Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XI, Arms Control and Disarmament

165. Memorandum From the Acting Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (Fisher) to Secretary of State Rusk¹

Washington, November 22, 1966.

SUBJECT

• Talks with the Soviets on Plowshare (C)

I believe there are two points which should be kept in mind relative to the timing of the possible talks with the Soviets on Plowshare:

1. US/USSR talks on Plowshare with their inevitable attendant publicity are likely to increase Indian reluctance to sign a non-proliferation treaty which denied the non-nuclear countries the option to develop peaceful nuclear explosives. The Indians have already raised strong objections to this at the U.N., and their views have carried considerable weight with other non-nuclear countries.² Holding these talks coincident with the attempt at the ENDC to induce the non-nuclears to accede to the non-proliferation treaty which had been agreed to by the Soviets could present serious difficulties to the achievement of this critical objective.

2. If Cabriolet is carried out during the period between the agreement to conduct the Plowshare talks and their actual occurrence, and if venting occurs which places radioactive material outside the borders of the U.S., the talks would provide the Soviets with a golden opportunity to belabor the U.S. for violating the limited test ban treaty. Therefore, it would appear desirable not to raise with Ambassador Dobrynin the Plowshare talks until either a decision has been reached to defer Cabriolet or until Cabriolet has been fired and the results evaluated.

Adrian S. Fisher

1. Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 383, ACDA/D Files: FRC 77 A 52, Memoranda to the Secretary of State, 1966. Secret. A notation on the source text reads: “Secretary Saw.”
2. For an explanation of the Government of India’s position on peaceful nuclear explosions and a nonproliferation treaty during this period of U.N. debate, see the statement by the Indian Representative to the First Committee of the U.N. General Assembly, October 31, printed in Documents on Disarmament, 1966, pp. 676-686, and his statement the following month, November 7, to the same organization; ibid., pp. 699-705.