209. Editorial Note
On July 7, 1962, the Department of Defense released preliminary results of a seismic research program, Project Vela, which implied that seismic detection and identification of nuclear tests was perhaps easier to carry out than earlier studies had indicated. Ambassador Dean, arriving in Geneva July 14, reportedly said at the airport that the findings suggested that international detection stations inside the Soviet Union might not be necessary if the United States could get non-nuclear nations to cooperate. Secretary of State Rusk and Acting Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Director Fisher sent Dean a message the same day pointing out that the “position of the Department andACDA, when asked, will continue to be that, while the recent results of the Vela Program are promising and are being evaluated, the evaluation to date has [Page 455] not led to a decision to abandon necessity of control posts in the Soviet Union or reduce the number of on-site inspections.” For more information, see Foreign Relations, 1961–1963, volume VII, pages 487–488.