State–JCS Meetings, lot 61 D 417
Memorandum of the Substance of Discussion at a Department of State–Joint Chiefs of Staff Meeting1
[Extract]
. . . . . . .
Korea
General Bradley: I would like to talk about the latest message from General Clark.2 Clark now has the final figure of 83,000 prisoners who are willing to be repatriated. He recommends that we give this figure now to the Communists. We have some concern that if we do give the 83,000 figure to the Communists, the Communists might think if they wait another three months we might come up with a 100,000 figure. On the other hand if we don’t give the Communists a figure and the figure leaks, the Communists might be able to put us in a bad propaganda position by saying we weren’t telling them the facts.
Mr. Matthews: My feeling is that if we officially say we have 83,000 now they would feel they could sit tight and we would eventually up the figures some more. I grant there might be some difficulty if the figure leaked.
Mr. Bohlen: I think it would be a mistake to give them a figure. This doesn’t seem to be just the right time to focus attention on figures by raising them officially. If the figure should leak, I don’t think we would be in a too bad position. We could say to the Communists we weren’t aware that they were interested in figures, but just the general principle, and we didn’t think there was any utility in discussing figures with them.
Mr. Matthews: The timing is probably important. The Zenchenko talk with Gross3 seems to approximate fairly closely Alternative B which Chou En-lai was supposed to have proposed to Panikkar.4 If we come in now with an official figure, we might upset whatever is cooking through the Indian channel.
General Bradley: That was actually the general feeling among the Chiefs here. I personally was the one that was most worried about what would happen if there were a leak, but I think Chip’s answer is a good one.
[Page 372]General Collins: I think we should send Clark a message telling our reasons for not wanting to give a figure, filling Clark in on the background in the Panikkar–Zenchenko [Chou] talks and giving him the line that Chip suggested should be followed if there should be a leak.
General Bradley: Perhaps Johnson and G–3 can work out the message.5
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A note on the title page read: “State Draft—Not cleared with any of participants.”
Generals Bradley, Collins, and Admiral Fechteler as well as Vice Chief Bolté attended for the JCS. Matthews headed the Department of State contingent. In all, 13 persons were present at the meeting. In addition to Korea, the following topics were discussed at this meeting: Spain, the Middle East Command, and Southeast Asia.
↩- Infra.↩
- For a report of that conversation, see telegram 986, p. 364.↩
- Regarding this proposal, see the memoranda of conversation, pp. 340 and 344, and telegram JCS 911932, p. 347.↩
- Presumably the message referred to was transmitted as telegram JCS 912791 to Clark, July 3, p. 375.↩