Office of the Historian

6. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to Secretary of State Rusk, Secretary of the Fowler Treasury, and Secretary of Defense McNamara1

Washington, May 8, 1964.

SUBJECT

  • German Offset Purchases and Troop Strength

Following a discussion by the Cabinet Committee on Balance of Payments of German offset purchases as related to U.S. troop deployments in Germany, the President summarized the United States position as follows:2

1.
The U.S. supports the existing arrangements for its six-division force in Germany.
2.
These existing arrangements, however, have two components: offset purchases in the previously agreed amounts and U.S. force levels.
3.
If the Germans unilaterally alter the status quo by not living up to their offset commitments to us, we shall be forced to reconsider the question of U.S. force levels.
4.
During his next visit to Germany, Defense Secretary McNamara is to make certain that there is no misunderstanding on the part of the German Government with respect to the above.3

McGeorge Bundy 4
  1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Subject File, Balance of Payments, Vol. 1, November 27, 1963 thru October 31, 1964, Box 1. Confidential.↩
  2. The President met with the Cabinet Committee on Balance of Payments on May 4. No minutes of this meeting have been found, but for Secretary Dillon’s memorandum to the President in preparation for the meeting, see Document 4. For the Cabinet Committee report that was discussed at the meeting, see Document 5.↩
  3. Secretary of Defense McNamara visited Bonn May 9–11 to discuss free world defense policies with German Defense Minister Von Hassel.↩
  4. Printed from a copy that indicates Bundy signed the original.↩