31. Paper Prepared by the National Security Council Under Secretaries Committee

Summary: The paper presented an action plan for implementing NSDM 235 concerning the transfer of highly enriched uranium to foreign countries.

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, NSC Program Analysis Staff Files, Convenience Files, Box 32, Security Aspects of Growth and Dissemination of Nuclear Power Industries Paper. Secret. All brackets are in the original except those indicating text omitted by the editors or footnotes in the original document. NSDM 235 is Document 18.

32. Memorandum From Jan Lodal of the National Security Council Staff to Secretary of State Kissinger

Summary: In advance of Kissinger’s trip to Moscow and discussions with Brezhnev, Lodal summarized four possible types of agreement on nuclear testing limits, highlighted several key issues, and offered a recommendation for an approach with Brezhnev.

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, NSC Program Analysis Staff Files, Convenience Files, Box 46, Test Ban Messages, 1974 (1). Secret; Eyes Only; Completely Outside the System. All brackets are in the original except those indicating text that remains classified. Tab A, an excerpt of a February 4 memorandum of conversation between Gromyko and Kissinger, is attached but not published. The memorandum of conversation is printed in full in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XV, Soviet Union, June 1972–August 1974, as Document 158. NSSM 128 is published ibid., volume E–2, Documents on Arms Control and Nonproliferation, as Document 303; a summary of the study in response to NSSM 128 is ibid., Document 313. NSSM 195 is Document 30 in this volume.

33. Memorandum From the Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (Iklé) to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

Summary: Iklé, noting that the Soviets might raise the issue of a nuclear test ban during Kissinger’s upcoming trip to Moscow, recommended that Kissinger raise the “closely interrelated” issue of peaceful nuclear explosions. Iklé also recommended that Kissinger propose informal talks on a “‛private’ political level” to take place in Washington at a later date.

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, NSC Program Analysis Staff Files, Convenience Files, Box 60, Iklé memo to HAK re: HAK’s Moscow Trip, 1974. Secret.

34. Memorandum of Conversation

Summary: In preparation for his trip to Moscow, Kissinger, Department of State officers, and members of the National Security Council Staff discussed issues relating to a comprehensive nuclear test ban.

Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P860117–0408. Secret; Nodis; Eyes Only. Drafted by Blackwill. The conversation took place in the Secretary’s office. All brackets are in the original except those indicating text omitted by the editors and “[Secretary:]”, added for clarity.

35. Memorandum From Jan Lodal of the National Security Council Staff and the Counselor of the Department of State (Sonnefeldt) to Secretary of State Kissinger

Summary: Lodal and Sonnenfeldt examined the implications of a threshold test ban and addressed Kissinger’s questions about Trident missiles. Lodal and Sonnenfeldt also outlined various types of threshold test bans, summarized key issues, and recommended that Kissinger raise the prospect of a test ban with Soviet officials if he felt it important that the “U.S. take some initiative on the test ban issue.”

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, NSC Program Analysis Staff Files, Convenience Files, Box 46, Test Ban Messages, 1974 (1). Secret; Urgent; Eyes Only; Completely Outside the System. Sent for information. All brackets are in the original except those indicating text that remains classified. Tab A is Document 32. For the March 20 meeting, see Document 34.

36. Telegram 57208 From the Department of State to the Embassies in the Soviet Union and Austria

Summary: The Department reported that Hartman had delivered an aide-mémoire regarding the venting of radioactive material outside of Soviet borders to Soviet Minister-Counselor Vorontsov on March 21. Hartman, also underscored U.S. support for the Limited Test Ban Treaty.

Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D740061–0426. Confidential. Drafted by George Humphrey (EUR/SOV); cleared by Matlock (EUR/SOV) and Armitage; approved by Hartman. Repeated to Moscow and Vienna, and for information to USUN, the Mission in Geneva, and the Mission to the IAEA at Vienna.

37. Editorial Note

38. National Security Decision Memorandum 250

Summary: Kissinger informed the addressees that President Nixon had reviewed a study on U.S. policy regarding purchase of uranium enrichment services from the Soviet Union and had approved several of the recommendations, including adoption of a neutral posture toward Soviet sale of enrichment services and consultation with allies to determine necessity and feasibility of limits on those purchases. Nixon also directed that a study of U.S. policy options on the disposition of tails from Soviet enrichment be conducted.

Source: Ford Library, National Security Council, Institutional Files—NSDMs, Box 55, NSDM 250. Secret. A copy was sent to Moorer. Kissinger outlined the options for U.S. policy regarding Soviet handling of residual material (tails) resulting from uranium enrichment in a memorandum to President Ford that is Document 91. The study is in Nixon Presidential Library, NSC Institutional Files, Records of the Staff Secretary (1969–1974), Box H–293, NSDM 250.

