Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Western European Integration and Security, Canada, Volume VII, Part 1

275. Editorial Note

The Ministerial Meeting of the North Atlantic Council, held in Paris December 16–18, was attended by all the Foreign Ministers and NATO Permanent Representatives of the 15 member countries. The U.S. Delegation was headed by Secretary of State Christian A. Herter and included Secretary of the Treasury Robert B. Anderson, Secretary of Defense Thomas S. Gates, Jr., and Permanent NATO Representative W. Randolph Burgess. For the list of the principal members of the delegation, including advisers from the Departments of State and Defense, see Department of State Bulletin, December 26, 1960, pages 978–979.

The most extensive body of documentation on this NATO Ministerial Meeting is maintained in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 64 D 559, CF 1802–1813. CF 1802 contains a set of memoranda of conversation between U.S. and foreign officials. Copies of Tocah and Cahto telegrams are in CF 1803. CF 1804 contains copies of Tosec and Secto telegrams; copies of Topol and Polto telegrams are in CF 1805. Briefing books are in CF 1806–1808. Orders of the Day for December 14–19 are in CF 1809. Administrative papers are in CF 1810. Substantive miscellaneous papers, including verbatim records of the Ministerial sessions, are in CF 1811. No summary records of this Ministerial Meeting have been found. CF 1812 contains miscellaneous administrative papers. A chronological record of meetings for the December 12–19 period is in CF 1813. Telegrams and documentation on this Ministerial Meeting are ibid., Central File 396.1–PA.

The Ministerial Meeting of the North Atlantic Council was preceded by ceremonies in Brussels, Belgium, December 13–15, surrounding the marriage of Belgian King Baudouin to Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragon. Herter, who was President Eisenhower’s personal representative at these festivities, Mrs. Herter, and members of his party left Washington on Monday, December 12, at 7 p.m. and arrived in Brussels at 9:45 a.m. the following morning. For Secretary Herter’s departure statement in Washington and his arrival statement in Brussels, see Department of State Bulletin, January 9, 1961, pages 40–41. Documentation on Herter’s visit to Brussels is in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 64 D 559, CF 1799–1801.

Herter and members of his party left Brussels on Wednesday, December 14, and arrived in Paris at 11:35 a.m. At 10:45 a.m. the same morning, Livingston T. Merchant and other U.S. officials met with British and French officials. Memoranda of their conversations on procedural arrangements for the forthcoming Ministerial Meeting (US/MC/3) and East-West relations (US/MC/4) are ibid., CF 1802. Following a working luncheon for the U.S. Delegation, of which no record of the discussion has been found, Merchant and other U.S. officials met with British and French officials at 3:30 p.m. Memoranda of their conversations on Africa (US/MC/2), Laos (US/MC/5), and the Caribbean (US/MC/6) are ibid., CF 1802. At some point that afternoon, Herter met with Anderson, Burgess, Generals Lemnitzer and Norstad, and other U.S. officials to discuss the specific wording in the balance-of-payments portion of Herter’s speech to the Ministerial Meeting. Herter’s message to the President reporting their discussion and the changes in wording of his speech was transmitted in Cahto 1, December 13. (ibid., Central Files, 396.1–PA/12–1360)

