Office of the Historian

304. Memorandum of Meeting1

Washington, December 1, 1965, 4:30 p.m.

SUBJECT

  • Stockpile Planning

PARTICIPANTS

  • McGeorge Bundy, Buford Ellington, Charles E. Johnson
1.
Mr. Buddy noted that he wished to use the NSAM 321 Special Committee on Stockpile Objectives to further the President’s interest in ensuring that current stockpile objectives are no larger than they have to be so that orderly disposal of quantities of materials not essential to the stockpile requirements can be initiated. Governor Ellington referred to the existing Executive Stockpile Committee and the desirability of using this Committee as the top review group in the determination of specific stockpile objectives. It was agreed that it is highly desirable to make use of existing machinery insofar as possible to achieve the President’s purpose.
2.

Mr. Buddy stated that he has requested the Department of Defense, through Mr. Vance, for up-to-date guidance as a matter of urgency based on the current military judgment of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with respect to probabilities of the loss of essential imports through enemy action and an estimate of the probable duration of a conventional war emergency.2 These two factors largely determine the size of the conventional war stockpile. This letter has been requested as a matter of urgency.

Mr. Buddy and Governor Ellington also noted that Mr. Califano will discuss with the State Department the impact of U.S. disposal of certain commodities on the regular marketing of these commodities by friendly foreign countries.

3.
It was agreed that:
a.
Mr. Buddy and Governor Ellington would convene a joint meeting of the Special Committee on Stockpile Objectives and the Executive Stockpile Committee, plus certain additional White House staff that are involved, for the purpose of noting the forthcoming letter from the Secretary of Defense referred to above and agreeing on a National Security Action Memorandum to be recommended to the President. This NSAM [Page 753] would be intended to provide new overall guidance to the Executive Stockpile Committee and to the Office of Emergency Planning under which specific new objectives could be established. With the approval of this NSAM, the work of the Special Committee under NSAM 321 would be completed and the Special Committee terminated.
b.
An additional subject for possible discussion at this meeting would be the legislative package to be presented in the forthcoming session of the Congress and the procedure to be followed in obtaining early and favorable action thereon.
3.
The draft “Report of the Special Committee on Stockpile Objectives” would be circulated in advance of the meeting only as background information and not for formal action.
CEJ
  1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, National Security Action Memoranda, NSAM 321, Review of Strategic Stockpile Objectives, Box 6. Confidential. Drafted by Charles E. Johnson on December 2. The meeting was held in Buddy’s office.↩
  2. See footnote 4, Document 303.↩