119. Letter From President Kennedy to Prime Minister Macmillan0
Dear Mr. Prime Minister: We are giving the most urgent consideration to your letter of January 51 and to the additional comments made on [Page 296] it by David Ormsby Gore. I find myself in deep agreement with nearly all of what you say about the dangers of the arms race and the boldness of action required from those of us who bear primary responsibility in these matters. We must do all that we can to turn the nuclear spiral downward, and to save mankind from the increasing threat of events of surpassing horror.
Whatever may be your final decision about Christmas Island, or mine about American atmospheric testing, I can assure you that we are ready to examine with you the possibilities for new efforts toward disarmament, on the most urgent basis. We are eager to work out together an initiative which might, if successful, mark a significant step forward and which would demonstrate, at a minimum, that we are continuing to press in every possible way to bring the arms race to an end. Dean Rusk is seeing David Ormsby Gore in order to determine how best to proceed. We have questions about some of the tactical aspects of your proposals. But we have no differences at all on the importance and urgency of the effort for progress.
Meanwhile, the preparations for testing must, as we agreed, go forward, and so we are forced to make a definite decision on the matter of Christmas Island. I am very glad to learn that you and your colleagues have agreed to make Christmas Island available, subject to the conclusion of agreements on scientific and technical collaboration, and on financial and administrative matters. I am glad also that, in your judgment, the program of tests proposed for Christmas Island does fall within the criteria of justifiable tests.
May I take it that our agreement on this last point is now definite?
Your letter does not make it altogether clear to me how far the Cabinet’s decision to make Christmas Island available is conditional upon agreement on the shape of a new initiative toward disarmament. I would hope very much that the Cabinet would not intend a coupling of this sort. It will take us some time to work out the details of the next steps on disarmament; on Christmas Island, for the reasons we considered in Bermuda, there really must be a definite decision within the next few days. Moreover, while of course we must consult closely at every stage, I am sure from our previous talks that you understand the requirement on me, as President, to retain freedom to prepare to test, and freedom to test, on the basis of the whole situation and the best judgment available at the time. I know we are in agreement on the urgency of disarmament, and I am most eager to find ways of making effective progress, but it would be hard to accept specific conditions, in this range of effort, that might prevent me from meeting my responsibilities for military security. In particular it would seem wrong, at this stage, to make any definite link between the timing of tests and the progress of new efforts toward disarmament. As I said at Bermuda, it is important not to expose ourselves to Soviet [Page 297] maneuvers designed not for progress but simply to tie our hands on testing.
Thus what I hope is that we can agree now to go ahead with Christmas Island and go ahead with a real new effort toward disarmament, but avoid any tie-up between the two that might now or later lead to misunderstanding. We would rather make our preparations without Christmas than run any risk of putting that sort of strain on our old and vital friendship.
Sincerely,
- Source: Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204, Kennedy-Macmillan 1960-1962. Top Secret. Attached to a note from Bundy to Rusk, stating that Kennedy wanted Rusk to deliver it to Ormsby Gore. A draft by Foster, dated January 11, is ibid.↩
- In his letter, Macmillan stated that his Cabinet had agreed to make available to the United States “the facilities at Christmas Island which you require,” subject to an agreement on “scientific and technical collaboration,” and provided there was “full consultation before a decision to start tests from Christmas Island is actually made.” The Prime Minister also stated that he would want to link an announcement on the availability of Christmas Island for U.S. testing to a major new disarmament effort to be implemented through the Eighteen-Nation Disarmament Committee. (Ibid., Macmillan-Kennedy 1962-1963) For text, see the Supplement. The letter is also printed in Harold Macmillan, At the End of the day, 1961-1963, pp. 154-163.↩
- Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.↩