At 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 15, the delegation held a meeting. Minutes of this meeting, which reviewed the planning for the NATO Ministerial Meeting on a number of topics, and list of participants are ibid., Conference Files: Lot 64 D 559, CF 1811. A memorandum of Merchant’s conversation with Sir Frederick Hoyer Millar, British Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, at 10:30 a.m. on the role of the Kennedy administration in nuclear arrangements with the United Kingdom (US/MC/25), is ibid., CF 1802. Merchant and other U.S. officials held tripartite talks with British and French officials at 10:45 a.m. Memoranda of their conversations on Africa (US/MC/7), trend of the United Nations (US/MC/8), and Laos (US/MC/9), are ibid., CF 1802. At 3 p.m., Herter met with Secretary of Defense Gates; no record of their conversation has been found. At 4 p.m., Robert H. McBride, Director of the Office of Western European Affairs, met with Henry Davis of the Canadian Delegation to discuss their positions on an Afro-Asian resolution in Algeria in the United Nations. (US/MC/1; ibid., CF 1802) At about the same time, McBride also met with Charles Lucet, Political Director in the French Foreign Ministry, and discussed the attitude of Spain toward the Algerian situation. (US/MC/13; ibid., CF 1802) A memorandum of conversation among McBride, Lucet, Randolph Kidder, Counselor of the Embassy in France, and Hervé Alphand, French Ambassador to the United States, at 4:30 p.m. on Algeria (US/MC/12), is ibid., CF 1802. Herter’s discussion at dinner with French Foreign Minister Couve de Murville on a French atomic bomb test in the Sahara which, Couve de Murville revealed, would probably take place between December 20 and 25 was transmitted in Cahto 3, December 16. (ibid., Central Files, 396.1–PA/12–1660) Their discussion of a French nuclear reactor for Israel was transmitted in Cahto 4. (ibid.) The memorandum of a tripartite conversation on the Congo (US/MC/20) is printed in volume XIV, pages 631–635. Memoranda of tripartite conversations on East-West relations (US/MC/21) and Latin America (US/MC/22) are in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 64 D 559, CF 1802.

On Friday, December 16, the first session of the NATO Ministerial Meeting convened at 10:15 a.m. to discuss item I of the agenda, review of the international situation. (A copy of the agenda, C–A (60) 49, is ibid., CF 1806) Herter opened the morning session by reading a statement from President Eisenhower to the Council. (Secto 8 from Paris, December 16; ibid., Central Files, 396.1–PA/12–1660) For the text of Eisenhower’s statement, see Department of State Bulletin, January 9, 1961, page 39. Herter then initiated discussion on agenda item I with a statement of Soviet policy since the collapse of the summit in Paris in May and the situation in Laos and in Cuba and Latin America in general. In his presentation on specific countries and regions, he often referred to reports prepared by NATO experts by geographical areas. Copies of these reports are in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 64 D 559, CF 1806. A topical outline of the Secretary’s statement was transmitted in Polto A–235, December 17. (ibid., Central Files, 396.1–PA/12–1760) Several Foreign Ministers participated in the ensuing general discussion, which the U.S. Delegation summarized in Polto 869, December 16. (ibid., 396.1–PA/12–1660) During the discussion, German Foreign Minister Heinrich von Brentano reviewed the NAC’s strong support on Berlin, prompting the following comment in Polto 869: “Brentano clearly bidding for strong statement on Berlin in communiqué.” The Verbatim Record (C–VR (60) 49) of this session is ibid., Conference Files: Lot 64 D 559, CF 1811. At 1:15 p.m., Merchant met with Jules Leger, Canadian Permanent Representative to NATO, and discussed U.S.-Canadian relations. (US/MC/11; ibid., CF 1802)

At 3:15 p.m., the Ministerial Meeting reconvened to finish discussion of agenda item I and begin discussion of agenda item II, NATO long-range planning. The discussion on item I at the afternoon session was summarized in Polto 870, December 17. (ibid., Central Files, 396.1–PA/12–1760) After representatives of all the NATO countries except Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Luxembourg had spoken on the subject, Secretary General Paul–Henri Spaak summarized the discussion and offered pessimistic conclusions concerning the lack of Western solidarity and the need to adapt to the new Communist threat. Herter’s opening statement on long-range planning, in which he outlined U.S. proposals on NATO’s mid-range ballistic missiles, is printed as Document 276. The reactions of several Foreign Ministers to Herter’s presentation are summarized in Document 277. The Verbatim Record (C–VR (60) 50) of this session is in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 64 D 559, CF 1811. At 4:20 p.m., McBride met with Mr. Sensi of the Italian Delegation to discuss the South Tyrol situation and other matters of mutual concern. (US/MC/14; ibid., CF 1802)

