Office of the Historian

266. Summary Notes of the 586th Meeting of the National Security Council1

Washington, May 22, 1968, 12:15–1:10 p.m.

[Here follows discussion of events in France and Vietnam.]2

Under Secretary Katzenbach: Turning to the German problem, he first commented on recent Italian elections in which the Communist Party did better than the Socialists.3 The result will be difficult negotiations before a new Government can be formed.

Current East German activity, such as travel restrictions now being imposed, indicate that the East Germans are dealing from weakness. They are concerned about political developments in the Eastern European bloc.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Stoessel: The major German problems summarized in the State paper4 are: Berlin, relations with the [Page 675] USSR, German resistance to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the offset negotiations, and the political problem raised by neo-Nazis.

Secretary Clifford: Even if the Germans are prepared to accept the figure of $500 million, we will still have a $300 million deficit in offsetting our balance of payment costs.

We cannot continue to keep 300,000 men in Europe indefinitely. We have worked out the problem of the control of tactical nuclear weapons. We must reduce the cost of our presence in Europe.

Secretary Fowler: We must find a long-range solution to the problem of the cost of our European policy. In our negotiations with the Germans, we should go no lower than $675 million. We should do all we can to hold them to the $750 million foreign exchange offset.

Under Secretary Katzenbach: The State Department is working on a project for the next Administration which deals with mutual troop withdrawals and the reduction of the cost to the U.S. of our NATO defense policy.

Secretary Fowler: We must insist, in addition to a reasonable offer on offset, that our European allies cooperate with us in international monetary affairs.

[Here follows further discussion of Vietnam.]

Bromley Smith
  1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, NSC Meetings File, vol. 5. Secret; Sensitive; For the President Only. Drafted by Bromley Smith.↩
  2. The portion dealing with France is scheduled for publication in Foreign Relations, 1964–1968, volume XII.↩
  3. The Italian Communist Party had picked up 10 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 2 in the Senate while the Unified Socialist Party lost 3 seats in the Chamber and nearly one-third of its 1964 vote.↩
  4. Document 262.↩