Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–14, Part 2, Documents on Arms Control and Nonproliferation, 1973–1976

102. Memorandum From the Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (Iklé) to President Ford¹

Washington, December 6, 1974.

SUBJECT

• Report Directed by NSDM 279 on Senate Consent to Ratification of the Geneva Protocol of 1925 on Gas Warfare

You will recall that past efforts to bring about ratification of the Geneva Protocol, as for example in 1970, foundered on the issue of whether tear gas and chemical herbicides would be banned along with more lethal chemical and biological agents. The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has interpreted the prohibition as comprehensive, whereas the administration has insisted that riot control agents (tear gas) and chemical herbicides are not covered. Most parties to the Protocol have interpreted it as comprehensive.

As directed by NSDM 279, in consultation with the NSC staff and the Departments of State and Defense, I have renewed discussions with key Senators regarding advice and consent to ratification of the Geneva Protocol. It is likely that an adequate understanding has been achieved for obtaining Senate advice and consent to ratification of the Protocol within the guidelines which you prescribed. Favorable Senate action on the Biological Weapons Convention should present no difficulties and can be expected to accompany resolution of the Protocol issue.

The situation at present is as follows: The Foreign Relations Committee will consider a compromise aimed at producing a resolution of advice and consent to permit ratification in accordance with the U.S. understanding of the scope of the Protocol, i.e., that it does not cover herbicides or riot control agents (RCAs), provided you agree to a broad though not exclusive renunciation of their use as a matter of national policy. Many committee members, including Senator Humphrey who will probably chair the hearing on this matter, are favorably disposed to a compromise along these lines. Senator Fulbright, who has a longstanding interest in the Protocol issue, has expressed some sympathy for the compromise, but so far refuses to commit himself prior to the hearing. Committee staff members feel that the compromise position stands a reasonable chance of committee approval.

The content of the proposed renunciation, which has been approved by the NSC staff as well as the Departments of State and Defense, is based on the language of NSDM 279. It is attached as Tab A but may be described as follows:

The first use of herbicides in war is banned, except for control of vegetation within U.S. bases or around their immediate perimeters. This is clearly consistent with the language of the NSDM.

The renunciation of the first use of RCAs has been modified to make it plain that the options for use preserved by the President are solely those of a defensive nature, since the wording of the NSDM was open to the interpretation that unspecified offensive uses were also preserved.

The preserved use of RCAs described in the NSDM, “in defensive military modes to save lives,” has become the heading under which each of the preserved uses falls, since each of them has the purpose of saving lives and is defensive in nature.

A new preserved use has been added to provide for the protection of convoys in rear echelon areas.

Finally, consistent with the requirement set forth in NSDM 78 of August 11, 1970, advance approval of the President is required before RCAs or chemical herbicides may be used in accordance with any of these use exceptions.

If you approve this compromise position, I recommend that you authorize me to state your intention to conform U.S. policy to it, assuming Senate consent to ratification on this basis. I would so state your intention when I appear before the Foreign Relations Committee on December 10, at which time I will also support, as current Administration policy, the ratification of the Biological Weapons Convention.

Assuming your approval of the position outlined above, (1) I plan to notify appropriate allied governments of this modification of U.S. policy prior to my appearance before the committee, and (2) recommend that the White House legislative affairs office be directed to provide appropriate supportive action in the Senate.

Fred C. Iklé

1. Summary: In response to NSDM 279, Iklé indicated he had renewed discussions with several key Senators regarding advice and consent to ratification of the 1925 Geneva Protocol. He noted that the Senate would likely agree to ratification within the guidelines prescribed by President Ford, provided that he agreed to a “broad though not exclusive” renunciation of the use of herbicides and riot control agents as a matter of national policy. Iklé summarized the language of the proposed renunciation, approved by the Departments of State and Defense and the National Security Council Staff, and recommended that Ford authorize him to state the President’s intention during Iklé’s December 10 appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

   Source: Ford Library, National Security Council, Institutional Files—NSDMs, Box 56, NSDM 281—Ratification of the Geneva Protocol of 1925 on Gas Warfare. Confidential; Limdis. Attached as Tab B to a December 10 memorandum from Kissinger to Ford, in which Kissinger recommended that Ford approve a draft NSDM authorizing Iklé’s statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. NSDM 281, as approved, is Document 103. Tab A of Iklé’s memorandum, a multi-agency policy statement, was not attached and not found. NSDM 279 is Document 97. NSDM 78 is published in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume E–2, Arms Control and Nonproliferation, 1969–1972, as Document 202.