On Saturday, December 17 at 10 a.m., Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Segni paid a courtesy call on Secretary Herter; they discussed the U.S. MRBM proposal to NATO and other matters of mutual concern. (US/MC/15; ibid., CF 1802) At some point the same morning, John N. Irwin, II, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, met with Franz–Joseph Strauss, German Minister of Defense, on a proposed increased military assistance procurement program by Germany from the United States. The record of this meeting was transmitted in Polto 872, December 17. (ibid., Central Files, 762A.5–MSP/12–1760)

The Ministerial Meeting convened at 10:15 a.m. to discuss item III, military questions. This session was summarized in Polto 873, December 18. (ibid., 396.1–PA/12–1860) Following an intelligence briefing on Soviet military strength and economic and military tactics and the growing danger of Soviet penetration into Africa and the resulting outflanking of NATO, the meeting turned to brief discussion of MC–5/15, the Military Committee’s report entitled “The Military Progress of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization,” and the 1960 Annual Review. MC–5/15 (Revised), which is identical to MC–5/15 except for the addition of a cover sheet, and the Report on the 1960 Annual Review ((C–M (60)103) are ibid., Conference Files: Lot 64 D 559, CF 1807. Secretary Gates’ statement on the 1960 Annual Review was transmitted in Polto G–909, December 18. (ibid., Central Files, 396.1–PA/12–1860) Gates’ speech emphasized that meeting NATO long-term force levels required “continued efforts to achieve balanced collective forces, standardization, and integration of command structure and in some cases of logistic systems.” He also outlined U.S. research and development programs in outer space which were applicable to NATO security and military assistance programs, especially the U.S. decision to curtail and in some cases terminate grant assistance to NATO governments and the increasing need to use U.S. military assistance to support coordinated research, development, and production of the more complex and costly modern weapons in Europe.

German Defense Minister Strauss then surveyed his government’s problems and progress on manpower, infrastructure, and matériel, strongly opposed the redeployment of U.S. forces back to the United States, urged allied support to counteract Communist propaganda, supported the U.S. MRBM proposal, questioned the overemphasis on conventional forces which, he believed, represented some departure from the MC–70 concept, and suggested studies on ways to improve military integration. Strauss’ lengthy statement was summarized in Polto 877, December 18. (ibid., 396.1–PA/12–1860)

Following further general discussion on meeting country force goals, the Ministerial Meeting approved a draft resolution on defense ((C–M (60)104) which has not been found. The Foreign Ministers also discussed a paper on cooperation in research, development, and production (C–M (60)110), and approved paragraph 12, which was a report by the Armaments Committee on the subject. C–M(60)110 has not been found. The meeting then adopted in principle a 4-year ceiling of 250 million pounds for a new infrastructure program, which had been outlined in an International Staff paper, the text of which had been transmitted in Polto 865, December 15. (ibid., 375.75/12–1560) An inconclusive discussion on cost-sharing relating to the infrastructure program was finally deferred to a later session for decision. The Verbatim Record (C–VR (60)51) of this morning session is ibid., Conference Files: Lot 64 D 559, CF 1811.

