Office of the Historian

328. Memorandum of Discussion at the 321st Meeting of the National Security Council, Washington, May 2, 19571

Washington, May 2, 1957

[Here follows a paragraph listing the participants at the meeting.]

1. Antarctica (NSC 5424/1; NSC 5528; NSC Action No. 1500;2 Memo for NSC from Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, subject: “Interim Report on Antarctica”, dated April 26, 1957)

Mr. Cutler briefed the Council on the contents of the Planning Board’s Interim Report on Antarctica, in the course of which he referred to a map of the Antarctic Continent which indicated the claims of the various nations to portions of Antarctica. In the course of explaining why the Planning Board had thus far been unable to present the Council with a revised policy statement on Antarctica, Mr. Cutler read verbatim paragraphs 4, 5 and 7 of the Interim Report. In sum, the Planning Board did not feel that it had sufficient sound information as to the economic and strategic importance of Antarctica to the United States. Furthermore, the Planning Board had been unable to make up its mind as to the wisdom of changing our current policy, which calls for the reservation of all U.S. rights in Antarctica, to a new policy which would call for the assertion by the United States of formal claims to portions of the Antarctic Continent. In conclusion, Mr. Cutler said that the Planning Board would welcome any light which the Council might be able to throw on [Page 673] problem. (A copy of Mr. Cutler’s briefing note and the map of the Antarctic Continent is filed with the Minutes of the meeting.)3

The National Security Council:4

Noted and discussed the Interim Report on the subject by the Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, contained in the reference memorandum of April 26, 1957.

[Here follows the remainder of the memorandum.]

S. Everett Gleason
  1. Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, NSC Series. Top Secret. Drafted by Gleason on May 2.↩
  2. See footnote 7, Document 313.↩
  3. Not further identified.↩
  4. The following paragraph constitutes NSC Action No. 1705. (Department of State, S/S–NSC (Miscellaneous) Files: Lot 66 D 95)↩