39. Memorandum NSC–U/DM–122 From the Chairman of the National Security Council Under Secretaries Committee (Rush) to President Nixon

Summary: Rush submitted an action program prepared by the National Security Council Under Secretaries Committee on steps the United States might take in cooperation with other nations to enhance security and nonproliferation objectives. He recommended that Nixon approve the action program.

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, NSC Program Analysis Staff Files, Convenience Files, Box 32, Security Aspects of Growth and Dissemination of Nuclear Power Industries. Secret. According to an April 5 covering memorandum from Grove, copies were sent to Clements, Kissinger, Colby, Moorer, Ray, and Iklé. Attachment 1, a March 25 executive summary of the action plan, is attached but not published. Attachment 2, the action program, is not attached, but a version is Document 31. NSDM 235 is Document 18.

40. Memorandum of Conversation

Summary: Kissinger, Rush, Sonnenfeldt, and Hartman met with Gromyko and Dobrynin to discuss weather modification and other related arms control concerns, in addition to other topics.

Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P860123–1356. Secret; Nodis. Drafted by Hartman. John D. Rendahl, Special Assistant and Staff Director, NSC Interdepartmental Group (EUR/NSC–IG) initialed for Hartman. All brackets are in the original except those indicating text omitted by the editors and “[Gromyko:]”, added for clarity. The conversation took place in the Secretary’s dining room at the Department of State. The memorandum of conversation is printed in full in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XV, Soviet Union, June 1972–August 1974, as Document 174. On April 28 and 29, Kissinger met with Gromyko and Dobrynin in Geneva. For the memoranda of conversations, see ibid., Documents 175, 176, 177, and 178. The executive summary of the overdue environmental modification study that Sonnenfeldt references is Document 42 in this volume.

41. Statement by the United States Representative to the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament (Martin)

Summary: Martin reviewed the status of ongoing negotiations, including MBFR and SALT, noted collaborative efforts in the area of nuclear nonproliferation, and stated the U.S. position on chemical weapons and a comprehensive test ban.

Source: Documents on Disarmament, 1974, pp. 80–84. The 25th session of the CCD resumed in Geneva on April 16 and concluded on May 23.

42. Paper Prepared in the Department of Defense

Summary: The study, prepared in response to Kissinger’s request, examined the military application of weather modification.

Source: Ford Library, National Security Council, Institutional Files—Meetings, Box 13, Senior Review Group Meeting, 8/28/74—Environmental Warfare (2). Secret. All brackets are in the original except those indicating text omitted by the editors. Kissinger’s January 25 memorandum to Schlesinger is Document 28. NSDM 165, May 2, 1972, “International Aspects of Weather Modification,” is in the National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Institutional Files, National Security Decision Memoranda, Box H–208, NSDM 151–NSDM 200.

43. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon

Summary: Kissinger recommended that Nixon approve the National Security Council Under Secretaries Committee’s recommendations concerning a bilateral nuclear export agreement with the People’s Republic of China. Kissinger indicated that upon approval, he would sign the implementing directive.

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, NSC Program Analysis Staff Files, Convenience Files, Box 32, Nuclear Export Controls (1). Secret. Sent for action. Also printed in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XVIII, China, 1973–1976, Document 79. A stamped notation indicates that Nixon saw the memorandum. Notations in the upper right-hand corner of the memorandum in an unknown hand read: “Lodal FYI” and “BH [Ben Huberman] for your files?” Nixon initialed his approval of the recommendation. Tab B, not attached, is in the Ford Library, National Security Council, Institutional Files—NSDMs, Box 53, NSDM 261, Nuclear Sales to the PRC. Tab A, NSDM 261, July 22, is printed in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XVIII, China, 1973–1976, Document 83.

44. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to the Chairman of the National Security Council Under Secretaries Committee (Rush)

Summary: Kissinger notified Rush that President Nixon had directed the National Security Council Under Secretaries Committee, supplemented by representatives of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and the Department of Commerce, to study possible international restraints on environmental warfare.

Source: Ford Library, National Security Council, Institutional Files—Meetings, Box 13, Senior Review Group Meeting, 8/28/74—Environmental Warfare (2). Secret; Limdis. Copies were sent to Schlesinger, Dent, Iklé, Colby, and Moorer. A copy of NSDM 165 and a copy of Senate Resolution 71 are ibid. The May 10 paper was not found. The executive summary of the Department of Defense study is Document 42.

45. Memorandum From Michael Guhin of the National Security Council Staff to Secretary of State Kissinger

Summary: Guhin sent Kissinger a summary of the action program prepared by the NSC Under Secretaries Committee regarding on the supply of highly enriched uranium to foreign countries for nuclear power reactors, noting that the Committee had requested that President Nixon approve its recommendations.

