53. Letter From the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (Irwin) to the Deputy Under Secretary of State (Murphy)1
Dear Mr. Murphy: I refer to your letter of 8 May 1957 to Mr. Sprague,2 his interim reply of 16 May,3 and the 30 August 1957 meeting between State and the Joint Chiefs of Staff,4 all of which concern military force structures for Latin American countries.
With regard to the specific points raised in your letter of 8 May 1957, current intelligence indicates, in general, that Latin American military forces are capable of maintaining internal security within their respective countries. It is recognized that equipment deficiencies may exist from time to time and that it may, as was the case with Venezuela, become desirable to strengthen the internal security forces of a particular country. In the future, most Latin American countries will have occasion to seek equipment for replacement, modernization or augmentation of existing forces. It is not feasible to attempt to predetermine the military validity of future Latin American requests nor their relationship to U.S. security interests. Previous determinations regarding military assistance to Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil are still considered to be valid by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and are reaffirmed by the Department of Defense.
Subsequent to the exchange of correspondence referred to in the first paragraph above, this office has approved the Joint Chiefs of Staff recommended “U.S. Military Planning Guidance—Latin America” containing the results of the general reappraisal of the area. Copies of this guidance were provided the Department of State by Defense letter of 2 August 19575 for distribution within your department. This planning guidance is considered to be an appropriate document for military planning required for implementation of U.S. policy by U.S. representatives in the field. In conjunction with their views on the points raised in your letter, the Joint Chiefs of Staff have reaffirmed their determination on country force estimates, which was defined in our letter of 2 August. In addition, in further support of this determination, they have added that “such force estimates, based on the several objectives listed in paragraph 32 of NSC 5613/1, must necessarily be flexible since many variations can [Page 297] satisfy the same requirement. Thus force levels cannot serve as firm guides, nor as effective means of discouraging unnecessary procurement of military equipment by Latin American countries. The Joint Chiefs of Staff consider that future requests for military equipment by Latin American countries can best be treated on a case-by-case basis and in light of the military, political, and economic conditions existing at the time of the request.”
In accordance with the agreement reached between the Joint Chiefs of Staff and State at the 30 August meeting, the Department of Defense will consider future requests for military equipment by Latin American countries on a case-by-case basis.
Sincerely yours,