217. Letter From the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (Nitze) to the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Johnson)0
Dear Mr. Johnson: The Department of Defense has reviewed your letter of 1 March 1962, and its accompanying enclosure, concerning possible revision of the Finnish Peace Treaty of 1947.1 Defense views on this general subject are as follows.
The basic objective of the United States with respect to Finland continues to be an independent, democratic and Western-oriented Finland as free as possible from vulnerability to Soviet pressures. Soviet domination of Finland could put the USSR in control of advance air defense and early warning positions and additional Naval bases in the Baltic. In addition, such domination would be a heavy blow to Western morale and could weaken the resistance of some other small Free World nations to Soviet Bloc pressures. The continued denial of Finland to the USSR thus is both militarily and psychologically important to the West.
From the military point of view, the acquisition by Finland of guided missile weapons and an early warning radar system is not in the best interest of the United States. The Department of Defense, on the advice of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, therefore recommends that Article 17 of the Finnish Peace Treaty not be interpreted or revised to permit such acquisition by Finland.
Specific answers to the questions raised in your letter, as well as a strategic appraisal of the military importance of Finland, are attached hereto.2
Sincerely yours,