857.014/8–2745
Memorandum by the Chairman of the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee (Dunn) to the Secretary of State
Washington, 27 August
1945.
- 1.
- On 24 August 1945 the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee approved SWNCC 159/6,47 a memorandum by its State Department member suggesting that, since Greenland has long been considered as lying within the Western Hemisphere and therefore covered by the Monroe Doctrine, this Government should not seek to obtain Soviet [Page 98] concurrence to the establishment by the United States of exclusive base rights in Greenland.
- 2.
- This action cancels the comments of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as
contained in subparagraph a of paragraph 3,
SWNCC 159/3,48 and communicated to the
Secretary of State at Potsdam, the pertinent part of which paragraph
reads as follows:
“3. If it is not practicable to successfully oppose the Soviet proposals, then we should insist that the Soviets in return agree to the following:
a. No objection to the United States obtaining exclusive base rights in Iceland and Greenland …”
For the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee:
James Clement Dunn