Foreign Relations of the United States, 1951, European Security and the German Question, Volume III, Part 1

740.5/9–1951: Telegram

The United States Delegation at the Seventh Session of the North Atlantic Council to the Acting Secretary of State¹

confidential

Ottawa, September 19, 1951—8 p. m.

Secto 23. ToISA. Fol resolution approved NAC this afternoon re agenda Item VIII² subj only possible minor language changes:

The North Atlantic Council, convinced:

(1) That the creation of adequate strength, based on a sound econ foundation, to deter aggression and provide for the defense of the North Atlantic area requires the cooperative marshalling and most effective use of the resources of the NAT countries.

(2) That there is required as an immed next step an analysis of the issues involved in reconciling on the one hand the requirements of external security, in particular of fulfilling a militarily acceptable NATO plan for the defense of Western Eur with, on the other hand, the realistic politico-economic capabilities of member countries.

(3) That such an analysis must not interfere with urgently required further steps to fulfill present national commitments for force contributions.

Agreed:

(1) That a temporary committee of the Council be formed to carry out the analysis afore said and to submit to the Council its findings, including possible course of action.

(2) That the committee shall consist of individuals appointed by each of the member govts who are either Ministers of or closely related to the govt of their respective countries and who are particularly qualified for this special task. The committee shall elect from among its members a chairman and one or two vice-chairmen. An executive bureau will be formed; it will be composed of the chairman, the vice-chairmen, and any other members whom the committee may choose to appoint, if necessary, according to circumstances, with a view to expediting the work of the committee.

(3) That the committee shall be entitled to call for information, advice and assistance from all members govts.

(4) That all military and civilian NATO agencies are hereby directed to give the committee such assistance as it shall require. Arrangements to this end may be worked out in consultation with the Council Deputies and the ad hoc NATO joint working group, and may include, for example, statement by the responsible military agency, for planning purposes, of time-phased country-allocated force and infrastructure requirements for the defense of Western Eur; an examination of the organization and equipment of basic national military units with regard to their contemplated roles in the defense of Western Eur, their training and operating requirements (including infrastructure) and the making of recommendations on economy measures to obtain effective military force requirements at minimum cost; a review of the production capabilities existing in the various countries so as to enable the supply of standardized or non-standardized military items for the equipment of necessary forces as expeditiously as possible and at minimum cost; the costing of defense requirements; and the analysis of production, financial and econ possibilities and implications.

(5) That the committee shall make a progress report to the next meeting of the North Atlantic Council and shld complete its analysis and report its findings to the Council not later than first Dec 1951.³

1. Repeated to The Hague, Paris, Luxembourg, Oslo, Copenhagen, London, Rome, Brussels, and Frankfurt.
2. This resolution was circulated as Council Document C7–D/19 Final. “Resolution for Coordinated Analysis of NATO Defense Plans.”
3. On September 26, President Truman announced his appointment of W. Averell Harriman as U.S. Representative to the TCC. For the official announcement, see Department of State Bulletin, October 8, 1951, p. 572.