Office of the Historian

12. Minutes of a Review Group Meeting1

Washington, May 29, 1969, 2:05–5:40 p.m.

SUBJECT

  • Review of U.S. Strategic Posture

PARTICIPATION

  • Chairman—Henry A. Kissinger
  • State
    • Arthur Hartman
    • Philip Farley
    • Donald McHenry
  • Defense
    • David Packard
    • Richard Ware
    • Ivan Selin
  • CIA
    • R. Jack Smith
  • JCS
    • LTG F.T. Unger
  • OEP
    • Haakon Lindjord
  • USIA
    • Henry Loomis
  • ACDA
    • Gerard Smith
  • BOB
    • James Schlesinger
  • Treasury
    • Anthony Jurich
  • NSC Staff
    • Helmut Sonnenfeldt
    • Laurence Lynn
    • Morton Halperin
    • Winston Lord

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

The Review Group went page by page through the revised summary paper of NSSM 3 distributed May 262 and agreed to a large number of drafting changes. These were to be incorporated in the paper by the NSC staff and redistributed to Review Group members for their approval before forwarding to the NSC for its consideration. It was [Page 23] agreed that this NSSM 3 on strategic forces and NSSM 28 on SALT3 would be considered closely and consecutively in coming weeks. The NSC will devote more time to these two subjects than the usual two-hour sessions. There was general consensus that doctrinal decisions on how we should shape our strategic forces will heavily influence and guide our positions on SALT. However, strategic force decisions will not represent inflexible theology for SALT positions, particularly with regard to possible developments once arms talks are underway.

[Omitted here are the minutes of the meeting.]

  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–111, SRG Minutes, Originals, 1969. Top Secret. The meeting took place in the Situation Room at the White House. The full text of the minutes and documentation related to NSSM 3 are printed in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XXXIV, National Security Policy, 1969–1972, Document 32.↩
  2. The paper, entitled “U.S. Strategic Posture: Basic Issues,” was drafted by the NSC Staff and distributed to Review Group members. (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H–Files), Box H–37, Review Group Meetings, Strategic Force Posture, 5/29/69). The paper, as revised by the Review Group, served as the basis for discussions at the NSC meeting held on June 13 and June 18. See footnote 2, Document 32, Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XXXIV, National Security Policy, 1969–1972. The final version is printed as Document 34 (ibid).↩
  3. See Document 14.↩