At approximately noon, Merchant met with Portuguese Foreign Minister Marcelo D. Mathias. A memorandum of their conversation on the Portuguese reaction to a recent U.N. General Assembly vote on Portuguese territories (US/MC/10) is ibid., CF 1802. Secto 24, December 18, transmitted a summary of a luncheon discussion between U.S. and German officials on the possibility of an early technical agreement on German vested assets in the United States. (ibid., Central Files, 811.10/ 12–1860) The afternoon session, which reconvened at 3:15 p.m., resumed discussion of agenda item II. This discussion was summarized in Polto 878, December 18. (ibid., 396.1–PA/12–1860) Much of the discussion focused on the recommendations in Spaak’s progress report on long-range planning for consultation on problems arising outside the NATO area and in economic matters, such as oil and credits, aid to less-developed NATO member countries, and political aspects of the Soviet offensive in underdeveloped areas, and the relationship of NATO to the United Nations. A copy of Spaak’s Progress Report on Long-Range Planning ((C–M (60)111) is ibid., Conference Files: Lot 64 D 559, CF 1806. The Verbatim Record, (C–VR (60)52) of this session is ibid., CF 1811. At 4 p.m., Martin J. Hillenbrand, Director of the Office of German Affairs, met with German Foreign Minister Brentano. A memorandum of their disscussion of German and Berlin problems (US/MC/16) is ibid., CF 1802. A memorandum of Hillenbrand’s conversation with Wilhelm Grewe, German Ambassador to the United States, on Adenauer and Berlin problems (US/MC/17) at 5:30 p.m. is ibid., CF 1802. Secto 25 from Paris, December 18, transmitted a summary of Herter’s meeting with Belgian Foreign Minister Pierre Wigny at dinner on the use of Belgian officers in the army of Moise Tshombé, President of Katanga. (ibid., Central Files, 770G.00/12–1860)

The final session of the Ministerial Meeting, which convened at 10 a.m. on Sunday, December 18, to discuss agenda items V and VI, was summarized in Polto 879, December 18. (ibid., 396.1–PA/12–1860) (There was apparently no discussion of agenda item IV.) The Council approved and referred to the Permanent Representatives a Turkish draft resolution regarding ways and means for providing economic aid to less developed NATO countries. The text of the Turkish resolution was transmitted in Polto 880, December 19. (ibid., 396.1–PA/12–1960) Discussion on the communiqué followed. The Council agreed to defer decision on a NATO Heads of Government meeting in December 1961, retained the word “welcomed” but made other minor changes in the draft communiqué regarding the U.S. pledge on a nuclear stockpile, and omitted specific reference to five Polaris submarines in the U.S. offer on MRBMs. Because of Portuguese objections, no agreement was made on a cost-sharing formula for infrastructure, and the problem was referred to the NATO Permanent Representatives. For text of the communiqué, see Department of State Bulletin, January 9, 1961, pages 39–40. The Verbatim Record (C–VR (60)53) of this session is in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 64 D 559, CF 1811.

Following this session, Counselor Theodore C. Achilles met with Norwegian Foreign Minister Halvard Lange concerning the U.S. MRBMproposal and Lange’s availability if a new NATO Secretary General were needed. Subsequently, they were joined by Robert Magill, Deputy Director of the Office of European Regional Affairs, and Sir Evelyn Shuckburgh, British Deputy Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to continue discussion on the U.S. MRBM proposal. (US/MC/18; ibid., CF 1802) At 1:45 p.m., Herter read a statement for television on the NATO Ministerial Meeting. The text of his statement was transmitted in Secto 23, December 18. (ibid., Central Files, 110.11-HE/12–1860) At 5:05 p.m., Herter met with British Foreign Secretary Lord Home and Couve de Murville to discuss developments in Laos. (US/MC/24; ibid., Conference Files: Lot 64 D 559, CF 1802) At 6 p.m., Herter left this meeting, and Merchant and other U.S. officials discussed the U.N. debate on Algeria with the British and French Foreign Ministers and their advisers. (US/MC/23; ibid.) At 6:15 p.m., Herter held a press backgrounder, a verbatim record of which is ibid., CF 1811. At 7:15 p.m., Herter met with C.L. Sulzberger, columnist for The New York Times, for a background interview. For Sulzberger’s recollections of this interview, see Last of the Giants, pages 714–715.

On Monday morning, December 19 at 10:12 a.m., the Secretary and his party left Paris for Washington where they arrived at 3 p.m. For text of Herter’s departure statement, December 19, see Department of State Bulletin, January 9, 1961, page 41.