Office of the Historian

329. Memorandum from U. Alexis Johnson to Rusk, July 21

July 2, 1963
[Facsimile Page 1]

SUBJECT

  • Meeting with Mr. McNamara on July 11

During your absence we moved forward with Defense looking toward the July 11 meeting which you proposed to Mr. McNamara (Attachment A).

George Ball lunched with Mr. McNamara and was told that we should be receiving sometime this week the DOD proposals to the President on balance of payments savings. George reports that Mr. McNamara feels that we should not have too much difficulty with these proposals. However, Defense has been very careful not to tip its hand (I think primarily for internal reasons—Service pressures are great), so we have no real advance information as to what the proposals embody. (You recall Mr. McNamara was initially shooting for a $400 million saving.) Beyond this there is the question of how we proceed with the Stikker exercise and, in this connection, there is some indication that Defense is already thinking in terms of alternatives which might be pursued in the event that the Stikker exercise does not materialize. The NAC will meet on the 17th to discuss the Stikker proposal and we may have a somewhat clearer reading as to how the French and others are likely to come down. Finally, and intimately related to the foregoing, are the broader political and military issues, underlying the force withdrawal question, which we still have to talk out with DOD at some point.

All of the foregoing suggests that it would be useful for a small group of us to meet with you on [Facsimile Page 2] Monday, July 8, in order to discuss whether, in light of the circumstances described above and, more importantly, in light of the extent to which you have had an opportunity to crystalize your own thoughts growing out of your trip with the President, you would wish to go through with the July 11 meeting or, alternatively, would prefer to put it back to a somewhat later date. [Typeset Page 1452] Subject to your approval, I have scheduled a meeting at 5:30 p.m., Monday, July 8.

Recommendation: That you meet with us on Monday.

  1. Background information for meeting with McNamara on DOD’s deficit reduction plans. Secret. 2 pp. Department of State, Central Files, FN 12.↩