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, NSC Program Analysis Staff Files, Convenience Files, Box 32, Security Aspects of Growth and Dissemination of Nuclear Power Industries (3). Secret. Sent for action. Sent through Elliott, who did not initial the memorandum. Notations on the memorandum in an unknown hand indicate that copies were sent for information to both Lodal and Boverie. Kissinger signed NSDM 255 on June 3; see Document 53. Tabs 1 and A are attached but not printed; the final version of Tab 1 is Document 51. Tab B is Document 39 and Tab C is Document 31. Tab D, NSDM 235, is Document 18.

46. Memorandum From Michael Guhin of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (Scowcroft)

Summary: Guhin described various bureaucratic, international, and congressional activities regarding chemical weapons issues, including NSSM 192, NSSM 157, the Geneva Protocol, and the Biological Weapons Convention.

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, NSC Program Analysis Staff Files, Convenience Files, Box 23, NSDM 192 (Chemical Weapons Policy) 1974. Secret. Sent for information. Copies were sent to Kennedy and Huberman. NSSM 192 is Document 29. Concerning Kissinger’s meetings with Soviet officials, see Document 37. NSSM 157 is published as Document 263 in Foreign Affairs, 1969–1976, volume E–2, Documents on Arms Control and Nonproliferation, 1969–1972. Guhin’s May 15 memorandum to Scowcroft has not been found.

47. Telegram 6591 From the Embassy in India to the Department of State, the Interests Section in Syria, and the Embassy in the United Kingdom

Summary: Deputy Chief of Mission Schneider reported that Indian Foreign Secretary Singh had telephoned to inform him that India had carried out a peaceful nuclear explosion.

Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D740123–0916. Secret; Flash; Exdis. Sent Flash to London for Moynihan and Niact Immediate to Damascus for Kissinger, who was engaged in shuttle negotiations for a Israeli-Syrian disengagement agreement. Also published in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume E–8, Documents on South Asia, 1973–1976, as Document 161.

48. Editorial Note

49. Memorandum From Michael Guhin of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (Scowcroft)

Summary: In response to Scowcroft’s request, Guhin summarized agency positions on the Geneva Protocol and the use of tear gas and herbicides in war.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 312, Subject Files, Chemical, Biological Warfare (toxins). Secret. Sent for information. Sent through Elliott. Molander’s handwritten notation at the top of the page indicates Scowcroft saw it.

50. National Security Study Memorandum 202

Summary: President Nixon directed the National Security Council Under Secretaries Committee to review U.S. policy concerning the Nonproliferation Treaty.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Institutional Files, National Security Study Memoranda, Box H–205, NSSM 202. Secret. Scowcroft signed for Kissinger above Kissinger’s typed signature. Copies were sent to Rush and Moorer. Scowcroft underlined the date in the last paragraph of the memorandum and placed a vertical line in the left-hand margin next to that sentence. NSSM 13 is published in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume E–2, Documents on Arms Control and Nonproliferation, 1969–1972, as Document 9. The study prepared in response to NSSM 13 is ibid., Document 13. NSSM 195 is Document 30 in this volume. NSSM 156 is published in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume E–7, Documents on South Asia, 1969–1972, as Document 275. A draft of the report detailing the study’s findings study is Document 57 in this volume.

51. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon

Summary: Kissinger recommended that the President approve the attached National Security Decision Memorandum implementing the action program prepared by the NSC Under Secretaries Committee in response to NSDM 235. The action program recommended consultations with supplier nations to control the profileration of highly-enriched plutonium.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Institutional Files, National Security Decision Memoranda, Box H–246, NSDM 255. Secret. Sent for action. Scowcroft initialed for Kissinger. A stamped notation on the memorandum indicates that Nixon saw it. Nixon initialed his approval of the recommendation. Attached as Tab 1 to Document 45. NSDM 235 is Document 18. Tab A is the draft NSDM as approved, published as Document 53. Tab B is not attached; presumably it is a copy of the March 1 NSC Under Secretaries Committee action program, Document 31.

52. Paper Prepared by an Interagency Working Group

Summary: Prepared in response to requests for an updated version of NSSM 156, the paper examined background information on Indian nuclear development and presented several options to prevent further nuclear proliferation in the region.

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, NSC Program Analysis Staff Files, Convenience Files, Box 11, VPWG (NPT), Nov. 15, 1974 (2). Secret; Sensitive. All brackets are in the original except those indicating text omitted by the editors. Transmitted to Kissinger under a May 31 covering memorandum from Sober, Acting Chairman of the NSC Interdepartmental Group for the Near East and South Asia. According to the covering memorandum, Kissinger had requested the study on May 18. NSSM 202 is Document 50.

