Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Western European Security, Volume V, Part 1

740.5/5611

Memorandum by the Presidential Staff Secretary (Goodpaster) to the President

top secret

[Washington,] November 16, 1954.

Memorandum for the President

1. State and Defense suggest that, in tomorrow’s meeting with the Congressional leaders,¹ you open the discussion on endorsement of NATO nuclear strategy by making these points:

a. Necessity and desirability of basing NATO military plans and preparations on the concept that an effective atomic capability is indispensable to a maximum deterrent and essential to defense in Western Europe. General Gruenther developed the basic NATO study through eight months’ work; State and Defense have worked out proposed U.S. action on it during the past four months.

b. First element of proposed action is to secure NATO-wide approval of the concept of the capability to use A-weapons as a major clement of military operations in event of hostilities. For this purpose, the U.S. should be prepared, if required subject to constitutional limitations, to give assurances that A-weapons would be available in the hands of U.S. forces for such operations.

c. Second element is to reorient the pattern of NATO military forces toward the new type of operations. To this end, the U.S. should be prepared to give assurances, if required, that present and future U.S. military assistance will be geared into and make an appropriate contribution toward the development of forces prepared for integrated action generally as called for in the NATO studies. It would be understood, of course, that Congress retains its full power to act upon proposals for military aid programs.

. . . . . . .

A. J. Goodpaster
Colonel, CE, U.S. Army

1. A record of Eisenhower’s meeting on Nov. 17 with 19 Congressmen is in the Eisenhower Library, White House Office, Staff Secretary records.