Office of the Historian

116. Memorandum of Telephone Conversation Between Secretary of State Rusk and Secretary of Defense McNamara1

Washington, August 16, 1961, 5:50 p.m.

TELEPHONE CALL FROM SEC McNamara

The Sec returned his call and he said he investigated the possible redeployment of forces in West Berlin through the JCS and Norstad. It would require Br permission to move them closer to the Brandenburg Gate. The Sec assumed it would be a joint venture. Norstad feels strongly this would be a mistake as moving them closer to the border might lead to more action by East Berlin than might otherwise be the case. M cannot evaluate this though.

  1. Source: Department of State, Rusk Files: Lot 72 D 192, Telephone Conversations. No classification marking. Transcribed by Phyllis D. Bernau.↩