53. National Security Decision Memorandum 255

Summary: Kissinger informed the addressees that President Nixon had reviewed the National Security Council Under Secretaries Committee report prepared in response to NSDM 235, and had approved the recommended consultations with other countries. Nixon also directed an ad hoc interagency group comprised of representatives from the Department of Defense, Department of State, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, and Atomic Energy Commission to study possible provisions for an international convention concerning physical security guidelines.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Institutional Files, National Security Decision Memoranda, Box H–246, NSDM 255. Secret. A copy was sent to Moorer. Attached as Tab A to Document 45. The report of the NSC Under Secretaries Committee is Document 31. Rush’s April 5 memorandum is Document 39. The September NSDM 255 study, “Provisions for an International Convention Concerned with Physical Security Guidelines and Transfer of Materials, Equipment and Technology,” is in the National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Institutional Files, National Security Decision Memoranda, Box H–246, NSDM 255.

54. National Security Decision Memorandum 256

Summary: Kissinger informed the addressees that President Nixon had reviewed the results of the NSSM 195 study and other work undertaken by the Verification Panel and decided that an agreement with the Soviet Union on a threshold test ban could be pursued provided that such an agreement met several conditions. In addition, Nixon directed that the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Defense develop a nuclear weapons testing program, which would complete all essential testing above a 100 KT threshold by January 1, 1976.

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, NSC Program Analysis Staff Files, Convenience Files, Box 6, VP (CTTB), June 4, 1974. Secret; Sensitive. A copy was sent to Moorer. NSSM 195 is Document 30. The NSSM 195 study is in Nixon Presidential Library, NSC Institutional Files, Study Memoranda (1969–1974), Box H–203, NSSM 195, Folder 2.

55. Telegram 9209 From the Embassy in the Soviet Union to the Department of State

Summary: The Embassy reported that Brezhnev had raised the issue of an underground test ban during a June 14 televised speech delivered in Moscow.

Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D740155–0419. Unclassified. Repeated for information to the consulate in Leningrad, the Mission in Vienna, the U.S. delegation to the SALT talks in Geneva, and the Mission to NATO.

56. Minutes of a National Security Council Meeting

Summary: The principal attendees of the meeting discussed the status of the TTBT and PNE negotiations and proposed policy alternatives for consideration.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Institutional Files, NSC Meeting Minutes, Box H–110, NSC Minutes, Originals, 1971 through 6–20–1974. Top Secret; Sensitive; Nodis. Drafted by Lodal. The meeting took place in the Cabinet Room at the White House. All brackets are in the original except those indicating text omitted by the editors or that remains classified and “[19]”, added for clarity. Portions of the minutes are also published in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XXXIII, SALT II, 1972–1980, Document 68.

57. Paper Prepared by the NSC Under Secretaries Committee

Summary: The report, required by NSSM 202, summarized the NSC Under Secretaries Committee’s study of U.S. policy concerning nonproliferation and the Non-Proliferation Treaty specifically, in light of the Indian nuclear test.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Institutional Files (H–Files), National Security Study Memoranda, Box H–205, NSSM 202. Secret. All brackets are in the original except those indicating text omitted by the editors or omissions and footnotes in the original. NSSM 202 is Document 50.

58. Memorandum of Conversation

Summary: Nixon and Brezhnev discussed the Threshold Test Ban Treaty during the Moscow summit.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 77, Country Files—Europe—USSR, Memcons, Moscow Summit, June 27–July 3, 1974. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. All brackets are in the original except those indicating text omitted by the editors and “[sic]”, added for clarity. The meeting took place in St. Catherine’s Hall at the Grand Kremlin Palace. The memorandum of conversation is printed in full in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XV, Soviet Union, June 1972–August 1974, as Document 187.

59. Memorandum of Conversation

Summary: Kissinger and Gromyko attempted to resolve several issues related to the previous day’s discussion of the Threshold Test Ban Treaty.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 77, Country Files—Europe—USSR, Memcons, Moscow Summit, June 27–July 3, 1974. Secret; Nodis. The meeting took place in St. Catherine’s Hall at the Grand Kremlin Palace. All brackets and ellipses are in the original. Also printed in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XV, Soviet Union, June 1972–August 1974, as Document 188. The United States and the Soviet Union had been holding technical talks in Moscow since early June to draft the Threshold Test Ban Treaty. A draft treaty showing U.S. and Soviet proposed wording is in telegram 10157 from Moscow, June 28. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P880125–1230)

60. Memorandum of Conversation

Summary: Nixon and Brezhnev continued to discuss the Threshold Test Ban Treaty.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 77, Country Files—Europe—USSR, Memcons, Moscow Summit, June 27–July 3, 1974. Secret. The meeting took place in St. Catherine’s Hall at the Grand Kremlin Palace. All brackets and ellipses are in the original except those indicating text omitted by the editors. The memorandum is printed in full in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XV, Soviet Union, June 1972–August 1974, as Document 189.