foreign Office.


145. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 110.11–RU/6–2262. Secret; Limit Distribution. Drafted by Hillenbrand and approved in S on June 28. The meeting was held in the Chancellor’s Conference Room at Schaumburg Palace.


146. Telegram From the Embassy in the United Kingdom to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 110.11–RU/6–2662. Secret; Limit Distribution. Repeated to Paris, Bonn, and Rome.


147. Paper Prepared by the Secretary of State’s Special Assistant (Bohlen)

Source: Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 65 D 533, CF 2124. Secret. The source text, which bears no drafting information, was attached to a brief memorandum from Bohlen to Rusk, July 2, stating that these impressions were in response to a request by the Secretary of State.


148. Memorandum for the President

Source: Kennedy Library, President’s Office Files, NATO/Norstad Meeting. Secret. The source text, which bears no drafting information, was attached to a memorandum to the President from Rusk and McNamara, dated July 14, and was intended as a briefing paper for the President’s meeting with Norstad on July 16. No record of that meeting has been found; but the President’s Appointment Book records a meeting with Norstad from 4:07 to 5:27 p.m. (Ibid.)


149. Telegram From the Department of State to the Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Regional Organizations

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 375/7–562. Secret; Priority; Limit Distribution. Drafted by Owen and Kranich; cleared with Kohler, Nitze, Fessenden, Weiss, Kohler, the Department of Defense, and the White House; and approved by Rusk. Repeated to Bonn, Brussels, Rome, The Hague, and London.


150. Letter From President Kennedy to Prime Minister Macmillan

Source: Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204. Secret. No drafting information appears on the source text.