186. Letter From President Kennedy to the Permanent Representative to the United Nations (Stevenson)0

Dear Adlai: Thank you for your thoughtful letter of May 10 on disarmament and nuclear testing.1 I found it most helpful and pertinent.

I agree that the time may be approaching when we should make a new test ban proposal, and the alternatives you suggested are being examined by the appropriate people. I share your feelings about the consequences of round after round of tests, first by the Soviets and then by us. However, at the moment, I am reserving judgment as to what the timing of this initiative should be. There is every indication that the Soviets are prepared to begin a new series of tests shortly. It seems to me that an initiative at this moment would be rejected by the Soviets as an attempt to prevent them from responding to our test series, and this might not be the case after they began to test.

Three of your proposals on desirable initial steps in the disarmament field are now being pressed by our delegation in Geneva. We are asking for discussion of measures to reduce the risk of war as the next item on the agenda of the Committee of the Whole. We also contemplate having a discussion in the Committee of the Whole of measures to prevent the dissemination of nuclear weapons. However, as you know, discussion of this item in Geneva is complicated by our feeling that it would be preferable to discuss the non-dissemination of nuclear weapons, with respect to Europe, in the context of the negotiations on Berlin. I am sure you will share my view that the importance of exploring any useful avenue on the Berlin problem justifies our holding off in Geneva if we can.

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With respect to denuclearized zones, our delegation understands that if the countries in a given geographic area desire to establish such a zone, the United States should respect their wishes.

The last item you mention, an agreement to bar weapons of mass destruction from orbit, is also a subject which our delegation in Geneva has suggested as appropriate for discussion in the Committee of the Whole. So far, the Soviet Union has refused to accept this idea, even for discussion.

While the prospects for early agreement in any of these areas are not encouraging, I entirely agree that we must continue to do what we can to change the Soviet attitude towards these problems.

Sincerely yours,

John F. Kennedy
  1. Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Departments and Agencies Series, ACDA, Disarmament, 18-Nation Conference, Geneva, 5-6/62. Secret. Regarding the drafting of this letter, see Document 182. A draft of this letter was prepared in ACDA, concurred in by Harlan Cleveland and Ambassador Dean, and transmitted under cover of a May 15 memorandum from Foster to Secretary Rusk for the Secretary’s approval. The Secretary’s initials indicating his approval appear on the memorandum. Also attached to this draft is a May 21 memorandum from William H. Brubeck (S/S) to McGeorge Bundy, indicating that the draft response, “which has the approval of the Secretary, Mr. Foster, and Mr. Cleveland, may be of use to the President in responding to the Ambassador.” (Department of State, Central Files, 600.0012/5-2462) The first, fourth, and fifth paragraphs of the text printed here are identical to the draft, but some minor differences appear in the second and third paragraphs. In a letter to Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., May 15, in which he enclosed a copy of Stevenson’s May 10 letter, Kaysen wrote that he would probably answer the letter. (Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Kaysen Series, Disarmament, Current, 5/62-8/62) No further documentation on the White House role in preparing this reply has been found.
  2. Document 181.